# Making Tadpole Tea



## Pirateglow (Jul 29, 2008)

Hello, I am going to brew up some tadpole tea and know the basics of using Indian Almond Leafs and boiling them to release the tannins. I also have a huge California Oak tree in my backyard and was wondering if anyone has used Oak leaves before. Do you use the same process (boiling)? Any other leaves people use to make the tea? I am interested in what methods and natural ingredients you use to make your water ready. 

Here is my plan. What do you think? It's for Azureus Tads: 
1. Start with RO Water 
2. Boil Clean Oak Leaves into it
3. Allow Water to Sit for Several Days
4. Add a piece of Java Moss 
5. Add a tadpole.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I make my tadpole tea with oak leaves on a regular basis. I just dump several handfulls of leaves in a 2 gallon bucket, add about 1.5 gallons of R/O water, put the top on it, and use the water a month or so later. I also place a leaf in with each tadpole - after the leaves have soaked in the bucket, they have a nice biofilm on them, which the tadpoles love.


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## froggiefriend (Jan 4, 2008)

Do you have to use R/O water? 
What I was wondering was - can you use rainwater?
I mean I collect it an use it for my orchids and they love it.. but is there something special that the R/O water has that the rainwater doesn't?
I don't feel that I live in a very high polluted area... 
Sorry didn't mean to hijack.. but just was hoping for an answer.. 
Kristin


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## Pirateglow (Jul 29, 2008)

Thanks zBrinks! 

Do you clean or rinse the leaves at all before you throw them in the bucket? Check for insect eggs or anything? No boiling?


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

Boiling will release the tannins must faster than simply soaking the leaves- so if you have an immediate need for tad tea, boil away.

I usually have 2-3 gallons of tad tea water on hand at any time.


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## Pirateglow (Jul 29, 2008)

So my plan is now to soak some and boil some for my immediate use. Thanks again!


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## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

froggiefriend said:


> Do you have to use R/O water?
> What I was wondering was - can you use rainwater?
> I mean I collect it an use it for my orchids and they love it.. but is there something special that the R/O water has that the rainwater doesn't?
> I don't feel that I live in a very high polluted area...
> ...



Kristi, rain water is fine.

It's what the R/O water doesn't have that makes a difference. 

I


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

Just to provide an alternative to "making" tadpole tea, it is just as effective (at least in my experience) and much easier to just place a piece of a leaf with high-tannin content (I prefer to use Indian Almond leaves) in the tad cup at the same time I place the tad into it. 

As evident by the color change in the water, the tannins leach out of the leaf very quickly (notice a subtle change in color within minutes to hours; dramatic change in as little as a day). Also, as the leaf breaks down, it becomes a great food source for the tad. Detritus offered in this fashion accounts for most of the nutrition of my tads (I do supplement ~once a week with a mixture of fish flake, tad bites, sera micron, and Naturose).


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## porkchop48 (May 16, 2006)

I do just what Rozdaboff said. 
I sometimes keep a gallon jug in the closet with regular old aged tap water and some almond leaf crumbles. If it runs out when moving tads from petri dish to cup. They get aged tap water and a piece of almond leaf. No boiling no nothing.


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## herper99 (Mar 21, 2008)

Do all of you put your tads in straight tadpole tea? I just use about a teaspoon or two in aged tap water, and then add a small piece of java moss and maybe a piece of IA leaf. However I've heard that some people put their tads in straight tadpole tea. I make it like most of you.....Indian Almond leaves, boiled in aged tap water. 

Chris


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## NathalieB (Apr 23, 2007)

I boil Indian Almond leaves, banana leaves and oak leaves in tap water.
I put the tadpoles in a mix of this and RO-water. this way i find you can controle much better the amount of tannines in the water and it stays constant.

The tadpoles get a boiled leaf in their cups, because it is softer and they can start eating it right away (leaves that haven't been boiled can take some while before the are soft enough to eat)


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## Pirateglow (Jul 29, 2008)

For everyone that is using "aged tap water"... is the tap water every treated with a decholorinator? 

Also, my plan was to use strait tadpole tea, herper99 brought up maybe only using a small amount of tea and the rest water. Any thoughts.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

If the tap water is initially treated with chlorine, aging it will remove it. If the water company uses chloromines, chemical removal is necessary.


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## herper99 (Mar 21, 2008)

zBrinks said:


> If the tap water is initially treated with chlorine, aging it will remove it. If the water company uses chloromines, chemical removal is necessary.


Good point. My water supply only has chlorine so aging does fine, but not everybody can do this. 



Pirateglow said:


> Also, my plan was to use strait tadpole tea, herper99 brought up maybe only using a small amount of tea and the rest water. Any thoughts.


I would start out only using about a teaspoon or two. I don't know if more would have any more benefit. I also don't know if it would hurt, but why risk it? I have had pretty good results with 1 or 2 teaspoons, but others may have more info on using more.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I use 16oz cups for my tads, with about 12oz of water. 8oz R/O, 2oz tad tea, 2oz infusoria culture water. My tads are much larger when they morph since the introduction of infusoria (especially the imis). I also provide several pieces of oak leaves, and a piece of hornwort.


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## herper99 (Mar 21, 2008)

zBrinks said:


> My tads are much larger when they morph since the introduction of infusoria (especially the imis).


Tell me more about the infusoria........


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## BillB55 (Aug 7, 2008)

Yes, more info about making good "tadpole tea" quickly would be great! Our questions: when you boil oak leaves, are you using green leaves from the tree or dead leaves from the ground? We will be using rain water to boil them; our tap water is very hard well water. Once they're boiled and cooled, we can add a leaf or so to tadpole water--straight boiled tadpole water, or mix some of this boiled tea back with regular rain water? Finally, how do you get infusoria? We have a vernal pool covered in duckweed. Can we use some of this in the tadpole water? It has wild wood frogs; do we have to worry about parasites etc. if we collect it from here, and if so, is there a way to clean it up without killing all the algae and other organisms that we are trying to add to the tea?

Thanks. Newcomers here, with our first pair of frogs, D. lamasi, who presented us with 3 eggs after starting to call during the thunderstorms the past couple of weeks. At least one viable froglet in the eggs, which we pulled tonight, about 7 to 10 days old, and now have in a deli cup.

Thanks for any advice,
Bill


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

http://freshaquarium.about.com/b/2007/1 ... ulture.htm

check out the above link


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## Pirateglow (Jul 29, 2008)

Great Link Zach. I am going to try that culture method.


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