# Auratus transporting tads



## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

My El Cope auratus must have laid some eggs somewhere other than in the coco hut because today I found one of them with a tadpole on his back. For now I zip tied some sheet moss around condiment cups with water and placed them in various locations around the viv. I also made sure the broms have water in them. What else should I do? Also with auratus is it always the male that transports the tads?











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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

I put a water dish in there and it looks like he is checking out his different options.










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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Well this guy still has the same tad on his back. I have like 5-6 different water containers where he can put the tad. Should I do anything or just wait?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

How big are the cups? Auratus prefer larger water bodies for tadpole deposition sites and won't place tadpoles in sites that are too small. 

some comments 

Ed


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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. Should I get something bigger thank the pic above. I think you can see the little cup in the background. Also do you know if they prefer depositing the tads near the substrate or near the top of the viv? 


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If those are the cups, then that is way too small for them. You want something that is holding at least one cup of water (@240 ml) for them to use as a deposition site. The location shouldn't matter as much as they are known to climb and use tree butresses for deposition sites and these sites can be several meters off the ground. I would just put a couple of containers holding about a cup of water on the bottom of the tank and let him choose. 

Even a clean fruit fly cup a little over half filled will be used, just place something for the male to use to climb in and out of the water in it (a plant clipping with a leaf big enough for him to sit on works fine or tilt the fruit fly cup to make it easy to get in and out (add a leaf or some java moss if you have some to the cup). 

some comments 
Ed


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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Perfect. Thanks


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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

That worked. Thank you very much Ed. There is one in there and it looks like he's bringing another one.










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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Well this is interesting. He used the little cup too.










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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Just a quick update. I ended up with three tadpoles transported by the male. What I noticed is that the tads that were transported were much larger than the eggs I have hatched outside of the viv. They are also growing much faster. One of them is growing at an unbelievable rate. It has doubled or tripled in size in just over a week. The tads were removed from the viv right after they were deposited. Is this a function of the temperature / humidity difference in the viv or could it be something else?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Unusual that he used the small deposition site but as others have noted, they don't read the rules... 

I've heard of people theorizing that the tadpoles could feed on the skin or microbes during transport but I don't think this has ever been studied for proof in one way or another. 

some comments 

Ed


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## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

I have raised many batches of El Cope tads. I have two females in my group, so I don't know if it is a difference in females, but I have noticed that sometimes the tads in one group will grow noticeably faster than other times. Strangely enough, they seem to grow faster when I feed smaller quantities of food, so maybe it is a water quality issue.


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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Thank you for the replies. Phender I just noticed you are local. My brother lives in YL.


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