# Is it OK to feed Tadpoles Fish Flakes?



## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

I follow Josh's Frogs video on feeding tadpoles (I am new to the whole Tadpole thing).

I bought the Frog Bites that he recommended and sell on his site.

He said he feeds his Tads about 3-4 Frog Bites a week.

So to start I put one Bite in each of my tadpole cups a week ago.

But the pellets are all still there one week later.

Some are in the same shape others have broken up and spread out a bit.

But since they are still in there and Josh feeds his tadpoles 4 times what I am feeding mine I am worried that they are not eating them.

I have never seen them eat off the bites either.

I was told by someone that they feed fish flakes to their tadpoles.

Is this ok?

He uses Omega One.

I currently have Saltwater Omega One Flakes would they be ok to use?

What are your guy's thoughts and opinions on this?


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## readygrown (Apr 5, 2008)

I recommend grinding the flakes and pellets into a powder. I use a mortar and pestle but a coffee grinder will work also. The tadpoles will be able to feed much better when ground up. I use a pellet and flake combination on my tadpoles.


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## gturmindright (Mar 15, 2006)

Yes feed them fish flakes. I don't know what the difference would be between salt water and fresh water flakes but it's probably color enhancers.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

I use the color enhancing Omega One.


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## gturmindright (Mar 15, 2006)

Yeah, when I don't crush up my fish flakes really good I usually find them at the bottom still in one piece. When I say flakes I mean flake. I usually use one flake. Better to feel too little than too much.


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## Whitneyd88 (Nov 12, 2011)

You should also make sure to take out uneaten food preferably no later than the next day. When you use the pellets it's easier to see what has gone uneaten and you can suck it out. I just got a little syringe from walgreens and put some airline tubing on the end and it's super easy to suck out the rotting stuff. I personally use tadpole bites that are covered in spectrum fish fry powdered food. Grinding up the food may make it easier for the tad to graze around instead of finding the single pellet (never had a problem with a tad finding them though) but it'll also make it a little harder to clean it out.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

My flake recipe is posted here. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants-supplies-classifieds/92254-tadpole-food-pumilos-recipe.html


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## Daleo (Jan 31, 2012)

gturmindright said:


> Yes feed them fish flakes. I don't know what the difference would be between salt water and fresh water flakes but it's probably color enhancers.


Most saltwater pellets contain a higher meat amount than freshwater , which typically has more algae. 

I feed a mix of pellets with some flake. Flake is helpful in the early stages because the tadpoles can break those apart easier.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

Are these tadpoles from a larger frog species? (I.e not a thumbnail species.. )

I pull tads from our Azureus 1 week after they have come out of their egg mass in the petri dishes.. Than I let them sit for 1 or 2 days in their glass jars before offering a tadpole bite. This 1.5 weekish time frame, for me atleast appears to let them bulk up a bit rather than just dumping them straight into a jar of water the day the pop free of the jelly. And for the first 2-3 weeks I offer 1 pellet every 2 or 3 days and than once they really get some size I usually offer them 2 pellets twice a week. No issues so far. Last year when they started breeding (first time with tads for us) We used spirulina powder and couldnt tell you how that played out. Never let our tads sit and always just dumped them into to their jars on day 1. So had a lot of die offs in the begining.. Since changing our regime of how we acclimate them this year, we have not lost a single one. And only are feeding tadpole bites. Sorry for the ramble just hope it helps some what!

Brandon


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## Whitneyd88 (Nov 12, 2011)

How old are your tads? I do notice that mine dont eat too much for the first week, and ususally dont eat anything for the first few days. My big cobalt tads only get one pellet every other day for the first week then I bump it up to 2-3 pellets every couple of days.


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## Whitneyd88 (Nov 12, 2011)

Nismo95 said:


> Are these tadpoles from a larger frog species? (I.e not a thumbnail species.. )
> 
> I pull tads from our Azureus 1 week after they have come out of their egg mass in the petri dishes.. Than I let them sit for 1 or 2 days in their glass jars before offering a tadpole bite. This 1.5 weekish time frame, for me atleast appears to let them bulk up a bit rather than just dumping them straight into a jar of water the day the pop free of the jelly. And for the first 2-3 weeks I offer 1 pellet every 2 or 3 days and than once they really get some size I usually offer them 2 pellets twice a week. No issues so far. Last year when they started breeding (first time with tads for us) We used spirulina powder and couldnt tell you how that played out. Never let our tads sit and always just dumped them into to their jars on day 1. So had a lot of die offs in the begining.. Since changing our regime of how we acclimate them this year, we have not lost a single one. And only are feeding tadpole bites. Sorry for the ramble just hope it helps some what!
> 
> Brandon


Correct me if I'm wrong but don't tadpoles secrete a growth inhibiting hormone to give them an advantage over the other siblings? On my very first batch of cobalt tads I saw the first one hatch, then all of the others follow a little while later. I marked which one was the first tad and he came out of the water as a froglet 2 weeks before all of the other ones. Not really anything solid to base it on there as I haven't kept track of the first to hatch since then, but I personally wouldn't leave my tads in the dish with the other ones for that long.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

Nismo95 said:


> Are these tadpoles from a larger frog species? (I.e not a thumbnail species.. )
> 
> I pull tads from our Azureus 1 week after they have come out of their egg mass in the petri dishes.. Than I let them sit for 1 or 2 days in their glass jars before offering a tadpole bite. This 1.5 weekish time frame, for me atleast appears to let them bulk up a bit rather than just dumping them straight into a jar of water the day the pop free of the jelly. And for the first 2-3 weeks I offer 1 pellet every 2 or 3 days and than once they really get some size I usually offer them 2 pellets twice a week. No issues so far. Last year when they started breeding (first time with tads for us) We used spirulina powder and couldnt tell you how that played out. Never let our tads sit and always just dumped them into to their jars on day 1. So had a lot of die offs in the begining.. Since changing our regime of how we acclimate them this year, we have not lost a single one. And only are feeding tadpole bites. Sorry for the ramble just hope it helps some what!
> 
> Brandon


They are Thumbnails (Vents)


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## shockingelk (May 14, 2008)

Whitneyd88 said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but don't tadpoles secrete a growth inhibiting hormone to give them an advantage over the other siblings? [...] Not really anything solid to base it on there as I haven't kept track of the first to hatch since then, but I personally wouldn't leave my tads in the dish with the other ones for that long.


People have different results raising tinc tads individually vs communally. In the tinc caresheet here, it says go ahead and raise communally, the general tadpole caresheet it says don't raise tinc tads communally.

Myself, I've successfully raised leuc tads (which can be cannibalistic) (I believe it was 4-5 individuals) communally in a 10G with a few inches of water. I fed TetraMin and frozen bloodworms.

Some useful threads (useful in that they show people getting opposite results with the same species - Ed suggests in one thread that if your tads are cannibalistic you may not be feeding enough protein):

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/br...l-vs-communal-tadpole-raising-experiment.html
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/breeding-eggs-tadpoles/40052-raising-tinc-tads-communally.html
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/breeding-eggs-tadpoles/21627-leuc-tads-canibalistic.html


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## Whitneyd88 (Nov 12, 2011)

shockingelk said:


> People have different results raising tinc tads individually vs communally. In the tinc caresheet here, it says go ahead and raise communally, the general tadpole caresheet it says don't raise tinc tads communally.
> 
> Myself, I've successfully raised leuc tads (which can be cannibalistic) (I believe it was 4-5 individuals) communally in a 10G with a few inches of water. I fed TetraMin and frozen bloodworms.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info! I wasnt really referring to cannibalism though, although that is another great point to think about. I read somewhere about the growth inhibiting hormone specifically. I believe it doesnt stop growth of course, just makes it so one will come out of the water faster than the other. Maybe Ed can shed some light on this, and I'll do some digging to find out where I read that at. I read it like a year and a half ago.


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## moe reps (Sep 12, 2015)

How does everyone maintain the water temp for tads


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