How to prevent and treat tilapia-like "head-tilting disease" in American bullfrogs? Farmers need to master these methods

In recent years, because American bullfrogs are very popular on the public dining table, the number of farmers raising American bullfrogs has gradually increased. American bullfrog farming has become a new species in aquaculture, and during the farming process, some diseases often appear, with head-tilting disease being one of the common diseases. Now let's learn about American bullfrog farming together.

Prevention and treatment of head-tilting disease in farmed American bullfrogs

Cause: caused by infection with Flavobacterium septicum.

Symptoms: the skin of the diseased frog turns black on the outside, the neck tilts to one side, it refuses to eat and is lazy to move, the body loses balance, and the body spins when swimming. In severe cases, it often occurs together with cataract disease (white eye disease). After dissection, congestion can be seen in organs such as the liver, kidneys, and intestines of the diseased frog.

Prevention and treatment:

1. Strengthen management and effectively carry out disinfection work for water quality, feed, and so on;

2. Add “Wabikang” to the feed, using it once every half month;

3. Sprinkle “Yuyong Bomie” in the diseased pond to disinfect the whole pond, and at the same time feed “Wabikang” together, continuously for 3 to 5 days.    

Prevention and treatment methods for tail-rot disease in American bullfrogs  

The main cause of tail-rot disease in American bullfrogs is that during the larval stage, because the pond water is too dirty and the stocking density is too high, trichodinid parasites infest the entire skin of the tadpoles and cannot be effectively relieved, causing the tails of American bullfrog tadpoles to be severely corroded, with tail-rot disease progressing from mild to severe.  

1. Appropriately reduce stocking density and change the water frequently. Keep the water clean;  

2. When the disease occurs, sprinkle “Duchong No. 2” over the whole pond, and at the same time feed “Wabikang”; once a day, continuously for 3 days;  

3. Soak the diseased tadpoles with “Paopao Bomie”; the effect is relatively good.

What do American bullfrogs eat  

American bullfrogs are carnivorous animals with a very broad food range, including annelids, arthropods, mollusks, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. According to reports, American bullfrogs mainly swallow animal pests of crops (accounting for 82% of the number), while also swallowing a small amount of beneficial animals (accounting for 5.2%). American bullfrogs also swallow some plant-based foods, mostly leaf fragments, flowers, and plant seeds. American bullfrogs are very greedy eaters and have a large food intake. According to observations, one American bullfrog will swallow 43.7 grams of food in one night. The food intake of American bullfrogs is related to temperature changes. When the water temperature is 21 to 30°C, food intake is the greatest; at 20 to 14°C, food intake is the least; below 14°C, feeding stops. American bullfrogs also have extremely strong hunger tolerance, generally able to endure 4 months to one year.  

American bullfrogs have a broad food range, but mainly eat animal-based food, and their feeding habits differ between the tadpole stage and the adult frog stage. The tadpole stage is omnivorous, with low requirements for food. They can feed on almost all plankton in the water, and can also feed on ordinary fish feed. They are especially fond of eating cooked egg yolk, raw fish meat, liver, fly maggots, and cooked potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice bran, peanut meal, and so on. Other items such as tofu and fruit peels can also be used as bait; adult frogs are fond of eating moving bait, catching insects, crustaceans, small fish and shrimp, snails, worms, spiders, cicadas, locusts, crickets, termites, maggots, earthworms, fish eggs, and the young bodies of waterfowl, and so on. Artificial farming must involve diet training.

Feeding techniques for American bullfrogs  

1. Early stage just after tail loss: Young frogs that have just lost their tails only eat live food and do not eat dead food. At this time, they should be fed entirely on live food animals such as yellow mealworms, fly maggots, rice shrimp, small earthworms, and small insects. When feeding, place the live food on the feeding platform or in the shallow water at the edge of the pond, letting the live food crawl and jump to lure the American bullfrogs to eat. During this period, American bullfrogs have strong digestion, eat a lot, and grow quickly. According to measurements, in 7 days the body weight of American bullfrogs can double. They should be fed 3 times a day, with the feeding amount being 8% to 12% of the total body weight of the American bullfrogs.  

2. One week after tail loss: After young American bullfrogs that have just lost their tails are raised for 1 week, their body weight reaches about 30 grams, and diet training should be carried out. The amount of live food animals fed each day (such as fly maggots, yellow mealworms, rice shrimp, and small earthworms) should go from more to less, while the amount of dead (dry) food fed each day (such as dried rice shrimp and small dried miscellaneous fish) should go from less to more. Feed 2 to 3 times a day, with the feeding amount being fresh feed equal to 8% to 10% of the American bullfrog's body weight, or dry feed equal to about 4%.  

3. Young frogs over 100 grams: American bullfrogs over 100 grams cannot be fed small-particle foods such as fly maggots and rice shrimp, and should be fed larger foods such as small fish, loach, and earthworms. If they are American bullfrogs that have already undergone diet training, then they should all be fed dry feed such as fresh dead fish pieces, eel heads and tails, dried light fish, and American bullfrog compound feed. If artificial compound feed is used, puffed floating pellet feed and hard pellet feed can be used, and they must meet the following requirements:  

① Suitable in size, similar to the dead fresh feed and live bait that American bullfrogs usually eat, and suitable for the American bullfrog to swallow in one bite.  

② Does not contain salt, oil, or odors that American bullfrogs do not eat.  

③ The surface is smooth, not easy to scatter upon contact with water, and has a moist and slippery feel.  

④ Comprehensive nutrition, with a protein content of 30% or more, complete essential amino acids, and no shortage of various elements. During this period, American bullfrogs like quietness and fear disturbance, so feeding should be done 1 to 2 times every evening or at night, with each feeding amount accounting for the following proportion of their body weight: fresh food 6% to 8%, dry food about 3%.

If high profits are to be obtained from American bullfrog farming, then disease treatment and prevention are key. Only by reducing the occurrence of diseases can more profits be created. Therefore, in the farming process, it is not only necessary to master American bullfrog farming techniques and skills, but also very necessary to master the prevention of some American bullfrog diseases.