# R. ventrimaculatus tadpoles- suggestions for diet



## tahir tareen (Dec 17, 2009)

My vents are laying about a clutch per week right now and the first tadpole hatched from its egg today, which was sort of a surprise i thought it was a few days away from breaking out. I have heard that they are more carnivorous in diet requirements so i'm looking for protein rich food. 

What do ya'll suggest i feed em?

thanks


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## jckee1 (Mar 22, 2011)

I think that vents are carnivorous when it comes to keeping tads together but I feed mine a spirulina based fish food which I crush into a dust and sprinkle into the container and then tapping it a bit so it doesn't remain on the surface of the water. I also put a little bit of Java moss in each container for a spot to hide as they get bigger. Not sure if they feed on this as well. 
Jim


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I haven't raised vent tads, but, lamasii and tinc tads gobble up dried blood worms. I also use spirulina with brine shrimp and fish flakes. 

There are a few good threads about feeding tads. Here's one:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/64001-tad-food-powder-recipe.html


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## btcope (Jan 7, 2009)

my ventrimaculata tads are munching on a bit of spirulina and aquatic frog and tadpole bites. the bites are really easy in my opinion because you just throw one in every other day and they're good to go. i always worry about overfeeding w/ flakes because it can foul the water pretty easily.

good luck with em.


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## tahir tareen (Dec 17, 2009)

thanks for the replies, i gave them a tiny bit of hikari fish food yesterday. I also put in a piece of java moss from my aquarium. Also, i didnt have any distilled water so i put fishtank water in the petri dishes with them. I maintain my aquariums and the water is crystal clear, but i hope that it doesn't cause problems. 

I noticed some daphnia or something swimming around in the dish. Is it likely the tadpoles will eat those?


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## jckee1 (Mar 22, 2011)

I wanted to follow up on this thread. As I said in my previous post, I have always just used a spirulina based food with my tads of vents and imitators for years but after going to the recent mid-atlantic meeting I found that some people do give a more protein based diet using bloodworms as frogface mentioned and even going so far as to drown ff's and let the tads munch on them. I am definitely going to do some experimenting with a few different foods. You are never too old to learn something new.
Jim


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

frogface said:


> I haven't raised vent tads, but, lamasii and tinc tads gobble up dried blood worms. I also use spirulina with brine shrimp and fish flakes.
> 
> There are a few good threads about feeding tads. Here's one:
> http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/64001-tad-food-powder-recipe.html


That was my thread and my recipe. There is some good nutrition info in that thread but keep in mind the original recipe I posted has been tossed out the window. After that thread and much research, I now feed all my thumbnail tads the following.
1) Approximately 4 to 6 parts Ocean Nutrition Formula One flakes--powdered with a coffee grinder. Use short pulses to prevent heating and oxidation.
2) Approximately 1 or 2 parts freeze dried Cyclop Eeze
3) Approximately 1 part Spirulina Flake fish food. I have been using powder but Ed has pointed out that a lot of nutrition is being lost to soaking in the water. Ideally, a gelatin cube would hold the spirulina's nutrition in the best.

I throw a few flies in from time to time when I am thinking of it and have leftovers.

I am having wonderful results with this recipe.


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## jckee1 (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the update Doug. I will give your recipe a try.
Jim


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## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> That was my thread and my recipe. There is some good nutrition info in that thread but keep in mind the original recipe I posted has been tossed out the window. After that thread and much research, I now feed all my thumbnail tads the following.
> 1) Approximately 4 to 6 parts Ocean Nutrition Formula One flakes--powdered with a coffee grinder. Use short pulses to prevent heating and oxidation.
> 2) Approximately 1 or 2 parts freeze dried Cyclop Eeze
> 3) Approximately 1 part Spirulina Flake fish food. I have been using powder but Ed has pointed out that a lot of nutrition is being lost to soaking in the water. Ideally, a gelatin cube would hold the spirulina's nutrition in the best.
> ...


I am using a similar flake food for most of my tads. Is there a reason that you grind it into a powder? My tads seem to eat it just fine left in flake form and it is easier for me to portion out. (i.e. one flake the size of an pencil eraser every other day)


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

phender said:


> I am using a similar flake food for most of my tads. Is there a reason that you grind it into a powder? My tads seem to eat it just fine left in flake form and it is easier for me to portion out. (i.e. one flake the size of an pencil eraser every other day)


The only reason is that it mixes more evenly with the cyclop eeze. You could easily skip the powdering and just feed each ingredient separately.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

I'm lucky enough to already have a bevy of high-grade fish foods for my reef & planted tanks, so I didn't have to buy much, but here's a list of some of the stuff I use:

For newly hatched tads:
-DBSE (decapsulated brine shrimp eggs)
-Spirulina
-SuperPig
-crushed NLS flake
-Java moss, salvinia, duckweed

For established tads- the above, plus:
-Repashy Meat Pie
-New Life Spectrum pellets
-Omega One shrimp pellets
-Hikari Crab cuisine
-SuperPig
-Cyclop-eeze
-Tad bites
-occasional fruit fly

I arbitrarily feed from that list... I've been using mainly Repashy Meat Pie, Cyclop-eeze, SuperPig, and NLS pellets, and randomly feed the other stuff occasionally for variety. 

It has worked well for me so far- up to this point, every tadpole that has come out of the egg for me has emerged successfully as a froglet without health issues. As for water, I've been using 74 degree RO with no water changes (only RO top-offs), a piece of almond leaf, and the aquatic plants mentioned above... this method has been very effective.


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## tahir tareen (Dec 17, 2009)

thanks all, im going to try the ocean nutrition blends. i have six tadpoles and seven developing eggs coming along. The parents have been real active lately so im wondering if more will come.


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