# Tadpole floating to top?



## LeeLee1983

This just started within an hour or two, I can home and looked in my aquarium and he was fine. When I came and checked on him maybe an hour or 2 later, he was floating a bit, but still upright, maybe a little sideways. He is swimming around the top of the water right now. He seems to be able to swim down a bit slightly, but end up going back up. Could he have possibly swallowed an air bubble on accident? Or should I change the water? He is currently in rainwater from outside, with a bit of brown algae at the bottom that he eats (it was in the rainwater too). The attached picture is him. I can send a video too if necessary. If the image quality is too bad I can try to take another. An immediate answer would be appreciated!


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## LeeLee1983

Update: He seems to be able to swim down a little better, but is still going back up. The water's been in there for almost a week (been in the tank since last Friday) but if anyone can help then please reply!


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## LeeLee1983

He seems to be completely upside down now. He's not dead though. Could it be there is too much food in the water? It's just the brown algae, but the water isn't really cloudy or anything. Or maybe it's ammonia in the water? I may use some Deer Park bottled water and some more of the rain water outside to change the current water.

Edit: he seems to be able to swim down even more now, and more upright. Hopefully he'll get better soon. There isn't really a visible bubble in him that you can see, either (not that there was one anyway).


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## Betta132

Corydoras do that when they swallow air by mistake. Changing the water is probably a good idea, but this should work itself out.


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## LeeLee1983

Betta132 said:


> Corydoras do that when they swallow air by mistake. Changing the water is probably a good idea, but this should work itself out.


Would it be the same with corydoras as it is with tadpoles?


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## 55105

My tadpoles do this occasional. Always seems to correct itself.


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## mark c

Use clean distilled water (or rain water, I guess). 
Lay off the food for a few days.


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## LeeLee1983

mark c said:


> Use clean distilled water (or rain water, I guess).
> Lay off the food for a few days.


Would Deer Park work? It's spring water, so I suppose it should.


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## LeeLee1983

port_plz said:


> My tadpoles do this occasional. Always seems to correct itself.


 Thanks for the reassurance!


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## LeeLee1983

It seems to me he's all better now! I'm kinda new at raising tadpoles, and I only have one, so I'm trying to make sure I do the best for it.


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## AuroraK

LeeLee1983 said:


> It seems to me he's all better now! I'm kinda new at raising tadpoles, and I only have one, so I'm trying to make sure I do the best for it.


I am on my first clutch ever and they aren't even tadpoles yet so I read this with interest (and worry) - very happy to hear it is better!


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## LeeLee1983

AuroraK said:


> LeeLee1983 said:
> 
> 
> 
> It seems to me he's all better now! I'm kinda new at raising tadpoles, and I only have one, so I'm trying to make sure I do the best for it.
> 
> 
> 
> I am on my first clutch ever and they aren't even tadpoles yet so I read this with interest (and worry) - very happy to hear it is better!
Click to expand...

Yep! Even this morning he is better!


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## Dendviv

Can you please offer a follow-up to your little ones' situation. I really hope it got better. I am currently having a scare with one of my green Sipaliwini tadpoles. Actually they're all concerning me. I currently have 4 Tad's and one in particular is stressing me out. It's also floating, upside down and barely wiggles if at all when I try to encourage it to swim right side up. 

I admit the water temperature was way below what is recommended, but I have also read through many avenues that water temp isn't a big deal so long as it isn't on either extreme. Forgive my ignorance if it is for I am new to the dart frog world but I have been researching this information along with care and husbandry of dart frogs for well over two years in preparation of this fascinating hobby and interest. 

Please any information you or anyone can give me would be appreciated.


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## Encyclia

I forgot to say it at the time this post came up, but I think it's important to note that things sometimes happen during the massive changes that it takes to get a frog from egg to adult. Frog metamorphosis is extensive and lots of things have to go right for it to happen correctly. Even if your husbandry is perfect, there will be occasional sad instances where something will go wrong. Unless this is a pattern, it is not cause for concern. Having said that, it is preferable that these problems happen as early as possible in the development cycle. It is not necessarily a bad thing that a tadpole has something wrong with it. If a tadpole doesn't make it, that is almost certainly a sign that, if it had been able to morph, there would have been something pretty serious wrong with it and the keeper might have been forced to make some hard decisions about long-term survival. I would much rather have to dispose of a tadpole body than decide whether to cull a froglet because it will not have a good quality of life going forward. 

Most of the time tadpoles do weird stuff, it corrects itself before too long. If it doesn't correct, however, that might not be a bad thing in the long run. If you have bred the tads yourself, it's a bummer, but you will likely have more clutches to replace the tadpole. If you bought them, it's a bigger bummer, but you can probably buy more down the line. Take this possibility into account when you buy tadpoles. There are no guarantees that they will morph properly. Many people think that that the reduced cost mitigates this risk. I am on the fence, but I have not previously sold many tadpoles because I don't have a good feel for the risk I am passing on to the buyer.

Anyway, please don't feel too bad about losing an occasional tadpole. It happens and it may not have anything to do with how you are taking care of your frogs. Just try hard to use best husbandry practices and it will all work out in the long run.

Mark


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## Skidd

Encyclia said:


> I forgot to say it at the time this post came up, but I think it's important to note that things sometimes happen during the massive changes that it takes to get a frog from egg to adult. Frog metamorphosis is extensive and lots of things have to go right for it to happen correctly. Even if your husbandry is perfect, there will be occasional sad instances where something will go wrong.


Thanks for this. I was looking exactly for this a few weeks ago after losing a couple of nearly morphed tads. It’s my first time raising froglets and while I’m sure my methods aren’t perfect, all the others seem healthy and my instinct was that sometimes things just go wrong when transitioning to froghood.


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## Encyclia

Skidd said:


> Thanks for this. I was looking exactly for this a few weeks ago after losing a couple of nearly morphed tads. It’s my first time raising froglets and while I’m sure my methods aren’t perfect, all the others seem healthy and my instinct was that sometimes things just go wrong when transitioning to froghood.


Sounds familiar. If you bought them, they are subjected to stress that they wouldn't experience in the wild (I don't recall the put-them-in-a-plastic-cup-and-shake-them-around-for-a-while phase of development in the wild). If they are from a pair or group that you own and they are the first, it usually takes time for them to figure out how to do things right. It also takes a while for proper supplementation to get the balance right in the parents. If you stick with the hobby, you probably will hardly remember losing a couple of tads with all of the successful froglets you will raise in the future. Just stick with it and don't let it get you down.

Mark


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## Skidd

Encyclia said:


> Sounds familiar. If you bought them, they are subjected to stress that they wouldn't experience in the wild (I don't recall the put-them-in-a-plastic-cup-and-shake-them-around-for-a-while phase of development in the wild). If they are from a pair or group that you own and they are the first, it usually takes time for them to figure out how to do things right. It also takes a while for proper supplementation to get the balance right in the parents. If you stick with the hobby, you probably will hardly remember losing a couple of tads with all of the successful froglets you will raise in the future. Just stick with it and don't let it get you down.
> 
> Mark


The funny thing was these were kind of in the middle of the pack timewise. I had some unfertilized eggs at first, but my first few actual tadpoles turned out great! But yeah, I tried not to overly worry. And the truth is, while I’ve enjoyed the process of raising this group, I also realized I’m NOT that into the breeding aspect of keeping darts! It’s given me great appreciation of folks who do this on a large scale, but it’s not something I’m planning to do on a regular basis.


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## Dendviv

Mark, you have a way with words and an intuitive reasoning behind that process. I feel you picked up precisely what my situation was and you empathized from your own experience. Thank you for that flicker of hope that you provided me and hopefully others with your response. 

As a follow-up to my tadpole situation, yes about an hour later that little one was gone. I had been following all recommended information from the top frog site sellers and following YouTube channels from others who have more extensive experience as well as folks who are as dedicated like you who offer tremendous insight and knowledge from your own frog keeping that I felt I had it all covered. It is disappointing to have a loss especially when you feel you've done pretty much everything right. 

When I discovered that little tadpole floating like that I had an inkling that the water temperature might be the cause. For I didn't see a little air bubble as some people here have experienced and nothing I had read or heard about would confirm that to me unless someone here can, I didn't see why it would actually be it. Regardless, I went and got my aquarium heater and set my Tad's up in a larger plastic container with a few inches of water and turned it to the lowest setting, which is 68°F. To me that is about room temperature and mildly warmer too than what my actual room temp is at. I live in Los Angeles and currently for example we've been having rains all week and temperatures in the low 50's at night to mid 60's in the day time. The tad didn't last an hour after the temp balanced out in the container (I knew because I could no longer see a little heart beat and it didn't budge anymore when I tried to encourage it to swim). 

It's been two days since then and so far my other little ones are doing fine. I've been keeping an eye on them and the water temp is staying consistent (Goldilocks zone). 

My fear of losing them had nothing to do with water temp in the first place but had been based on not feeding them ENOUGH. All information from experts point to feeding very little if at all. I feel like that may have played a part in the loss of the tad. I understand tadpoles feed on algae build up and other small water based plant life in the wild. I have been feeding 1 to 2 tadpole bites (which are about the size of a grain of sand literally) per tadpole once every two to three days. I can't gage how old these Tad's are but I believe between two and three weeks from hatching. In a week or so I will increase their feeding to 2-3 tadpole bites every 2-3 day's in hopes that they will have enough. I believe that will increase their well being. 🙂 Does anyone do something different with their overall feeding process and care that can give some of us hopeful newbies more to rely on? 

I have great appreciation for what you've offered here Mark and want to say thank you for alleviating my feeling of guilt. Because regardless of me believing I am doing everything right I still could be doing something wrong.


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## Encyclia

Dendviv said:


> Mark, you have a way with words and an intuitive reasoning behind that process. I feel you picked up precisely what my situation was and you empathized from your own experience. Thank you for that flicker of hope that you provided me and hopefully others with your response.
> 
> As a follow-up to my tadpole situation, yes about an hour later that little one was gone. I had been following all recommended information from the top frog site sellers and following YouTube channels from others who have more extensive experience as well as folks who are as dedicated like you who offer tremendous insight and knowledge from your own frog keeping that I felt I had it all covered. It is disappointing to have a loss especially when you feel you've done pretty much everything right.
> 
> When I discovered that little tadpole floating like that I had an inkling that the water temperature might be the cause. For I didn't see a little air bubble as some people here have experienced and nothing I had read or heard about would confirm that to me unless someone here can, I didn't see why it would actually be it. Regardless, I went and got my aquarium heater and set my Tad's up in a larger plastic container with a few inches of water and turned it to the lowest setting, which is 68°F. To me that is about room temperature and mildly warmer too than what my actual room temp is at. I live in Los Angeles and currently for example we've been having rains all week and temperatures in the low 50's at night to mid 60's in the day time. The tad didn't last an hour after the temp balanced out in the container (I knew because I could no longer see a little heart beat and it didn't budge anymore when I tried to encourage it to swim).
> 
> It's been two days since then and so far my other little ones are doing fine. I've been keeping an eye on them and the water temp is staying consistent (Goldilocks zone).
> 
> My fear of losing them had nothing to do with water temp in the first place but had been based on not feeding them ENOUGH. All information from experts point to feeding very little if at all. I feel like that may have played a part in the loss of the tad. I understand tadpoles feed on algae build up and other small water based plant life in the wild. I have been feeding 1 to 2 tadpole bites (which are about the size of a grain of sand literally) per tadpole once every two to three days. I can't gage how old these Tad's are but I believe between two and three weeks from hatching. In a week or so I will increase their feeding to 2-3 tadpole bites every 2-3 day's in hopes that they will have enough. I believe that will increase their well being. 🙂 Does anyone do something different with their overall feeding process and care that can give some of us hopeful newbies more to rely on?
> 
> I have great appreciation for what you've offered here Mark and want to say thank you for alleviating my feeling of guilt. Because regardless of me believing I am doing everything right I still could be doing something wrong.


Thanks for the kind words, and I am sorry you are having issues with your tads. Sounds like you are doing all the right research to address the problem.

Mark


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