# Are my tadpoles eating?



## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

I've been raising 2 tadpoles from my R. Uakarii in 4oz delicups for about 2 weeks now (measured from when they were deposited by the male into water). One was deposited about 2 days before the other one, and that one is probably twice the size of the others. 

Neither one seems to eat much. I check their containers every day and remove any uneaten food, and it feels like I'm removing the entire pellet I put in the day before.

I've been feeding 1x tadpole bite pellet coated dusted with spirulina each day. I tried a few fish flakes yesterday to change things up, but also didn't notice much if any had been eaten today when I went to remove uneaten food and waste. 

Their delicups contain a small piece of indian almond leaf, and a sprig of java moss. Is it possible their eating some other naturally occurring source of food from the almond leaf/java moss? Or is it the dusting of spirulina on the tadpole pellets that is sustaining them? If it's not worthy, they are kept between 70-75F.


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

Thumbnail tads, especially newly hatched, seem like they’re eating almost nothing. I’ve been using Omega One mini pellets lately because the size is tiny enough to get eaten before going bad. It’s so small I use a pair of tweezers to grab a single pellet.

edit: I‘m sure they’re munching on biofilm and detritus as well. I include a little piece of oak leaf in my cups for cover and snacking.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

SpaceMan said:


> I've been raising 2 tadpoles from my R. Uakarii in 4oz delicups for about 2 weeks now (measured from when they were deposited by the male into water). One was deposited about 2 days before the other one, and that one is probably twice the size of the others.
> 
> Neither one seems to eat much. I check their containers every day and remove any uneaten food, and it feels like I'm removing the entire pellet I put in the day before.
> 
> ...


I've never seen any of my Ranitomeya uakarii tadpoles eat. Often find leftover pieces in the cups.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

I don't usually notice Ranitomeya tadpoles eating until they are about 3-4 weeks old, at least.

I will often see them eating at night, if you use a flashlight. 

New ones seem like they eat nothing...and are likely snacking on biofilm/algae as @Broseph suggests. If they are growing...they are eating something! They grow extremely fast in the first couple of weeks.


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

Sometimes when Ive watched tads it looks like they even prefer the interiors plaques over the nice foods we give them. The nice composites dont seem to stop their 'invisible' live grazing.


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

Thanks for the replies!

They're both growing, so they're clearly eating something, but it's good to hear that they don't noticeably eat much during their first few weeks. 

I've been pretty meticulous about pipetting out waste and uneaten food every day. If I were using larger containers, like 16 oz deli cups instead of these little 4oz, do you think I could stretch this to every few days?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

SpaceMan said:


> Thanks for the replies!
> 
> They're both growing, so they're clearly eating something, but it's good to hear that they don't noticeably eat much during their first few weeks.
> 
> I've been pretty meticulous about pipetting out waste and uneaten food every day. If I were using larger containers, like 16 oz deli cups instead of these little 4oz, do you think I could stretch this to every few days?


Yes. I almost never remove waste and uneaten food from my Ranitomeya tad cups (I use 16 oz cups, or larger usually)


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

I use 8 oz deli cups, and siphon out waste/change 1/4 of the water every 2 weeks or so.


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

Excellent. I think I'll switch over to larger containers and less-frequent upkeep moving forward.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

SpaceMan said:


> Excellent. I think I'll switch over to larger containers and less-frequent upkeep moving forward.


Do what works for you. I ended up doing less maintenance on them, as I tested to see if there were any growth rate changes or other noticeable differences in the size of the water body and the maintenance done on them. There wasn't, so I slowly moved to smaller and smaller containers.

The biggest difference I have found is that feeding more often, and right until they won't accept food anymore, gives them the best chance of survival once they morph out.


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