# Where did my tadpoles go?



## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

I have a 2.1 Santa Isabel trio. They have been breeding like crazy for the last few months. I had been pulling each egg clutch, but I wanted to get pics with tadpoles on the males back so I left the last couple egg sacs in the tank. There were two going at once and it seemed one for each male. When the first clutch looked almost ready I added a bunch of 1.5oz cups with water for deposition. The next day the tadpoles were in the cups and I removed all but two. Last night the second clutch hatched but I cant find any tadpoles. The egg sac is empty and the cups still have water but there are no tadpoles anywhere. Except the two from the previous clutch. The clutch had at least 10-12 viable eggs. Im just wondering if anybody has had this happen and might have an idea where they went.


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## Hill (Jan 6, 2014)

Looks like the males beat you to it. Do you have any broms or small pools that the dad might think was a better location?



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## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

No broms. I placed several small cups with water and there is a petri dish that still has 2 tadpoles in it. I looked in the film canisters but nothing. The last time the tadpoles were distributed throughout the cups and I collected them no problem. I just think its odd that I cant even find one. Thanks for the help.


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## PDFanatic (Mar 3, 2007)

They are hiding them somewhere because they don't want you to pull their tadpoles. Think about if you were them. You would think something is killing all their offspring. But really you are just helping them out by pulling the tads and raising them yourself. There has to be somewhere they have them that you can't find. Frogs are ingenious little creatures!


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

PDFanatic said:


> They are hiding them somewhere because they don't want you to pull their tadpoles. Think about if you were them. You would think something is killing all their offspring. But really you are just helping them out by pulling the tads and raising them yourself. There has to be somewhere they have them that you can't find. Frogs are ingenious little creatures!


Life will always find a way!


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## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

Still no sign of tads. i checked the drainage layer thinking maybe they go down there some how. Cant find anything. Do males ever eat tadpoles? Cant help but try and think of other things that could have happened.


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## PDFanatic (Mar 3, 2007)

I would be willing to bet if you stop poking around and just keep misting/doing your normal routine. You will probably have a pleasant surprise one day when you are looking around.


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## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

Thanks kinda what I was hoping for. I left two tads from the previous clutch in hopes that they would grow up in the tank. Good thing there are plenty of springs in the substrate. Thanks for all the help!


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## PDFanatic (Mar 3, 2007)

Best thing to do is to keep your hands out of there. You could potentially stress them out and they may abandon the tadpoles/eggs. Besides that they are Santa Isabel, the things breed more than mice and rabbits lol. You will have about 20 million more eggs to experiment with. Good luck!


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

I once saw a friend's tank with a similar problem. It was a Tinc tank with a pond. Male deposited into pond. Tads were able to find a way under the false bottom. Tad grew and morphed under the false bottom. My friend had been watching the situation, and he was not very happy the day I was over. He was planning on stripping the viv to save the young tad before it completed it's morph and drowned.
PLEASE, don't panic and strip your viv. You have 2 months to watch and see if something like this has occurred.

Keep in mind that a new tad can be next to invisible in a fresh film canister. In a pond or a false bottom, with some detritis or a leaf on the bottom, a tad can be as invisible as it wants to be. Often, I don't find a tad by seeing the tad. I find him by seeing movement, or even just a tiny swirl of mulm at the bottom of the pond/film canister.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Haha, I just noticed. Sante Isabel and you are worried about 10 to 12 eggs? From what I've heard about the morph, you have about 3000 more eggs due over the next month.  Maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but there will be plenty more.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Pumilo said:


> Haha, I just noticed. Sante Isabel and you are worried about 10 to 12 eggs? From what I've heard about the morph, you have about 3000 more eggs due over the next month.  Maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit, but there will be plenty more.



Nope, no exaggeration there... Haha

Seriously, they just breed and breed and breed. Be conscious of what you are going to do with all those babies. These frogs don't "sell well" at all since they breed so readily and there is a healthy supply of them. People that didn't plan ahead have been stuck in the unenviable position of having a ton of babies that they can't even give them all away. Then they have a hard time feeding and caring for all those frogs and it doesn't end well.

Awesome and interesting frogs, but I never pull anything from my tank unless someone asks me for them. If you already have a few clutches pulled, I'd let them be for a little while.


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## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

I had been pulling the clutches. But since Iv started leaving them in the tank there tends to be two or even three clutches at the same time. I was hoping they would slow down if I left a few clutches and tads in the tank but it seems the only thing that makes them stop is running a dry season. And yes I am aware of their ability to breed like rabbits. Thanks everybody!


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