# When to move the egg/tadpole to water?



## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

Hi I've been reading the egg and tadpole care sheets and can't seem to figure out when to move the tads to water?

I have 6 eggs, looks to be about day 8 and they are starting to show gills etc. I was curious about how and when to move the tads into water. Do you move them all at once, or once they start flapping around outside the egg? What if all the tads aren't out of the eggs? 

I've been through mold problems for a few weeks so I'd love to get these guys to morph to froglets.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Move the tads to shallow water when they break out of their egg sack at around 2 weeks. They won't all break out of their eggs sacks at exactly the same time. With my azureus I just leave them in the petri dish till they all are hatched out and then move them to individual containers.


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## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

Thanks, I took them out on a magnolia leaf? Any suggestions on how to submerge it in shallow water or would they be fine with the water that collects on the leaf during mistings? The tads are in a small pool that grows after mistings on the leaf.


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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

They'll be fine with just the water from occasional spritzing. Just make sure the petri dish with piece of leaf on it is placed into a larger container such as a plastic sandwich container. This larger container is often lined with a wet paper towell to provide high humidity when the sandwich lid is placed loosely on top. 
I don't flood the eggs until the first tad hatches (has been 16 - 23 days for me). The tad will all of a sudden be lying straight instead of the usual C-shape. When that happens, flood the petri without totally submerging the eggs and as the tad wiggles free I scoop him up in a plastic spoon and transfer him to his growout container. The others will soon follow suit.

Here is a picture of my sandwich box setup. A deli lid is placed in the larger container. This one is surrounded by shallow water to keep humidity up. I now find it better to use a wet paper towell lining instead. The bottle contains 10oz of water with 4 drops of meth blue. I use this spray for light spritzing every couple days to control fungus. 









George


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## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

Thanks guys, I think I've got it now. Any suggestions on tadpole containers. Is it better to keep them in shallow water, like a few inches. I've got a 2.5 g tank that I was thinking of using for them. They are auratus tads so I assume that I can keep them together, like all 6 in the 2.5g. Lastly wold I need a filter on the tank or does water clarity not matter. I have heard of mixed results with both water changes every few days and no water changes ever! What do you do?


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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

Your idea sounds good. I don't have any experience with auratus but I know that some species of tads are cannabilistic. Others have had good luck raising all their tads communally, even the cannibals, by providing heavy cover and lots of food in a larger setup as you describe. I thought about doing that but instead have gone to raising them individually in deli cups (10-12 oz I believe). I find that it doesn't take long to fill up an entire shelf with tad containers. So I have opted to go with smaller rather than bigger. If I went with 2.5 gal tanks I think it wouldn't be long before I need a new building. Those darn frogs can be quite prolific breeders. Check out AZDR's gallery. They raise tads individually in 10 oz drinking cups placed in 12 quart rubbermaids, if I'm interpretting it right. 
George


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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

One other point I wanted to make. When your tads first hatch, they need some time to rest. They will be pretty listless for a couple days. Keep the water shallow (.75 inch) for a few days and don't feed until the fourth day. Otherwise you are just polluting their water. My research tells me that even though they have hatched they most often are incapable of eating and functioning normally until their internal gills are fully developed and the oral plate that separates the mouth cavity from the esophagus is resorbed. Some individuals appear more developed than others at the time of hatching and are eating within a couple days. Some are born sort of premature and may even have some external gills on them that may take a full 4-5 days before they are fully functional tadpoles. Fine muscular control and coordination is usually not achieved until they are a week old. Also expect some losses of tads. It's heartbreaking to nurture a clutch of eggs and have all tads hatch, only to have some of the tads die on you. Not always your fault, some are born damaged I believe, especially from a young pair of frogs just starting out with their career as breeders.


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