# Dt's Phyto Plankton with tadpoles?



## Quaz (Nov 13, 2005)

I was wondering if anyones has used Dt's phytoplankton for green water. Is single cell algae beneficial for Tad's. I have four azures and two cobalt tincs that I'd like to breed so I'm learning as much as I can before I find eggs or tadpoles in the tank. Dt's is used in reef aquariums but I believe the algae is cultured in fresh water.

also, I'm having truble keeping water in a shallow dish under a cork husk. It's a glazed ceramic dish. I think the water is evaperating. The tanks are very humid 80+ %.


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## rbrightstone (Apr 14, 2004)

I would not use this product as it is made for saltwater fish. I would be very concerned about the salt content of the solution, as that could not be good for the tadpoles. As for water in the hut, just spray the dish at the same time you mist the tank and it will replace water the frogs soak up.


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## Ghetto Man (Aug 16, 2005)

Quaz,

You are right, there shouldn't be any salt in DT's. There may be something else that's a problem. Although with as anal as reef people are about what they put in their tanks (myself included) it's probably alright. The one concern would be fertilizer. I know people who culture their own phyto and they use fertilizer in the water to stimulate growth. I don't know if DT's does, you may want to email them.

Brady


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I don't think this is a product you should be going out of your way to use, it would be more beneficial to filter feeders.

There are a good number of PDF tadpole foods out there... a good quality tropical fish flake is fine. There are also tadpole mixes made from spirulina/chlorella algae mixes, but this shouldn't be more than 50% of the diet... and honestly I've had much better growth out of tads without algae supplementation. The best foods by far have turned out to be HBH Frog & Tadpole bites, you just have to be careful about overfeeding, thats a LOT of food in a small package. I also make sure to have some leaf detritus for them to snack on... boil some oak leaves until they sink to make the tadpole tea, and then rip up the leftover leaf skeletons for bits for the tadpoles to munch. The softened up leaves are great food with no worries on clouding the water.


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## Quaz (Nov 13, 2005)

great, thanks for the insight


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

I have used Two Little Fishes freeze dried phytoplankton mix on my mantella tadpoles. It works very well.


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## Quaz (Nov 13, 2005)

Do you know what species of algae are in the freeze dried algae. I can't imagine it'd be much different. What benefit do tadpoles get from single celled algae anyway?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

The real reason why I use phytoplankton mixed in my tadpole mix is because of the various carotenoids like astaxanthin that will help froglets color up. Astaxanthin promotes red coloration per se. Spirulina to my knowledge does not contain this. Beta carotene does not help red, but just increases oranges and yellow intensity.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I believe the broader range of carotenoids made available help the frogs color, not just specific groups. Beta Carotenes will help a red animal, just not completely as it needs other (more red) carotenoids - but remember that the colors are made with a range of caroteniods not just caroteniods closest to the color we generally see. I again bring up the example of sweet potato (orange) fed pinheads helped Bri Bri pumilio recover a very large amount of their red/orange coloration... they were not blood red, but far from the dirty orange they had faded to, and were clearly eye catching. Rather than deal with phytoplankton and possibly its associated problems, I prefer to stick to a diet closer to the PDF's natural diet, with Naturose added to the flakes/pellets.

More information on Naturose can be read here.

The affect on mantellas and their tadpoles is a whole other bag of tricks... I don't think the mantella tadpole diet has been figured out to the degree that PDF tadpoles have, but heavier on algaes is probably needed, and the phytoplankton in a form where they can "graze" rather than have to filter it from the water would probably have extra benefits for this group of frogs. Comparing mantella tadpole experiences in an effort to figure out PDF tadpole experiences is like comparing apples to oranges, but the information is helpful for people who keep mantellas.

As for a bit of the original post that I believe was not answered, I would not worry much about keeping water in the petri dish under the hut. The parents lay on typically a "dry" surface, and they keep the eggs moist. Eggs that dry up are not because of lack of water in the dish, but rather bad parental care... tho I don't think this happens often with these guys in such humid tanks where the eggs are quickly discovered.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Or in some anurans like Bombina orientalis the orange red ventral color is due to pterins plus carotenoids which is why cb Bombina orientalis that have not been supplemented with a red pigment end up with yellow bellies as the yellow is supplied by pterin. Supplying these frogs with beta carotene typically increases the yellow pigment as beta carotene is more yellow than red (orange is a combination of yellow and red). 

Ed


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

How would you supplement pterins in the diet?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

see http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... 1871#21871

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... s&start=15

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... c&start=15
(Corey, you were present for many of these conversations..... Your not old enough to be losing your memory you young whippersnapper).. :wink: 

Ed


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I know but even rereading the threads pterins only came up mostly in passing... basically meat food sources? Anyone ever powder them?

I guess I'm sticking to peprika and naturose for now... but that's mostly because I'm investing more time in various types of feeders than the widest range of color supplements I can get. Unless someone powders those pterin sources...


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

The only way to supplement pterins is to make sure there is a sufficient purine base from which they can be synthesized. Unlike carotenoids which are absorbed from a food source and then sequestered (unless it is converted to vitamin A) as a color source, pterins are synthesized by the frog and then stored. 


Ed


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