# Tadpole food recomendations



## alex111683 (Sep 11, 2010)

Other than tadpole bites, what do people on here use? I have the flakes pictured. They have 47.% crude protein. Does anyone else use them/recomend them. I just want a well recomended flake food to keep things simple. If you use a combaination of two or more, with success and are easily aquired at a pet store, please let me know. What is your feeding schedule at the different ages of the tads.

I have hatched my first two tads today (G/B Auratus.)


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## erik s (Apr 12, 2010)

Thats what I've been using for years for my azureus tads.


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Here's a link for you .http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/breeding-eggs-tadpoles/66675-favorite-productive-tadpole-food.html 
Lou


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## alex111683 (Sep 11, 2010)

oddlot said:


> Here's a link for you .http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/breeding-eggs-tadpoles/66675-favorite-productive-tadpole-food.html
> Lou


That is a good thread thank you. I saw that one but just wanted more simple recomendations from people. Pumilo seemed to be the only simple answer on there as some of the foods were discontinued or hard to find.


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## PeanutbuttER (Jan 1, 2011)

I was just searching this this morning and I agree that there's a lot of different opinions. I was struggling to find straightforward answers as well. Some people seem to stick to 1 food while others rotate several different things. The conclusion that I came to (for right or wrong) was HBH tadpole bites as a staple with a high quality fish flake or Cyclopeze for variety.


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## alex111683 (Sep 11, 2010)

PeanutbuttER said:


> I was just searching this this morning and I agree that there's a lot of different opinions. I was struggling to find straightforward answers as well. Some people seem to stick to 1 food while others rotate several different things. The conclusion that I came to (for right or wrong) was HBH tadpole bites as a staple with a high quality fish flake or Cyclopeze for variety.


I am coming to the same conclusions as well. I think I am going to rotate between those flakes and hbh tadpole bites.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

I don't have a very high opinion of Tadpole bites. I friend and I tried raising a batch of 10 or 12 standard imitators on them and only got three good froglets out.
Some clarification to the foods I mentioned in the above referenced thread. I don't rotate them. I mix them together using a coffee grinder (very short bursts so you don't heat them up and damage the nutrition). I mix it in small batches to keep it fresh.
2 1/2 Tablespoons fish flake (Ocean Nutrition formula one)
1 Tablespoon freeze dried Cyclop eeze
3/4 teaspoon chlorella
3/4 teaspoon spirulina
There is some question as to how effective the chlorella and spirulina is, as the cell walls are broken, but I raised a lot of tads in the past using ONLY chlorella and spirulina so I figure it can't hurt.
It is working out very well for me so far. Since starting using it I have morphed about 12 Vanzos with no losses, 15 or more Varadero with no losses, 15 or more Green Lamasi with no losses, and 3 Iquitos but 2 were spindly. According to newer research, spindly leg is more likely related to the parents nutrition than the tads.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Tadpole foods are one of the things that has undergone cyclical fads over the last 30 years. When choosing a food for tadpoles, several things should be kept in mind
1) protein is imporant for these tadpoles as they are omniverous leading heavily towards the carnivorous 
2) flake and other foods should be rotated on a similar schedule as supplements, heat, air and humidity will degrade the quality of the foods. and keeping the foods in the frog rooms doesn't help thier shelf life. 
3) rotating or mixing a couple of different brands is a good mechanism to avoid issues with one batch or another. 

I typically use Tetra-min, Ocean nutrition and Cyclopeeze and replace them every 6-8 months. 

Ed


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## nyfrogs (May 1, 2005)

i only use frog and tadpole bites and have used this exclusively for 5 years. i have had not one case of spindley. I raise mostly Tinc's but have used the tadpole bites on others suchs as tricolors with the same sucsess rate. as mentioned above, frogs like Imitators may not do as well on this diet. My Tincs are on land in 50 days at most and are eating melos right off the bat.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

At Josh's, we use tadpole bites mixed with Sera Micron, and very rarely does an unhealthy frog morph out (out of a couple hundred or so a month).


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## Jarhead_2016 (Jan 7, 2010)

I use a combination of Saltwater Flake Food, Freeze dried brine shrimp,HBH tadpole bites, Paprika, and Superpig. This combination works for me. 
-scotty


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

> only use frog and tadpole bites..... i have had not one case of spindley.


It should be noted that evaluating how good a tadpole food is based on the presence of absence of spindly leg, isn't a good yard stick since the data came out demonstrating that the majority of spindly leg can be traced back to vitamin deficiencies in the parents. 

Tadpole bites lack a diversity of carotenoids that tadpoles can use for a variety of things including production of vitamin A. 

Ed


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## jibfest (Dec 1, 2010)

I havent had the greatest success with tad bites either! After I switched to blood worms and a bit of greens (java, duck weed etc) my tads are morphing out at least 1.5 times bigger than they were on tad bites & greens.


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## alex111683 (Sep 11, 2010)

And the debate continues. I guess it seems like everyone has their own method when it comes to tadpole feeding. After some comments I think I might scratch the tadpole bites and go with rotating the tetramin with one or two other fish foods. Where is a realiable place to get cyclopeeze and ocean nutrition?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Marine Depot is a good, reputable dealer that carries both. Dry Fish & Coral Food


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## alex111683 (Sep 11, 2010)

Thank you pumilo!!

So from what I've read on here, this one below (Ocean nutrition formula one flakes) is the preferred? 
Ocean Nutrition Formula One Flake Food

And the cyclop-eeze freeze dried food
Argent Cyclop-eeze Whole Freeze-Dried 30 Gram


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