# Opinions on keeping Eggs from molding over.



## Cormyrean (Feb 7, 2014)

Hey gang! 

I was wondering what are some different methods for keeping eggs from molding over? 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Methylene Blue works well. You can find it in the fish section of pet stores. A couple drops in a spray bottle filled with RO water should do the trick.


----------



## stu&shaz (Nov 19, 2009)

Maybe a bit more natural.... Aldercones seem very good for this! I've used them for years now, the are also my tad tea ingredient. they contain natural fungicide and bacteriacide and have eradicated a form of mouth fungus I saw early in our dart career,never seen that again thank god.

Just boil a goodly handful of the cones in your froggy safe water strain and use the liquor left,I only use a bit for the tads,it seems to last and be effective for ages. We don't see many clutches go moldy actually,but this has helped there and also helped friends of mine

good luck

Stu


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Generally if you are having problems with fungus attacking the eggs you may want to evaluate the nutritional status of the adults as fungus shouldn't attack the eggs unless there was some reason they aren't able to prevent the infection. For example if one or two of the eggs die early in development or are infertile, this can allow the fungus to attack the other eggs through constant exposure. 
Often the use of egg fungal inhibitors masks an underlying problem with the adults. 
What is the vitamin A content of the adult's diet? 

Some comments 

Ed


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Ed...will send a PM soon...... Your advice, as usual, is so appreciated. Found it most interesting about infertile or "bad" eggs affecting the others in a petri dish. I have been having the same issue, but hesitated to remove the infertile eggs...perhaps I should do just that. And did wonder about using something that might enable a weak tadpole to survive and have other issues later on. I use the Repashy Calcium, and Repashy A as supplements, A twice a month, the Calcium almost at every feeding which is every other day usually. Is it typical for terriblis to have this problem more than other frogs? The two females, one male (no aggression) have only had one good clutch go on to tadpoles in over a year....


----------



## Cormyrean (Feb 7, 2014)

Ed said:


> Generally if you are having problems with fungus attacking the eggs you may want to evaluate the nutritional status of the adults as fungus shouldn't attack the eggs unless there was some reason they aren't able to prevent the infection. For example if one or two of the eggs die early in development or are infertile, this can allow the fungus to attack the other eggs through constant exposure.
> Often the use of egg fungal inhibitors masks an underlying problem with the adults.
> What is the vitamin A content of the adult's diet?
> 
> ...




Hey hey! thanks for the replies everyone. My heavily breeding adults get Vit A once every two weeks, while my froglets/juvies/subadults get it once every three weeks. I also use Repashy Supervite Mon/wed/fri and Repashy Calcium+ Tues/Thurs/Saturday. Sundays I just fee very very heavily on undusted melano/hydie and bean beetles.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

This is a problem that people seem to have a hard time grasping which is that even though they are using a supplement the animal can still have a deficiency. In the OP's case, the phrase "heavily breeding" indicates a constant drain on the nutrients that are sequestered for egg production. People often forget or fail to realize that other than environmental issues, fat reserves are the limiting factor for egg production. If the frog has sufficient fat intake it will produce eggs regardless of the availability of other nutrients. Frogs that are constantly producing eggs have a constant drain on nutrient reserves and this can still cause nutritional insufficiencies despite regular supplementation. There are reasons that for the individual frogs in the wild the actual participation in reproduction may only be for few weeks as the nutrient contributions/requirements are expensive and are difficult to sustain for long-periods of time. 
This isn't much of a limitation in captive populations as the vast majority of people overfeed their animals and expose them to conditions that trigger reproduction on a year round basis without the breaks seen in the wild populations that enable the frogs to store sufficient nutrients. Overfeeding supplies the frogs with the lipids required to produce the eggs more frequently and in some cases excess of the average wild clutches. 

Dusting supplements are groomed off relatively quickly particularly in comparison to the length of time the feeders can persist in the enclosures and this is even before we consider the fact that the frogs maybe ingesting significant levels of microfauna that is not going to be dusted with the supplements so this has to also be taken into consideration with respect to nutritional needs of the adults and subsequently the eggs. 

If the eggs are being attacked by fungus it is in part due to the fact that the eggs are unable to resist the fungus, the eggs are dying prematurely and then are being attacked by the fungus, or environmental conditions so favor the fungus that the eggs are being wiped out. 

In the above scenarios, the use of methylene blue and humic acids can assist in the eggs getting past the fungus stage but don't do anything to resolve the issues that are causing problems with the eggs. 

As one example, depending on the species most people keep their eggs much cooler than the optimal temperatures used by the adults when depositing the eggs. 

Some comments 

Ed


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Judy S said:


> Ed...will send a PM soon...... Your advice, as usual, is so appreciated. Found it most interesting about infertile or "bad" eggs affecting the others in a petri dish. I have been having the same issue, but hesitated to remove the infertile eggs...perhaps I should do just that. And did wonder about using something that might enable a weak tadpole to survive and have other issues later on. I use the Repashy Calcium, and Repashy A as supplements, A twice a month, the Calcium almost at every feeding which is every other day usually. Is it typical for terriblis to have this problem more than other frogs? The two females, one male (no aggression) have only had one good clutch go on to tadpoles in over a year....


Hi Judy,

If there is something that favors the growth of the fungus beyond infertile or deceased eggs then the presence of those eggs can greatly enhance attack by the fungus. In that case I would suggest removing obviously infertile and infected eggs. 

One of the most common fungi found attacking the eggs is saprolegnia and the use of low pH (highly acidic solutions) isn't going to prevent the infection as it is quite capable of infection in a pH as low as 3.8

Depending on the strain/isolate it can function well as warm as 30 C (86 F) but many of the strains do not do well at warmer temperatures. If your confident that the issue isn't related to nutrition, I would examine the environmental factors. 

Some comments 

Ed


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Ed--it seems to just happen with the terriblis eggs...and I use distilled water because I don't trust the quality of our well water since we're on a farm....So the next clutch they have (and I do not know whether both, or just one female is laying...)...I will look for the "cat's eye" (thank you Scott Magee for that...)...and remove them. Perhaps I will even draw out whatever water is in the petri dish and refresh with other distilled water....


----------



## Cormyrean (Feb 7, 2014)

That was a great bit of info you shared, Ed. Much appreciated.


----------



## ecichlid (Dec 26, 2012)

My bet is that the biggest cause of fungused eggs are infertile eggs. Too often it's the hobbyist who cannot recognize the difference or who doesn't understand the time frame of normal egg development.


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

good point...would be interesting to have a willing person to actually show the day-to-day development just of the "bad" or infertile eggs .... Scott Magee showed me what the "cat's eye" appearance means as far as being a bad egg...but like probably a lot of others...For other eggs I have to wait to see the fuzziness develop before realizing that that particular egg is no good.


----------



## SMenigoz (Feb 17, 2004)

Judy S said:


> ...For other eggs I have to wait to see the fuzziness develop before realizing that that particular egg is no good.


Another thing to consider is that some frogs such as galacs lay light colored eggs, distiinctly different (in my opinion)from the typical black egg. Shame to dispose a perfectly good clutch...


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I have only had one viable clutch for the terriblis that I have..and was told today by Scott Magee that when I take the petri dish out...should rinse with the ro or distilled water...then use only the absolute slightest BlackWater for the eggs...and they should be kept much drier than regular eggs. He advised using oak leaves soaked overnight in water...but not too long or the leaves would mold... I've only had one good clutch, so will try what he advised...and he cautioned that the terriblis like to have their eggs drier than other frogs....thanks to Scott.....


----------



## robthefrogman (Jul 19, 2014)

I agree with this statement from echiclid: "My bet is that the biggest cause of fungused eggs are infertile eggs"..... but if by chance you do have an infertile egg or eggs in a clutch of some fertile eggs you have to monitor the fungus closely, do water changes, and if it starts to spread use some of the other methods listed. If it spreads you might have to separate the fungused/dead egg out from the rest very carefully of course....


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

am resurecting this thread because the question I now have is: how soon would one be able to recognize a fertilized egg? The terriblis just laid another clutch, and I can see white even in the petri dish, in the coconut hut...so do not know whether they have been, or will be fertilized... when I pull the eggs out, will try the spag moss with the petri dish nestled in the larger container with a couple of holes in it. If you were to choose which "extra" to use--would it be the blackwater extract...or the meth.blue??


----------



## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

Judy S said:


> how soon would one be able to recognize a fertilized egg? The terriblis just laid another clutch, and I can see white even in the petri dish, in the coconut hut...so do not know whether they have been, or will be fertilized...


I have a similar situation my banded imi's are laying eggs but not doin anything with them. Should I be pulling all the eggs. This is the first time they have been laying eggs. They are just white, is the male not doin his part?


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I wish someone would answer that question....if they appear white when first laid....is that typical...? And after the fertilization is complete, do the eggs change to the black color?


----------

