# Developing Ranitomeya Imitator Eggs



## girlwithafrogtattoo

After talking to my husband and kids, we pulled these two eggs a bit ago. That way we can watch them develop up close. 
I just found these eggs yesterday, and am not sure how far along they are. They are also partially covered with algae from the top of a film can.
Hopefully these will progress well!


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## R1ch13

Congratz!

Nice find! They'll be no stopping them now!

I'd say those eggs are no more than a week old, I'd say around day 6 by my experience.

Johnc has posted some great photos of eggs through the stages somewhere around here.

Would definately be worth a look for you.

Goodluck, 

Richie


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thank you for the username Richie!
I had been searching like crazy for egg shots like that, just never typed in the correct search term to find them! 

One person has commented that the eggs look flipped, and if they were they will mold over. If that's the case (hopefully not) how long would it be before they mold over?


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## R1ch13

No problem!

Hmm, they look right to me!

You can clearly see the head and tail forming, so don't fret.

They don't look flipped at all.

Never had any moulding take hold myself, but I'd presume fairly quickly.

You have about another 10 or so days till they should be fully formed and thinking about hatching.

So if there any problems you'll notice them very soon.

Richie


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## earthfrog

They look great. One looks a few days older than the other one. 

I'd also put a couple drops of blackwater extract around them to retard fungus. 

I wait to pull eggs until I see their bodies moving as there is less chance of abortion that way.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

R1ch13 said:


> No problem!
> 
> Hmm, they look right to me!
> 
> You can clearly see the head and tail forming, so don't fret.
> 
> They don't look flipped at all.
> 
> Never had any moulding take hold myself, but I'd presume fairly quickly.
> 
> You have about another 10 or so days till they should be fully formed and thinking about hatching.
> 
> So if there any problems you'll notice them very soon.
> 
> Richie


Alright then, I wont worry too much about it 
It will be very interesting to document any changes each day until they hatch. I'll be sending pics of the process with the boys to school.

Thanks again for your help!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

earthfrog said:


> They look great. One looks a few days older than the other one.
> 
> I'd also put a couple drops of blackwater extract around them to retard fungus.
> 
> I wait to pull eggs until I see their bodies moving as there is less chance of abortion that way.


I hadnt planned on pulling any  I had originally wanted the parents to raise them all on their own, but after my family talked about it, we thought it would be a neat chance to watch them up close.
Not sure if I'll pull any more or not, but if I do I may pick up some blackwater extract to try out. 
Doesn't the almond leaf tea help with that as well? I could make some up easily.

Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Azurel

Yea tadpole tea made almond leaf will do the same....Just don't submerg the eggs with the water. Get it to the edge of the egg mass and keep the humidity up in the container. I have pulled 3-4 clutches it is very interesting to watch how they develop. It also keeps the parents dropping clutches as well.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Got, thanks! 
Pics from this morning. The mass slid down the leaf over night, and was almost in the water- so I used the slurpee straw to gently move it back up the leaf. I then cut a square from the leaf, and put it on a piece of egg crate with the water all around it. 
Here's the pics from this morning- I'm going with a guestimate that they are @6 days old today. If anyone else has a comment on the age of the eggs please let me know!! I have friends, family, my husbands coworkers and kids classes who are following the development of the eggs, so I want to be as accurate as possible.


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## slipperheads

earthfrog said:


> They look great. One looks a few days older than the other one.
> 
> I'd also put a couple drops of blackwater extract around them to retard fungus.
> 
> I wait to pull eggs until I see their bodies moving as there is less chance of abortion that way.


The glare from the first picture just made one of the tads look more developed. Looks like it's all from one lay to me.


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## earthfrog

§lipperhead said:


> The glare from the first picture just made one of the tads look more developed. Looks like it's all from one lay to me.


Yeah, based on the other pics I'd agree with that, too. 

I have had pairs of eggs glued together from separate days with my Tarapotos.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

§lipperhead said:


> The glare from the first picture just made one of the tads look more developed. Looks like it's all from one lay to me.


Yeah, that glare is annoying. Unfortunately, the room lighting is very low in my house, so I have to use a desk lamp for these pics!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

At this point I haven't done anything special to them- just used the same water I use to mist the viv's with. I haven't been able to run out to a store the past few days.
They seem to be doing pretty well! I saw the embryos wiggle this morning while taking the pictures.
@7 days old-


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## earthfrog

If there is light getting to them, that algae will probably do a lot to keep them clean, too. They look good.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thanks Susan  They seem to be doing well, and are very active! There's not much light getting to them where I have them now though.

Day 8- 









Day 9-
You can see an eye forming in this one!


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## RikRok

Ha! This is awesome...keep the pics coming


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

RikRok said:


> Ha! This is awesome...keep the pics coming


Glad you are enjoying it 

Here's todays picture- Day 10.


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## whatamithinking02

Love the pictures..


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## Enlightened Rogue

Fantastic Kim!!
You`re a great mom!
Best of luck with them sweetie!

John


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Aw- thanks again 
We're all anxiously waiting for them to break out LOL.


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## R1ch13

Really loving this thread.

Your doing a great job.

Keep up the good work.

Richie


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo

I got my lens filter set that I ordered in just now, so here's a better picture for today.


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## earthfrog

If you can get a shot of their little smile, that would be cool


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

earthfrog said:


> If you can get a shot of their little smile, that would be cool


They kept flipping around, so I couldn't get any good shots! I will have to keep trying though!

Day 12:


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## earthfrog

At this stage before they have fully broken the membrane (one on the bottom right), I try to help them along using a toothpick to pull it off the tadpole (in case he can't get out on his own), taking care not to poke him.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Susan, from what I can see the membrane is still attached. It just doesn't show well in the picture the way it is lit. Hopefully they are in the water soon....


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> Susan, from what I can see the membrane is still attached. It just doesn't show well in the picture the way it is lit. Hopefully they are in the water soon....


One of mine died in this stage b/c it couldn't break free from their membrane. I don't know why that happened---maybe it got too tight in there for it to wiggle out. 
So, I started trying to free them myself when they get to this stage. In the wild, the frogs segregate the eggs with their legs, which may aid in hatching and stimulates wriggling from the tadpoles. Sometimes they may need this sort of intervention in order to free themselves from their eggs.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

That's not good to hear 
So do you think I should try helping them out? I dont want to do any harm..


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> That's not good to hear
> So do you think I should try helping them out? I dont want to do any harm..


It's not going to hurt them unless you break their skin. I am always careful not to touch the tadpole but only to tear the membrane. There is some risk involved. Some recommend against it, but I have not had a problem with it. Typically I take the toothpick and drag the edge of the egg along the glass and repeat until I notice the tad has loosened or extended itself. Then I let it swim out the rest of the way.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

I checked on them at 8:45pm. The one on the left was out of the egg mass, and shortly after I spritzed the other tad and he slid out a few minutes after.
Pic of tad #1


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## JimO

I just found this thread and it's waaay cool. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with the tads.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

JimO said:


> I just found this thread and it's waaay cool. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with the tads.


Thanks JimO- unfortunately, both tads were dead this morning when I checked on them. I dont have any luck with tads, so I think I'll just leave them with the parents from now on.


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## WendySHall

Aw! I'm so sorry! 
I've been watching their development from the beginning and was waiting for them to pop out...never expected this. Hopefully, things will get better soon and your tads will make it.

Don't feel too bad, though...at least you didn't find out that you "fried" several groups of newly breeding imitator eggs under your new lights. Yep, I did that.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

WendySHall said:


> Don't feel too bad, though...at least you didn't find out that you "fried" several groups of newly breeding imitator eggs under your new lights. Yep, I did that.


 That would be horrible!! I'm so sorry!
The kids wanted me to follow them through them morphin out of the water. If my imi's ever lay more eggs I may consider pulling a couple just to try this again from the start. 
I had a class of 1st graders, and a class of 4th graders following them as well. I hate to tell them they didn't make it. 

The tad the parents are caring for is doing well, but I cant get pictures of it where it is. 

They didn't swim around in the water at all. The temps in the house have been between 68- 74 so nothing high to make them emerge from the egg early. Obviously they have 1 tad that's fine. I hate not knowing why they didn't make it.


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## R1ch13

Really sad news.

Any ideas at all what happened?

What water did you use?

At day 15 they were definately not underdeveloped, and laying still in the water is the norm for a newly hatched tad.

Im stumped.

Things will pick up soon I'm sure.

Richie


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> That would be horrible!! I'm so sorry!
> The kids wanted me to follow them through them morphin out of the water. If my imi's ever lay more eggs I may consider pulling a couple just to try this again from the start.
> I had a class of 1st graders, and a class of 4th graders following them as well. I hate to tell them they didn't make it.
> 
> The tad the parents are caring for is doing well, but I cant get pictures of it where it is.
> 
> They didn't swim around in the water at all. The temps in the house have been between 68- 74 so nothing high to make them emerge from the egg early. Obviously they have 1 tad that's fine. I hate not knowing why they didn't make it.


I hope you didn't throw them out yet. They might not have been dead. It's common for the tarapoto tads to be immobile shortly after hatching. Did you confirm it by looking at their hearts on the underside to see if they were beating?
What has helped them to swim at first is moving the water to one side and letting the tad sort of 'sit' on the surface of the container until he begins to wiggle. After he is wiggling a bit, I tilt the container and he begins to swim.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

R1ch13 said:


> Really sad news.
> 
> Any ideas at all what happened?
> 
> What water did you use?
> 
> At day 15 they were definately not underdeveloped, and laying still in the water is the norm for a newly hatched tad.
> 
> Im stumped.
> 
> Things will pick up soon I'm sure.
> 
> Richie


I used tadpole tea made with almond leaves. Someone on another board mentioned that I may have put them in too much water. They were in about an inch and a half deep.

There was no heart beat in either tad this morning  I still have them in the cups, though and haven't thrown them out yet.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

earthfrog said:


> I hope you didn't throw them out yet. They might not have been dead. It's common for the tarapoto tads to be immobile shortly after hatching. Did you confirm it by looking at their hearts on the underside to see if they were beating?
> What has helped them to swim at first is moving the water to one side and letting the tad sort of 'sit' on the surface of the container until he begins to wiggle. After he is wiggling a bit, I tilt the container and he begins to swim.


That was the second thing I checked. No hearbeats on either tad. They were both swimming in the water last night, so I thought it was fine.


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## Gumby

Man, I'm sorry to hear this, they developed so nicely. Hopefully you'll have better luck with your next clutches!


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## earthfrog

The water was probably fine unless it was untreated tap water. The chlorine/chloramines can be harmful to the tads. 
Also the tad tea can get moldy, so I just use Kent's Blackwater extract instead to avoid risk of toxicity as well. 
One time I fried a couple tads that sat too close to the window, so be sure they are not getting fried. ;(
Sorry for your loss. 
I think that 2 tablespoons in a little shot glass is all the water they need at that age. Try, try again!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

earthfrog said:


> The water was probably fine unless it was untreated tap water. The chlorine/chloramines can be harmful to the tads.
> Also the tad tea can get moldy, so I just use Kent's Blackwater extract instead to avoid risk of toxicity as well.
> One time I fried a couple tads that sat too close to the window, so be sure they are not getting fried. ;(
> Sorry for your loss.
> I think that 2 tablespoons in a little shot glass is all the water they need at that age. Try, try again!


I used the same water I use to mist the tanks, which is filtered water from my fridge, then I boil it. Since the other tad is fine I guess I probably just put them in too much water too soon  The tad tea was freshly made on Friday, so I dont think it should have been bad at all.. 

I know they weren't getting fried since they were not in light at all. I guess it's time to dispose of them now since they are starting to get slimey type stuff on them. 
I'm keeping my eyes on them to see when/if more tads are transported. There are 6 more film canisters in there waiting!


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> I used the same water I use to mist the tanks, which is filtered water from my fridge, then I boil it. Since the other tad is fine I guess I probably just put them in too much water too soon  The tad tea was freshly made on Friday, so I dont think it should have been bad at all..
> 
> I know they weren't getting fried since they were not in light at all. I guess it's time to dispose of them now since they are starting to get slimey type stuff on them.
> I'm keeping my eyes on them to see when/if more tads are transported. There are 6 more film canisters in there waiting!


I would also use some Aquasafe on your fridge water since there is still chlorine and chloramines in there. It could be possible that they got too much of a dose of this, too, as compared to a small amount when misting.
I think fridge filters are just plain carbon filters unless you specifically got a reverse osmosis filter.


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## Erikb3113

keep them in the hatch out container for a couple days after hatching. give them time to acclimate to their new lungs without having to swim to far to the surface. no experience yet with imis (fingers crossed because i have a pair) but i have had this problem with azureus tads right out of the egg. it seems the ones i forgot about for an extra day or so have done better


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## R1ch13

I'm not convinced about the whole too much water theory.

An inch and a half isn't much at all.

I use little 250ml cups for my thumb tads and start the tads out with about an inch, gradually topping up as they get older.

I have never used tadpole tea for thumbs, I use room temperature bottled spring water and nothing more.

Give spring water a go next time.

Goodluck.

Richie


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## earthfrog

Yeah, it could also have been the temp of the water---I am assuming the water was not cold fresh from the fridge, but I'm betting on chlorine/chloramines.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

I'm not sure what happened obviously, but I appreciate the feedback. 
I decided to pull the tag the parents were raising. It's 21 days out of the egg now. I'm going to just keep it in the same water it was in while in the film canister. 

Here's some pictures from this afternoon.


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## myersboy6

I love the build threads but thread that show the development of the tadpoles is soo COOL! I cant want till my frogs are ready to breed! Tadpoles are so awesome! keep up the good work!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thank you!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo

The tadpole was very active today!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## myersboy6

soo cool! cant wait to see when they start poppin out legs and arms!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo

It seems that the air bubbles are getting larger. He's still moving around as he had been though.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Reef_Haven

What container do you have him in now? What and how often are you feeding him?


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

He is in a small plastic condiment cup- they called them jello shot glasses.
For the pictures I transfer him to a petri dish with fresh water. 
I was putting a fresh tadpole bite in everyday, but am starting to feed him every other day to see if that helps his airbubbles go down. 
I have also switched to using bottled water for him.


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## bristles

Awesome work Kim, just stumbled on this thread & I'm blown away by it. Your photos were good, but after you got the new macro filter they are excellent  your diligence in taking regular photos (and sharing them with us ) and the great way you bring in your family's involvement through your writing makes this thread so cool ! And all the good advice given by the dendroboard family makes me feel like "everyone" has been sitting at your kitchen table looking at & discussing the tadpole. Please keep it coming......THANKS


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## Colleen53

Just found this thread. Sorry to see your first 2 tadpoles pass, however, you are doing a great job with these. Can't believe the picture quality of the tadpoles!! Awesome job!!!!


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## Arpeggio

That's really neat! Thanks for sharing.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thank you for the compliments everyone  I wanted to share my new set of egg photos with you as well.
This is an egg I pulled on Wed the 25th. I thought it was bad because it had a dark spot on it. I figured I would photograph it as it decomposed  
Lucky for me, it's a good egg. Here are the higher quality egg photos.

















































And here is a photo I took last night of daddy!









There are 2 more eggs in the viv that are visible as well.


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## Colleen53

Great quality pictures of those tads. What camera are you using?


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

My camera is a Canon Rebel XTi with an 18-55mm kit lens. I put a 10x magnifying filter on for these shots.


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> He is in a small plastic condiment cup- they called them jello shot glasses.
> For the pictures I transfer him to a petri dish with fresh water.
> I was putting a fresh tadpole bite in everyday, but am starting to feed him every other day to see if that helps his airbubbles go down.
> I have also switched to using bottled water for him.


The standard tadpole bites aren't as nutritious and may have a great deal of ash in them, which can harm their kidneys. Try getting some high-quality fish pellets and grind them up into a powder, only feeding what they need at one time. Remove any uneaten food within an hour if there is a concern. 
The blackwater extract really helps keep the bacterial issue at a minimum, though.


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## WendySHall

For what it's worth (NOT disagreeing with Susan, but sharing my experience)...

I've been regularly feeding my imi tadpoles tadpole bites (from Josh's) among other things, only doing water changes weekly, and have had no problems. I do use tadpole tea made from Indian Almond leaves and also keep them in larger (16 oz) containers.

I'm sorry this is happening to you. I know I've read something about air bubbles before, but I can't remember if there was ever a "for sure" cause mentioned.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

earthfrog said:


> The standard tadpole bites aren't as nutritious and may have a great deal of ash in them, which can harm their kidneys. Try getting some high-quality fish pellets and grind them up into a powder, only feeding what they need at one time. Remove any uneaten food within an hour if there is a concern.
> The blackwater extract really helps keep the bacterial issue at a minimum, though.


It was suggested to me that I feed less often, and change out the water from the filtered water due to the large amounts of gas in the water. I noticed a difference just in the pictures. 
I'm really uncomfortable changing too many variables at once. 
Since switching to bottled water, the bubbles have not grown, and infact seem to have shrunk a bit! 
I also have read mixed reviews on using tadpole bites or fish food. With the next tad, I was thinking of trying blood worms as a food source. I have a bag on hand.

I have betta pellets, but I dont know if they are the same as what you are thinking of me getting.
Thanks Susan!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

WendySHall said:


> For what it's worth (NOT disagreeing with Susan, but sharing my experience)...
> 
> I've been regularly feeding my imi tadpoles tadpole bites (from Josh's) among other things, only doing water changes weekly, and have had no problems. I do use tadpole tea made from Indian Almond leaves and also keep them in larger (16 oz) containers.
> 
> I'm sorry this is happening to you. I know I've read something about air bubbles before, but I can't remember if there was ever a "for sure" cause mentioned.


Hi Wendy,
From what I understand it seems to be either bacteria, or gas. 
It was mentioned that the tadpole "should" morph out fine, so I'm trying not to worry to much over it. He doesn't have any problems swimming around, so I haven't freaked out!
Thank you for your input!!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

The picture quality with your Canon camera with 10X Macro is unbelievable. I was either going with the Canon or Nikon from Costco. I choose the Nikon. Learning to take pictures with it. You are giving me inspiration to learn faster!! Thanks for that.


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## bristles

I'm also amazed with Kim's closeups, so much so that I went online and ordered a 10x filter for my Nikon after reading that she got one (earlier in this thread) for her Cannon. Can't wait until it's in my mailbox  the shots of her tads with clear view of the gills are so just & the shots from underneath with all the internal organs showing is so cool. Kim you are as Colleen said an inspiration for people who like photography and want to sharpen their skills


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## Colleen53

May I ask how much you paid for the filter lens? This could be a Father's Day present AND Kim can show us how to use the lens!!! Only thing missing is some tads of my own. But that shall soon happen


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

bristles said:


> I'm also amazed with Kim's closeups, so much so that I went online and ordered a 10x filter for my Nikon after reading that she got one (earlier in this thread) for her Cannon. Can't wait until it's in my mailbox  the shots of her tads with clear view of the gills are so just & the shots from underneath with all the internal organs showing is so cool. Kim you are as Colleen said an inspiration for people who like photography and want to sharpen their skills



I was very pleased with how they work! I read such mixed reviews on them but they are so worth it.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Colleen53 said:


> May I ask how much you paid for the filter lens? This could be a Father's Day present AND Kim can show us how to use the lens!!! Only thing missing is some tads of my own. But that shall soon happen


Colleen-
$12 for my kit. 1x,2x, 4x, 10x. Here is a listing for some of the lenses for the Nikon camera- 
Amazon.com: Professional Filter Kit For Nikon D3000 and D5000: Camera & Photo

They just screw onto the regular lens front, and you then need to manually focus the lens for all the pictures. Very simple! They would make a great fathers day gift!


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## Colleen53

dreamcatcer98 said:


> I was very pleased with how they work! I read such mixed reviews on them but they are so worth it.


I read them as well, but still am investing in them. Amazon is very good with their return policy if you are not satified. Maybe Kim can chime in with her comments, please. Thank you Dreamcater98 for doing my homework.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

I've put in my own review- and added pictures


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## bristles

I got mine for $20 with no shipping at Amazon.com


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## WendySHall

dreamcatcer98 said:


> It was mentioned that the tadpole "should" morph out fine, so I'm trying not to worry to much over it. He doesn't have any problems swimming around, so I haven't freaked out!


That's good to know. 
I forgot to mention that my tadpole tea is made from bottled spring water...just in case whatever you switched to doesn't work out. But sounds like it might be working good for you.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Blowing bubbles-


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> It was suggested to me that I feed less often, and change out the water from the filtered water due to the large amounts of gas in the water. I noticed a difference just in the pictures.
> I'm really uncomfortable changing too many variables at once.
> Since switching to bottled water, the bubbles have not grown, and infact seem to have shrunk a bit!
> I also have read mixed reviews on using tadpole bites or fish food. With the next tad, I was thinking of trying blood worms as a food source. I have a bag on hand.
> 
> I have betta pellets, but I dont know if they are the same as what you are thinking of me getting.
> Thanks Susan!


No prob. I have lost a lot of tads to the bubble disease when I first started out until I used the blackwater extract/tadpole tea. I couldn't keep the water clean enough except for one that was in a dish just shallow enough to cover him in which there was algae growth. Since I've used that, no issues with bubble gut. I think that can also be caused by endocrine disrupting hormones in water, but not sure on that. If you look at the pic of the undersides in Day 34, you can see some deterioration of the tail from bacteria build-up. I would always remove uneaten food promptly, esp. if you're not using any additives to slow bacterial growth in the water.
The Hikari betta food is good stuff if that's what you're using. I use the P-Pel Spirulina-Enriched Sinking Pellets, recommended to me by Mike Ready. I can send you some for the cost of shipping if you want some to try.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

The pellets I have are Hikiari Betta Bio-gold. 
Does the bacteria in water really build up that fast? I do a complete change of the water every morning for the pictures. There is generally not that much in the way of left overs in the water either. I guess it could just be totally disintegrating though.
I went ahead and added some of the tadpole tea I had made to the water he is in. I certainly don’t want to do anything to harm him.
Thank you for the advice Susan!


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> The pellets I have are Hikiari Betta Bio-gold.
> Does the bacteria in water really build up that fast? I do a complete change of the water every morning for the pictures. There is generally not that much in the way of left overs in the water either. I guess it could just be totally disintegrating though.
> I went ahead and added some of the tadpole tea I had made to the water he is in. I certainly don’t want to do anything to harm him.
> Thank you for the advice Susan!


Yes, in such a small volume of water even nearly invisible particulate food and waste matter can affect the frogs. This risk is greatly lessened when they eat their mother's eggs, which are wholly consumed and far more nutritious and more completely digested than other foods.
Using the tea/extract, you will not need to change the water every day if you only feed what is eaten within an hour or two. I feed just powdered Spirulina algae to the tad until some algae growth is built up in there, and the tad can satisfy itself by consuming the biofilm in the cup in between feedings. I have some extra Spirulina if you want that. I also provide some sort of cover or hiding place to reduce stress on the tad---sunken leaves can help with that.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## myersboy6

you can see his arms slowly developing! So cool!!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## JJhuang

ah you can see his little arms in the air bubble


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

In the second picture you can see the tadpoles little hands! It caught me off guard!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo

The tadpole in the egg hatched the rest of the way out this afternoon. In the picture from this morning you can see the membrane he is partially out of.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

Do you have any idea how much longer the tad with morph out? 
BTW, I just received my macro filters and can't wait to try them out. Any special way you use yours? Thanks for updating each day.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Hi Colleen, from what I understand it could be another month or so. I've been told close to 8 weeks from hatching.

I dont do anything special with the filters, I just screw them onto the lens, and it's ready to go! You do have to manual focus however.


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## Colleen53

Gotcha. So they hopefully will be morphing out into a little froglet in 2 1/2-3 weeks from now if my calculation is correct. Awesome!!
I will play around with my 10X macro filter then. Wish I had some tads to shoot. My first batch were infertile with 2 separate species of darts, so looking forward to another clutch soon. Keep up the great shots!!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Good luck Colleen!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## bristles

To see the green coming in is so sweet !!!


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## frogface

Amazing! Thanks for posting these pics


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Watching him start to color up has been really neat. I just wish he would get his arms popped through!


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## johnc

Very nice photo log and great photos. Well done! For what it's worth, I do not use tadpole tea for my imitators and flavovittata - tadpole tea is only for tapoles that live in water on the forest floor, in my opinion. I use virtually just distilled water because it's the closest thing to rain water, which is what aerial pools of water are flushed with in the wild. If a tad goes into a brand new container of water I rely on it leaching minerals from the food pellets I add at that time. I've never lost a tadpole that looked healthy at hatching. My tads metamorphose at a large size. Hope that helps.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thanks John. I've put the new tads I have in an extremely diluted tad tea for now. Later down the road I'll try just plain water again and see how it goes.
It's hard to know who's advice to follow because so many people do different things! This way seems to be working for now though!


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## JimO

This is a fantastic photo journal. I noticed in the last several photos, that you can clearly see the tad's front legs forming beneath the membranes and from their appearance, they look good so far. I've noticed that frogs with normal front legs look different at this stage even than those with SLS.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

The legs are starting to put on color !!!


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## earthfrog

He looks like he's two-three days from popping the front legs. At this stage I make the water level just high enough to cover their heads and make sure they have plenty of food. After the front legs pop out there is no need to feed any more tadpole food, just put springtails in their hatch-out tank.


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## bristles

Perfect lighting to accent it's growing colors ! good work Kim, with keeping us all feeling like "we" have a new tad to check daily.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Susan, I have lowered the water a bit for now until the front legs pop! It looks like it's getting pretty tight in those airbubbles.



bristles said:


> Perfect lighting to accent it's growing colors ! good work Kim, with keeping us all feeling like "we" have a new tad to check daily.


Thank you  We're debating still on if we are keeping this little guy or not... hard to decide!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

SWEEEEET!!!!! You have earned that little guy!! Now lets see him walk


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Hopefully he will be soon!


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## JimO

YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!! His front legs look great - no SLS.


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## Reef_Haven

I think you should name him Truman.
So far he's spent his entire life with the whole board watching.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Truman it is LOL. Still no sure if I'm keeping this guy or not. I dont really have an extra tank for him


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## JimO

Reef_Haven said:


> I think you should name him Truman.
> So far he's spent his entire life with the whole board watching.


LMAO!!! 

Dreamcatcher, now that Truman is famous and has made a name for himself (get it? Truman?...sorry), his value will greatly exceed that of any other imitator. He will forever be known as Truman, and all his/her offspring (Truman line imitators) will be equally valuble. If Truman is a male, imagine the stud fees you could earn!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

LOL. I'll have to mention his celebrity status when he finds his new home then


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## Tomdarr

This is an awesome photo journal. I couldn't stop reading and looking once I found it. I will definitely be coming back to view this thread over and over again.


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## bgmike64

Inspiring!! Makes me wish I had a decent camera. I watch them grow all of the time and never see color until they're almost finished absorbing their tail. The camera sees what the eyes can't...


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## bristles

Ya Hoo !!! I've been watching those elbows getting pointier & pointier the last few days, I actually have been trying to hurry home from work to check his (her) progress 
As to if you keep it or not I think you will have folks lining up in your front yard for a chance to wrestle two out of three falls to get a chance at it


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

LOL- well that's really cool to hear! I checked on him every 20 min or so last night until midnight. The second leg was popped when I came down stairs this morning. He was scooching himself around in the petri dish for the pictures!


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## dom

looks like a torpedo with limbs and beady little eyes!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

He is beautiful. What happened to DAY 53!!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Yesterday was day 53! I just put the wrong number on it


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## JimO

It'd be cool to have a place where all the photos could be lined up in one place when you are done. Perhaps it could be a sticky.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

I have been uploading them to a freewebs site. Once the tad has morphed out of water I'll post the link


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

Where are you keeping him now that he is walking around and out of water?


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

He's still in his 2 oz container, but I have it tipped at an angle in a FF cup. He isn't on land yet. When he does morph completely I have a shoebox container packed with springs waiting for him.


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## earthfrog

dreamcatcer98 said:


> He's still in his 2 oz container, but I have it tipped at an angle in a FF cup. He isn't on land yet. When he does morph completely I have a shoebox container packed with springs waiting for him.


I also like to put a lot of cover in a small tank like that so they will feel safe. Leaf litter is a good idea.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

In the grow out tank I do have pothos and some leaf litter.


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## JimO

Almost there!


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## earthfrog

I'll always have a soft spot for the standard imis. Cute little bug!
He's metabolizing that extra appendage pretty fast!


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## bristles

He is truly a work of art, thanks so much for sharing !


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

He was climbing around on the inside of the container a few min ago. Should be interesting to get the next couple days pictures now that he's mobile!


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## btcope

for you little truman, i write this original haiku. may you hop very soon...

omm nommy nomm nomm. 
eat my tail. almost a frog 
omm nommy nomm nomm.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo




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## Colleen53

You have done a great job of photo shooting him! Who is next on your list?


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## JimO

It's astounding how quickly they absorb their tails.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Colleen53 said:


> You have done a great job of photo shooting him! Who is next on your list?


Well, if my other frogs start breeding I plan on doing the same photo set with their eggs. It's going to be strange not waking up and taking a picture every morning! 
I realized while I was editing this pic that a cat fur landed on top of the tail area- whoops!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

In his grow out container. More leaf litter was added after the photo was taken.


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Website with all the pictures-
Ranitomeya Imitator Egg and tadpole development - Poison Dart Frog and Dart Frog egg photographs


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Here's the last pictures of Truman.


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## Colleen53

To see the pictures of DAY 1 to now are truly amazing! You did a wonderful job on the photo shooting along with updating everyday. I am sure you have inspired many people including me!! Thank you


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Thank you Colleen. Hopefully I'll be able to document the other species I have in the future as well.


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## bristles

Job well done...


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## Colleen53

Have I missed your other posts of shots on tadpole shooting? I do have my tadpoles, just haven't done what you have. Any updates? Thanks, Colleen


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Unfortunately, my imi's have been the only ones to breed. I've got a leuc calling, but nothing from the Azureus at this point. If they do start breeding I will make sure to take the same pictures of their development as well.


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## ncc2015

Great thread and pictures. I enjoyed reading and looking at all your pix. That would be great if they had these on the many different other kinds of PDFs. Wonderful work. Hopefully we will be seeing more of your work soon.


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## Colleen53

Did you take your tadpole out each morning and put him in clear water? I want to take pictures of mine, but I have tadpole tea in the cups which is kinda hard to see. How much water do you use in each cup? Thanks for the info/advice!!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Yep, each time I carefully spooned him into room temp water, then used the spoon to carefully put him back in his 2oz cup. The pictures were taken in a petri dish, so the water just barely covered him entirely. This guy was only in PLAIN water. I wouldn't recommend switching a tad from what it is used to. I did try to switch him to tadpole tea, and it looked like I was going to loose him for a day or so. Good luck with your pictures!


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

And here are pictures of Truman from the 19th!


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## Colleen53

Thank you for that info. I understand about switching the water. I will experiment on my next tadpoles, which are due any day to be put into cups. I want to take pictures in clear water as well. Truman is beautiful!!! How did you get him to stay on the penny?


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## girlwithafrogtattoo

Good idea!
I just had him in a covered petri dish for the photos, and moved the petri dish around so he was on the penny. He wasn't sitting still long!


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## YoungFrogs412

its an illusion, hes not really on top of the penny.


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## Colleen53

Yes, after posting, I did figure that out! Duh, me . Good idea!!


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## Psyko

Great Documentation!! Love the pics.


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## peekaboogliders

This was amazing and so helpful. My first imi eggs are in the petri dish at about day 6 now. Thank you so much for sharing!!!


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