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View Full Version : Could dyed aquatic frogs go on sale in the UK?



lost
23-09-2011, 05:58 PM
<CENTER>http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/custom/images/medium/4e7c6ce3f32c9.jpg</CENTER>
These aquatic frogs are just dying to be colourful – and they are in high demand in China! Could they make their way into UK shops?
Now it would seem there is a new aquatic evil – dyed frogs.
Xenopus laevis, known as the Platanna or African clawed frog, is a popular species in the pet and aquatics trade, sold usually in an albino form and for aquariums.

But albino was clearly not enough for some sellers in China, opting instead to artificially colour the amphibians with large amounts of industrial chemicals which the frogs absorb through their skin.

One website even reported breeders experimenting with dyeing the frogs by way of laser.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/custom/images/medium/4e7c58df1db5d.jpg

Bright colours
According to odditycentral.com the radioactive looking amphibians are in very high in demand in China for stocking both aquariums and ponds.

The colour is said to last for up to five years with vendors reporting that children "like the bright colours because they are so cheerful."

But the tanks containing the unfortunate victims are labelled "not for human consumption" and the colouring agents soaked up by their skin may indeed prove lethal for them, with experts saying that thousands of these tropical frogs could die as a result of this trend.