# Theres tadpoles in my tank. I know nothing about this. Need help please.



## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

Hey. I have two French Dwarf Tincs. 










They have been laying eggs for... probably 6 months or better now, and about their first 8 clutches were all duds, then I honestly stopped paying attention to their clutches, and what not.

Well today after feeding them, I decided to take my Fenix flashlight and scan this Brom they love to lay eggs on. I found a clutch, and saw a bunch of bad eggs. Then I thought I saw something move. o_0

Turns out it was a clutch with 5 tadpoles still in the 'egg' and the one tad pole moved when the light hit him. apperantly he doesnt like the light cuase every time i shined it on em, he would move around. lol.

(couldnt find my macro lenses! Doh!)






















So.. my question.. I never researched this topic. this brom collects very little water, theres no water feature in the tank... so I am guessing I need to remove them at some point?????

any help is appreciated.


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

really? 50+ views and no one knows nothing? any one atleast have a link for a good website?


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## denfrogs (Dec 10, 2007)

would you rather have the parents raise the tads, or do you want to know how to get them out of the tank so you can raise them ?


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

If you let the parents raise the tads, you will need to put in little cups of water around the tank. Like the little measuring cups that come with cough medicine. 

If you raise them out side the tank, you can take clear plastic cups and add a small amount of water to those and put one tad in each cup. That is what I do. Once the tadpole emerges from the egg I place one in each cup with maybe a quarter inch of water to start out. I found that the water should be shallower when they first emerge otherwise the seem to go belly up. I add more water after about a week or two. You can start feeding them after about 3 days.

Goodluck and let us know if you have anymore questions.


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

I didn't think tincs cared for tadpoles?I should probably raise em myself.. i sure this isnt the first good clutch they have had, just the first i have noticed. 

Would my normal 32oz FF culture cups work for this? or do i need like a wider cup?


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## Riley (Sep 20, 2008)

Try this link...very good videos of tad raising. 

How to Feed Poisonous Dart Frogs | Expert Village Videos


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## Riley (Sep 20, 2008)

let us know how its going


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

Hey.. my male frog is now seting on the clutch... it seems like in a fatherly way.. should i be concerned for the tadpoles safety?

I was planning on going out this evening, geting some petri dishes, if i can find em, hopefully come black water extract from petsmart. and a steralite show box, and high qulaity fish food..... 

im sure the male is doing what he needs to do,, but it has me a ltitle worried...




plus they are on a brom leaf... do i need to cut the leaf to get the clutch off?

thanks again for that link riley. pretty helpfull info, too bad the videos for tad pole rearing around in chronological order... atleast the way i got to em....


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

Yes you 320z fly cups will work but you will find out quickly that they will take up alot of room when the have more clutches. Don't worry about the male sitting on the clutch. He is just taking care of it by watering it or guarding it from you. You can carefully take a plastic spoon and scoop them off of the brom, otherwise you will have just a nub of a plant after awhile. Do you have a coco hut in your tank with a petri dish under it? If not, get one in there. This should take care of your tincs and laying on your plants.


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

ian said:


> Yes you 320z fly cups will work but you will find out quickly that they will take up alot of room when the have more clutches. Don't worry about the male sitting on the clutch. He is just taking care of it by watering it or guarding it from you. You can carefully take a plastic spoon and scoop them off of the brom, otherwise you will have just a nub of a plant after awhile. Do you have a coco hut in your tank with a petri dish under it? If not, get one in there. This should take care of your tincs and laying on your plants.


I was gonna do the 32oz cup thing,, then the BJ guy in those video said tincs would be fine in a steralite box. i think ill go that route,, they would definantly have much more room.

No I dont have a co-co hut in my tank. I was gonna put on in there.... but theres no room.. i mean theres room but its so cramped due to the wood and plants.... 










that from in the right in the foreground is what they are using all the time. every clutch i ever seen is on it.




so, this spoon method, im asuming its a very fragile operation? whats the chances of me harming the tads doing that?


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

Take a butter tub and cut it in half. That should be good. Then take a piece of plastic and set that in the tub half. It will create a small shelter for them to lay on that will be easier to remove eggs from. The half a tub should be able to fit in the right front corner.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Tincs will not 'raise' their tadpoles although they will oftentimes transport them to water. Tinctorius tadpoles in water sources can grow to froglet stage due to drowned fruit flies, etc. I've had tincs morph out in their parents viv this way.

The most straightforward way to deal with your situation would be to place some small water containers into the viv (I use the small 4 oz Gladware containers or similar half filled with water) or small water dishes. After the tads have been transported to water, you can remove them and raise by hand.

BTW the father sitting on the eggs is keeping them moist by 'watering' them.

Best of luck.

Bill


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

Thanks for all the help! 

Petsmart didn't have any black water extract.. so like every thing else ill have to get it offline... hopefully Josh's frogs has em, since i need more FF media anyways.

Since ill be removing the tads any ways, I think I should go ahead and remove them now. I couldnt locate and petri dishes, so i bought some glad ware type stuff, cut some of the side off, and use that instead. 

Ill have to try the co-co hut/buttertub idea. I jsut dont liek the idea of any thing liek that in my tank though 

I really need to trim it up again. I neglected trimming a few months ago and one of my favorite ground plants died due to lack of light


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## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

If you have a local fish store that carries fresh water fish, give them a try for the black water extract. I don't usually find it wat Petsmart but I do get it at a store that mainly carries fish. 
Candy


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

divingne1 said:


> If you have a local fish store that carries fresh water fish, give them a try for the black water extract. I don't usually find it wat Petsmart but I do get it at a store that mainly carries fish.
> Candy


i placed an order with josh's frogs last night. for some tadpole bites, and almond leaves. I bought some fish flakes yesterday.

I read i can use the almond leaves to make blackwater.... i read it can be as easy as just putting the leaf (the whoel leaf?) in the water and let it leach out tannins,, plus the tadpoles will eat the leaf... does that sound good? or what exactly do i need to do with the leaf?


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## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

I have never had tadpoles but a local friend has and she just put a piece of the almond leaf in the water with the tad. I think she does feed them the tadpole bites too.
Candy


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

divingne1 said:


> I have never had tadpoles but a local friend has and she just put a piece of the almond leaf in the water with the tad. I think she does feed them the tadpole bites too.
> Candy



great info.

so guys,, this seems pretty straight forward... tell me if i got it right.

they lay eggs, once fertile. remove the clutch, please into a petri dish, and put it in a rubber made container, with some standing water to keep humidity high.

once the tads escape the egg, place them in a their own cups, or in a steralite box communally (sp?). Use bottled spring water, and add a almond leaf. Feed them tad bites/fish flakes every few days.

once front legs start to develop move them to a water/land land with slopped 'ramp'

???? sound good?


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## fleshatomb (Jan 24, 2007)

little update.

i removed the eggs from the tank today, using the suggested spoon method.... ill say it didn't go well...

ill jsut clip leaves from now on. i think one of the tads might have died before i removed it.. it looked a little cloudy,, they were all moving last night. I put them in a make shift preti dish, put about 1/4" water in it, and put it in a high humidty critter keeper. 

i thought i might have killed them all when i removed them due to the extremely rough handeling. but 3 of the 5 are moving eveyr so often. 

either way lesson learned for future referance, hopefully I can get atleast one of these to a full frog. 


thanks for all the help guys!!!! ill post an update to let every one know how its going later.


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## frogsanddogs (Jun 21, 2008)

Just wanted to make sure you are putting the tadpoles each in their own container of water once they hatch from their eggs. you'll be able to tell they have hatched when their tail is straight meaning they have broken from the egg. 
Then they should probably go each in their own water container as in addition to being aggressive and the possibility of cannablism they also emmit hormones that can stunt the growth of other tadpoles in the same water and in my experience, the one time I tried it, they all died within a few days due to what must have been this chemical/ hormonal process. These were azureus tads, but since they are a kind of tinc, I think it should be the same.
Then what I do for the water, is I use aged tapwater.. then add a piece of an almond leaf- even a small piece of the leaf when it is soaked in the water will create deep brown tadpole tea within a couple of days. I prepare this water for them.... aging first and then pouring in the container and adding part of an indian almond leaf a couple of days before they hatch when possible... if I don't have enough notice or time, I add the piece of a leaf around the time they get added and it will turn to a tea before long. 
I also alternate fish food, tadpole bites and occasionally dead fruit fly mash or spirulina as well but I don't start feeding for a day or two after putting them in the water as they seem to get pretty strong just drinking the tea the first day or two. 
I find this piece of a leaf method to work great as at 50 cents a leaf, they are just as effective in pieces and last MUCH longer this way and when your piece gets slimey and you want the water cleaner it is easy to change to a new one... I also sometimes change them over to a different water plant as they get older and easy to do that without much waste.
Good luck- its' exciting- oh and I would definately try to get a small coco hut or hide with a petri dish or something underneath... I did the moving the eggs thing once and it was way to fragile hard.... MUCH easier to just remove the plastic they have laid on.
Also, if you do do the removal, or when you are helping remove a hatched tadpole from the others or into his own water, I find that using a half of a straw- cut lengthwise- creates a great cutting, spooning surface that is thin enough to slide betweeen eggs and often underneath for moving them without damaging.
Good luck and have fun!
Marissa


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## Jordan77 (Jul 21, 2008)

how are the tads doing?????


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## Tuckinrim8 (Jul 26, 2007)

just thought i would add if you do decide to remove future clutches - a slurpy straw works awesome...


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