08-17-2011, 01:38 PM
i thought i would post a "tadpole care for beginners" type of post for anyone that may need it. i lose very few tadpoles and feel maybe a few beginners could benefit from the info and welcome everyone to also contribute and suggest helpful hints.
i use bottled water to make my tadpole water. i take a 5 gallon bucket and even though the water is bottled i boil it. just a habit i have. i add the water to the bucket which has some oak leaves. it's important the source of the oak leaves is an area where no pesticides are used.
other people have their own preferences such as Indian almond leaves or blackwater extract added to the water.i let that bucket sit in the same exact area as my tadpoles so the temps are as close as possible to the water they are in already to try to avoid any temperature shock.i usually leave the water sit 24 hours or so to cool to room temperature which is about 74-75 in my tadpole room. the water should look like a very weak tea color not a dark brown color.
for my tadpole cups i use one tadpole cup (16 oz.) for each tadpole. i fill it half way at first to make it easier for the tadpole to reach the surface to feed.i put a single small oak leaf in the water for comfort for the tadpole
i usually make a few gallons of the tadpole water and i do partial water changes every 4 days or so. about 1/4 of the water sometimes more. this is also a personal choice on my part. I've heard people do it once a week ,i even remember someone saying they didn't do it at all. i can't see that myself so i choose to do it the way i do to prevent water issues. i used to keep fish and i know the importance of water changes to keep water quality as high as possible.
i feed 4 times a week and rotate between the following foods each week. i use a very fine powder mix that is 50/50 spirulina and chlorella 2 days of the week, a food called sera micron one time per week and tetracolor fish food flakes one time per week. care has to be taken with the fish food flakes because it can pollute water quickly. tadpoles will do fine without that. i have tried the tadpole bites on and off and it also just seems to cloud water and remain with a lot uneaten. again this is my own experience. i know a lot of people use it. feeding 4 times a week is not necessary, some people feed much less often.
after tadpoles are swimming strongly from bottom of the cup to surface,during water changes i make sure when i add water that i fill about 3/4 full. that seems to be perfect for me it seems to help keep the water cleaner and then 1/4 change seems to be fine after that.
again everyone has different tadpole care techniques. i hope to hear what others are doing here also and between all of us hopefully help some beginners to make tadpole care more successful. remember there are a lot of other issues involved for tadpoles to survive such as the health of the adult frogs as well as the correct supplementation and care of the adults before they even lay eggs but if everything seems to be fine and tadpoles are still being lost maybe some pointers from different members may help anyone that is just getting tadpoles succeed and get a high percentage of tadpoles to reach froglet stage. its great when you see that first tiny froglet. i hope that the guys in this 5-10 years share anything they may be doing concerning their tadpole care. the more info out there the better for the hobby to ensure a constant supply of healthy well cared for dart frogs. everyone, please join in and contribute any specifics that have worked well for yourselves.
I hope this helps anyone having issues with tadpoles or are about to start a tadpole care regimen.
Regards,
Tom
i use bottled water to make my tadpole water. i take a 5 gallon bucket and even though the water is bottled i boil it. just a habit i have. i add the water to the bucket which has some oak leaves. it's important the source of the oak leaves is an area where no pesticides are used.
other people have their own preferences such as Indian almond leaves or blackwater extract added to the water.i let that bucket sit in the same exact area as my tadpoles so the temps are as close as possible to the water they are in already to try to avoid any temperature shock.i usually leave the water sit 24 hours or so to cool to room temperature which is about 74-75 in my tadpole room. the water should look like a very weak tea color not a dark brown color.
for my tadpole cups i use one tadpole cup (16 oz.) for each tadpole. i fill it half way at first to make it easier for the tadpole to reach the surface to feed.i put a single small oak leaf in the water for comfort for the tadpole
i usually make a few gallons of the tadpole water and i do partial water changes every 4 days or so. about 1/4 of the water sometimes more. this is also a personal choice on my part. I've heard people do it once a week ,i even remember someone saying they didn't do it at all. i can't see that myself so i choose to do it the way i do to prevent water issues. i used to keep fish and i know the importance of water changes to keep water quality as high as possible.
i feed 4 times a week and rotate between the following foods each week. i use a very fine powder mix that is 50/50 spirulina and chlorella 2 days of the week, a food called sera micron one time per week and tetracolor fish food flakes one time per week. care has to be taken with the fish food flakes because it can pollute water quickly. tadpoles will do fine without that. i have tried the tadpole bites on and off and it also just seems to cloud water and remain with a lot uneaten. again this is my own experience. i know a lot of people use it. feeding 4 times a week is not necessary, some people feed much less often.
after tadpoles are swimming strongly from bottom of the cup to surface,during water changes i make sure when i add water that i fill about 3/4 full. that seems to be perfect for me it seems to help keep the water cleaner and then 1/4 change seems to be fine after that.
again everyone has different tadpole care techniques. i hope to hear what others are doing here also and between all of us hopefully help some beginners to make tadpole care more successful. remember there are a lot of other issues involved for tadpoles to survive such as the health of the adult frogs as well as the correct supplementation and care of the adults before they even lay eggs but if everything seems to be fine and tadpoles are still being lost maybe some pointers from different members may help anyone that is just getting tadpoles succeed and get a high percentage of tadpoles to reach froglet stage. its great when you see that first tiny froglet. i hope that the guys in this 5-10 years share anything they may be doing concerning their tadpole care. the more info out there the better for the hobby to ensure a constant supply of healthy well cared for dart frogs. everyone, please join in and contribute any specifics that have worked well for yourselves.
I hope this helps anyone having issues with tadpoles or are about to start a tadpole care regimen.
Regards,
Tom