# Tadpole Food Question



## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

What do you guys feed your tads? I've been feeding mine with either bloodworm gel or water flea nutrient rich gel used for fish/fry. IT's never been a problem and it's quite easy, but quite expensive too. I know a lot of you use spirulina powder. I just bought a container of pure spirulina powder. now what do I do???

do I just dump some powder into the tad water??? How will they find the super fine spirulina particles? Do you have to make a paste or something? With gel, it clumped together and tads would swimp up to it and eat up the clump.

Marty


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## Spar (Mar 27, 2004)

I feed mine Tropical Fish Flakes cumbled up real fine mixed in with crumbled up Spirulina Flakes (75/25 mix Trop/Spir), Algae, Java Moss, Almond Leaves (makes Black Water too), drowned FF's.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

I do my spirulina the same way as Patrick Nabors. He told me to put some powder in a cup and add water to so that it gets into the water. He then adds just enough to color the water a light green. Its a fine powder but the frogs get it.
Dave


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

That's interesting. I thought they would never pick out the spirulina out of the water. So, let me get this straight, 

At what ratio do you mix the spirulina to water? How much do you feed? 

Baby steps Dave  hehe

btw, I'm not sure if you use the same, but the one I got today is practically dust. Seems amazing that they will be able to feed on it. btw, I keep my tads in containers with about 24oz of water with some leaves/moss/etc. Flat boxes, about 2" deep, about 2-5 tads (depending on size) per box.



ED's_Fly_Meat_Inc said:


> I do my spirulina the same way as Patrick Nabors. He told me to put some powder in a cup and add water to so that it gets into the water. He then adds just enough to color the water a light green. Its a fine powder but the frogs get it.
> Dave


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

I use a mix of spirulina, chlorella, and nettle leaf powder. I got some coffee stir sticks from McDonalds, and they work just great for measuring out the food and stirring it into the water. You don't have to worry about squashing the tad like you would with a spoon. As for how much I put in, I just judge it by sight, adding it a little bit at a time until the water turns light green after stirring.


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## benmz (Feb 18, 2004)

Yeah, the powder is extremely fine, but the tads mouth is also extremely small. I just sprinkle it on the top and the tads find it. I have groups of phyllobates tads that actually come right to the top to eat after I put some in.

I also keep my tad food in a salt shaker and just shake a little into each cup/container. I used to stir it in, but I found it doesn't really make a difference at least for me.

I use Ed's Fly Meat tadpole powder which definately has spirulina mixed with other things in it. It has worked great for me so far. The tads also get some extra protein from escaped fruit flys that drown in their containers and occasionally I give them a tiny amount of frozen bloodworms.

-Ben


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

Thanks for the tips, they're much appreciated!




benmz said:


> Yeah, the powder is extremely fine, but the tads mouth is also extremely small. I just sprinkle it on the top and the tads find it. I have groups of phyllobates tads that actually come right to the top to eat after I put some in.
> 
> I also keep my tad food in a salt shaker and just shake a little into each cup/container. I used to stir it in, but I found it doesn't really make a difference at least for me.
> 
> ...


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I am currently running a test with 25 auratus tads on 5 different foods. I can tell you that there are clear winners and losers and after they have all morphed out I will post my findings.


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

Sounds like a plan. Keep me posted. What 5 types are you trying out ?




kyle1745 said:


> I am currently running a test with 25 auratus tads on 5 different foods. I can tell you that there are clear winners and losers and after they have all morphed out I will post my findings.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Algae Mix 
Sera Micron
Fish Food
Brine Shrimp
Frog Bites


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

Sounds good... fish food and frog/tadpole bites worked very poorly for me and dirtied the water easily. I also tried frozen mosquito lavea, frozen brine shirimp & krill, those had a tendency to stink up the water. Best thing I ever found were bloodworms in rich nutrient gel and water fleas in nutrient rich gel. Tads really go after that stuff and grow big and healthy, plus the stuff clumps up and is easy to get to. I'm curious how your algea mix will do.



kyle1745 said:


> Algae Mix
> Sera Micron
> Fish Food
> Brine Shrimp
> Frog Bites


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

How often were you feeding? I can tell you that in my test so far that frog bites and fish food are winning. To the point where some of the others do not even have back legs yet and the ones on frog bites and fish food are about to pop front legs.


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## *GREASER* (Apr 11, 2004)

Right now im only useing Chlorella and Stinging Nettles. I mix it about 50/50 make a paste out of it and spread it on plastic wrap for it to dry. Then I crack it up into little shavings and store them for feeding. Then all I have to do is drop in some of the little chips. 

I really want to get some spirulina. So far my the vents that I have been raising are doing well on this they are large and have some nice back leggs on them. So I dont know if the absence of spirulina will cause any problems. I also keep java moss and almond leaves in the cups.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Dunno how much dartfrog tads(haven't seen personally) eat but has anyone tried using live blackworms? I wonder if you could simply put in a single worm or tiny bits for the tadpole. Providing they are healthy worms they shouldn't die and I suppose the tads could nibble on them.


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2005)

*What about this?*

http://www.blackjungle.com/Merchant2/me ... _Code=BJTS

I have heard that this is a vary good product to use dont get mad at me if I am wrong I am just going by what I have heard but ask the other more advanced people on the forums before you use it. and just wondering has anyone used this I was wondering if it was a good food for tads.

Brian Bannon


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

Never used that stuff, but you can get it cheaper at herpsupplies.com:

http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?id=Sera-0720


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

*frog bites*

Where do you all get frog bites? I have not seen that product.

I am using 50:50 spirulina and nettles. The spirulina seems to stink up the water quickly for me though. I am not impressed at the spead my vent tads are growing with that combo though and am open to a different recipe.

Shawn


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## mikejorg (Jul 9, 2004)

*tadpole feeding*

"How will they find the super fine spirulina particles? Do you have to make a paste or something? With gel, it clumped together and tads would swimp up to it and eat up the clump."

Most tadpoles are filter feeders. They have structures that produce mucus, which aids the gills in filtering out food when water is pumped through the oral apparatus (mouth). Suspended particles in the water, or food that has been rasped from the substrate is filtered out and ingested. So you can vary the method in which you offer food to your tads based on the number that you are raising within a container. If you are raising hundreds of tads, offering a food that can be suspended in the water column is optimal (something like SeraMicron); this decreases competition for food because everyone has access to it. Fewer numbers of tads do well when fed pellets as well as food that can be suspended in the water (provided that the suspension is not too concentrated). 

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Mike


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Many tads will readily chew up and eat blackworms and are a good source of protien. 


Ed


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## rmelancon (Apr 5, 2004)

Tetramin tablets for bottom feeders, cheap, easy, doesn't foul the water, big fat froglets.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1


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## v_traves (May 14, 2005)

I use a combination mix of human grade spirulina and chlorella from GNC. You don't have the fillers that a flake food with spirulina and chlorella would have. I also use a product called Frog and Tadpole bites from HBH mixed in wild the algaes. I have great success with leucomelas raising them this way. I have only have one case of spindly leg.


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## ErickG (Nov 28, 2004)

I use a mixture of crushed Hikari Algae wafers, spirulina and Sera micron. I'm not sure what works and doesnt work. All my tadpoles are growing at different rates.


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## Joe Nickerson (Nov 14, 2004)

*Tetramin Tablets*

Rob,

I have tried using the Tetramin Tablets and have cut them into quarters and it still seams to cloud the water. I am using about 20 oz water per tad.
Are you using a whole tablet?
How much water in each container?
How many tads per container?

Thanks for your input!


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