Tadpole Raising Questions

RandomStranger · 04-14-12, 11:35 PM

Ok, so from google and personal knowledge, it is my understanding that the key to raising tadpoles is to keep their water from getting murky and giving them lettuce every once in awhile (pretty much everything I found says tadpoles should be fed lettuce). Just wondering if there is anything I'm missing. Seems pretty straight forward and low maintenance but I don't just want them to survive, I want them to thrive. So if there are other things I can put in the water for food (if they do better on diverse diet?) let me know. I put a small piece of a dead fish I found near where I found them... they seem to actually be eating it every once in awhile. I thought they were just herbivores but I tried it anyway.

infernalis · 04-15-12, 12:07 AM

Ever see the movie "Langoliers"???

A tadpole has rows of raspy teeth that look just like the ones in that Stephen King movie.

Certain species of frogs will intentionally lay their eggs in water that have "lesser" species eggs already laid in the water for the purpose of keeping the "greater" tadpoles fed.

Bullfrog tadpoles will for instance consume every other amphibian in the same water source, and if they run out, will turn on each other.

They do NOT fare well in captivity, and you will wind up with a tank full of dead tadpoles.

Trust me, I know what I am talking about.

RandomStranger · 04-15-12, 12:21 AM

I found a lot of websites that tell me what they can eat in captivity and I've had them for about three weeks and they are all alive still. I wanted to watch them turn into frogs and release them at the pond I found them in. But if you're sure they don't do well in captivity are you suggesting I just release them now? I don't want any of them to die.

infernalis · 04-15-12, 12:34 AM

I have tried, I wound up with black water and a high body count.

I'm not saying it's impossible, people do it with dart frogs, because there is money to be made.

I'm suprised yours have lasted this long.

RandomStranger · 04-15-12, 12:39 AM

Alright, thanks. I'm going to search around on google a bit and if I can't find anything promising, I'm going to let them go just in case. I just wanted to see what they looked like as they grew legs and became entirely different creatures.

BarelyBreathing · 04-15-12, 09:26 AM

What type of tadpoles?

slithermama · 04-15-12, 09:47 AM

lettuce and a little gold fish food, thats all i did for my american bull frog tadpols i rescue from a gas filled water hole where i used to live. They turned into monster bull frogs lol. had them for 2 yrs and set them free in a nice nature reserve pond.

RandomStranger · 04-15-12, 11:51 AM

Haha I really don't think I could identify the tadpoles even with the help of the internet... Maybe if I saw the frogs that laid them I could. They are small tadpoles, possibly two species (or just different stages of development, I can't be sure). They are mostly black but if I look closely some are gray... about 10. It would probably take like 4-5 just to cover the surface of a penny. I think they turn into frogs that are about quarter sized that I see every once in awhile.

jarich · 04-15-12, 01:03 PM

I would go with the fish food over the lettuce, but if you use a lettuce make sure it is a darker one with some nutrients to it. You can also get those algae tablets from the pet store, which are a good food.

I used to raise fire belly toads, and got a few bullfrogs and leopard frogs as tadpoles in with some fish, which I raised to adulthood. The species makes a big difference, as some are exclusively herbivorous, while others will eat anything. The bullfrog tadpoles literally ate just about anything I put in there!

Its best to have a couple different containers to divide them into. That way you can keep any cannibalizing down to a minimum and also means you will kill less if your water goes bad in one or the other. You're right though, the water quality is key at that age, so make sure you have a good filter!

Good luck!

Wolfus_305 · 04-15-12, 02:43 PM

When I was a kid we used to catch tadpoles in my aunts trout pond (the little black ones and the big brown ones) and we kept them and raised them into froggies, we (my sister and I) were popular in school because we would take in a tank and the class could raise them.

The only time we had a high death rate was the one year there was a dragonfly larva eating them, it took us forever to figure out what was happening.

We always soaked our lettuce in boiling water so it got really wilty and then just put it on the water. I don't think we ever had a filter in the tanks though...

RandomStranger · 04-15-12, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

I would go with the fish food over the lettuce, but if you use a lettuce make sure it is a darker one with some nutrients to it. You can also get those algae tablets from the pet store, which are a good food.

I used to raise fire belly toads, and got a few bullfrogs and leopard frogs as tadpoles in with some fish, which I raised to adulthood. The species makes a big difference, as some are exclusively herbivorous, while others will eat anything. The bullfrog tadpoles literally ate just about anything I put in there!

Its best to have a couple different containers to divide them into. That way you can keep any cannibalizing down to a minimum and also means you will kill less if your water goes bad in one or the other. You're right though, the water quality is key at that age, so make sure you have a good filter!

Good luck!

My filter is me manually replacing their water with rain water or from a stream by pouring about half off and then replacing with clear water. I don't even have a filter because I've never had pet fish or anything that needed one. These tadpoles are eating both plants and meat (frequently visiting the dead fish pieces in there and trying to tear off pieces)

jarich · 04-15-12, 05:08 PM

Well, I suppose if its worked for three weeks, you must be doing alright with the water. By the sounds of it you have it down pretty well with the feeding too, though I wouldn't leave the dead fish in there too long. Maybe try to get some other meat source as that rotten fish will rapidly foul your water.

I guess about all I could say at that point is have fun with all those frogs you are going to have soon.

RandomStranger · 04-16-12, 04:09 PM

Thanks for the tips, guys. Also, did not know that dragonfly larvae fed on tadpoles! So cool.

Wolfus_305 · 04-16-12, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomStranger

Also, did not know that dragonfly larvae fed on tadpoles! So cool.

AHAHAH neither did we till our tadpoles started disappearing. the water was murky because it was from a pond so it took us forever to figure out what was happening, then we found it but didn't know what that crazy looking thing was... sure was a mystery for a while :P

jarich · 04-17-12, 01:07 AM

They look evil, right! Those jaws; just mean looking alien things