# My first tadpoles, and what now?



## nelcadiz (Jun 27, 2007)

Hi guys!!, I have two imitator Varadero eggs, it develops in tadpoles, they are my first tadpoles, what should to do?, water type, water changes, temperature, feeding... 
Some threads interest?


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## johnachilli (Feb 8, 2007)

I use aged tap water and throw some leaves in the cup, no water changes

I feed lightly about once a week

Room temperature


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## nelcadiz (Jun 27, 2007)

johnachilli said:


> I use aged tap water and throw some leaves in the cup, no water changes
> 
> I feed lightly about once a week
> 
> Room temperature


But..what type of food?, what type of leaves?, can I use reverse osmosis water?,


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Don't use r.o. water. Use spring water or aged tap water. You can get tadpole food from Petsmart. You can also leave the tads in with the parents and let them raise them.


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## shockingelk (May 14, 2008)

Tadpole care sheet: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/showthread.php?p=190101

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

nburns said:


> Don't use r.o. water. Use spring water or aged tap water. You can get tadpole food from Petsmart. You can also leave the tads in with the parents and let them raise them.


Josh's Frogs uses RO.

I have never had a problem with RO.

Why do you say not to use RO?


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

johnachilli said:


> I use aged tap water and throw some leaves in the cup, no water changes
> 
> I feed lightly about once a week
> 
> Room temperature


Why don't you do Water Changes?

I do.

Bad water will kill the frogs.

All that uneaten food and waste produces Ammonia.


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## cowboys22 (Mar 30, 2011)

I used aged tap water in a sterilized mason jar dropped in a few pieces of magnolia leaves and never changed water..those leaves added tanning to the water(they loved it)..about 2 or 3 inches of water..feed them a small amount of fish flake food about twice a weak and they always morph into nice robust strong froglets..my water never turns bad I mean the puddles and plant they are raised in in the wild is never changed..


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## TheCoop (Oct 24, 2012)

Your best bet is to leave them in with the parents.. They will do all the work..


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

that Frog Guy said:


> Bad water will kill the frogs.


Poppycock. I don't do water changes either. The tads do just fine. They're tougher then you think...

I would leave them in with the parents myself. The male will call the female over to feed them. Interesting behaviour for sure!


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## Tincman (Jan 18, 2013)

Hi, everyone is right here, dont panic trying to find the right way to do things because there isnt one. Ive been into darts for about a decade,had reptiles & kept & bred other exotic animals since I was old enough to walk to the store & buy them. The one thing that is synonymous to all animal husbandry is that there are many ways to do it right. All you can do is minimize risk & try to provide the best environment for the task at hand. I have many friends that have success with there Tadpoles changing the water as often as daily or as little as not at all & they all still have an extremely high mortality rates. The RO water will work, Spring water will work, treated tap water or distilled water will work as well. Changing the water is not as important as spot cleaning for uneaten food as this will be the most detrimental water contaminant potentially creating ammonia if left alone.. A Turkey baster is your best friend with all things "tadpole", scooping them out of water, Sucking out some waste or uneaten food ect.. Ive raised tadpoles on the red little Betta bites & have had the last 40 or so come out of water healthy without losing 1. All I do is spot cleaning every 3rd day or so when I visibly see waste & every week or so I do a water change to room temperature water I treat with an aquarium water conditioner to remove metals.. It takes 2 seconds to treat 5 gallons of water in a paint bucket.. Is my way right, no, but it works for me. Understanding the animals needs the one thing Ive learned is that there are many ways to do it right as long as the basic requirements of the species you deal with are met.


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

cowboys22 said:


> the puddles and plant they are raised in in the wild is never changed..


Purely for arguments sake... yes it is. Rain changes the water...


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## Phyllobates azureus (Aug 18, 2010)

Sphagnum moss can also be used as tad food, plus they like to hide under it.


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## johnachilli (Feb 8, 2007)

that Frog Guy said:


> Why don't you do Water Changes?
> 
> I do.
> 
> ...


in my opinion and experience changing water is way too time consuming and unnecessary, I feed lightly only once a week so there is no buildup of uneaten food and the bacteria in the water can breakdown the waste. I have very high success rates with my raised tadpoles

I believe somewhere on the board someone did a comparison and found not changing the water lead to larger froglets and faster morph times.


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## Dendrobati (Jul 27, 2012)

johnachilli said:


> in my opinion and experience changing water is way too time consuming and unnecessary, I feed lightly only once a week so there is no buildup of uneaten food and the bacteria in the water can breakdown the waste. I have very high success rates with my raised tadpoles
> 
> I believe somewhere on the board someone did a comparison and found not changing the water lead to larger froglets and faster morph times.


Gamble did an experiment with and without water changes and the tadpole *WITH* water changes not only started getting color faster but also morphed out a few days earlier. 

Regarding getting larger froglets without water changes, I do not know. From my experience, there is no difference. 

I do water changes in some types of tadpoles, because if I don't they will die (that is the only difference in care between this ones and others that don't get water changes). 

Marta


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## johnachilli (Feb 8, 2007)

I hadn't seen the Gamble experiment, I just took a quite skim over it

Here is an older discussion that I was thinking of:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/br...22765-those-obsessed-their-tadpole-water.html

Although they state they have stinky water, my water doesn't smell and looks very clear throughout development. Again I feed only once a week and not heavy I am not looking for record morph times so I am happy with the slower morph times and less work feeding and changing tad water.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

I opened up a cup with a Tadpole in it that I did not change the water in and it stinks really bad.

I am going to test the water and will let you know the results.


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## Dendrobati (Jul 27, 2012)

johnachilli said:


> I hadn't seen the Gamble experiment, I just took a quite skim over it
> 
> Here is an older discussion that I was thinking of:
> http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/br...22765-those-obsessed-their-tadpole-water.html
> ...


I think as long as the tadpoles survive and morph out healthy, they don't need water changes. 

Some, however, by my experience, need water changes or they won't make it. If your method works for you, awesome. 

Specially when there are a bunch of tadpoles, the less work the better (as long as they are healthy), I agree with you. It doesn't bother me either if they are faster or slower to morph, as long as they are healthy. 

Marta


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## Dendrobati (Jul 27, 2012)

that Frog Guy said:


> I opened up a cup with a Tadpole in it that I did not change the water in and it stinks really bad.
> 
> I am going to test the water and will let you know the results.


Well I don't think it is a good thing that it stinks... Depends on what you put in there though, if you added algae it can stink even though it might not be dirty. 

Let us know the results!

Marta


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

Dendrobati said:


> Well I don't think it is a good thing that it stinks... Depends on what you put in there though, if you added algae it can stink even though it might not be dirty.
> 
> Let us know the results!
> 
> Marta


All I added was Frog Bites and Fish Flakes.
Nothing else besides the Tadpole and RO/DI Water.


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## nelcadiz (Jun 27, 2007)

Well guys, today I have spent a tadpole to a tub with water from a neoregelia the same cage, the other is still in the egg yolk a little ... but I have not seen it move ... I leave it if he is alive and still evolving?, I'm first-in this and are my first tadpoles!


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## nelcadiz (Jun 27, 2007)

He is with a mixed RO/water from a neoregelia/water house, a bit of java moss and magnolia leaf. The food is turtle food.


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