I have lots of new ACF tadpoles!!

[Joene Latiolais]

For the first time since I started keeping these frogs I have live tadpoles (I have had eggs laid before, but none ever hatched). This time I did nothing (thinking they weren't any good) and didn't take the parents out of the tank or anything, in fact I watched Mom and Dad eat a couple eggs daily. But last Monday (16th) my husband emailed me at home and said I had tadpoles! They hatched for the next 3-4 days.

I immediately took parents out of the tank, and relocated them in my 29 gallon long tank (my other adults are at the local high school until school gets out for the summer) so I have some time to figure out what to do with the babies. I ended up deciding to just leave the tadpoles in my 59 gallon tank. I took out over half the water, took out the artificial and living plants, put in air stones, made sure the heater was working and took out the filter (put it in with the parents)

Today, about a week since the first ones hatched out, I have been able to see that I have normal colored as well as albino tadpoles (the parents were albino and normal colored)

I ordered some tadpole food from Xenopus Express and I had a package left from several years ago when I ordered eggs from them (all but one died due to cold weather) so I put the rest of the powder in the freezer where it stayed until now.

My question is this, will all of these babies survive the morphing into frogs? also, how can I tell if I am feeding them enough? or too much? ??????

Thanks for any info you can give, and also, does anyone in the Kansas area need any froglets in the future? I am sure I'll have more than enough for myself and lots of friends if all these live.

[tgampper]

It would be a good idea to place an air stone in the tank and place on a very gentle flow. Keep the temperature around 75 (F), that way they will develop more quickly. You don't want to feed them until the egg yoke has disappeared. Do not overfeed, twice weekly with tadpole powder should be OK. You know if you are feeding correctly when the water clears up in about 2 hours. There is a great diversity in tadpole development so separate the tadpoles by size, it is possible the larger ones will eat the smaller ones. Don't change the water until they become froglets, tadpoles are quite sensitive to changes in temperature and water chemistry.

[Joene Latiolais]

I actually have two air stones in the tank, the heater is set at 78(automatic setting, can't change it, maybe I'll switch heaters with another tank) When I feed with the powder I just put in a very small amount (less than 1/4 tsp) it clouds the water a little, but within 15-20 minutes the water is all clear again. I feed them about 5-6 times daily, that small amount and they seem to be growing quite well. The biggest are about 2/3 bigger than the smallest. None of them are clinging to the tank sides anymore (first day or two that is where they hung out) and all of them are swimming freely, those that are larger swim around the entire tank, the smaller ones usually stay in one area or another, kind of hanging out with others their size. I have one of those net breeding tanks for fish, would that be a good place to put the larger tadpoles, they'd be in the same water but separated from the smaller ones? There are fewer large tadpoles than small ones. Thanks for information, I'll keep everyone posted on how they are doing.

[SanderB]

You have some photos?

[Joene Latiolais]

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0005.jpg

this is a picture of Mom and both Dads (This is the reason I took her out of the tank the next morning!)

new tadpoles video by JoeneLatiolais - Photobucket

this is a movie (short) of the offspring, just a couple of days ago, sorry I hadn't cleaned up their dinner yet

[SanderB]

Nice, a trio
They grow realy fast when you feed them alot, my tadpoles are now developing leggs.

[emberlisa]

how can you tell what color frogs the tadpoles will turn out to be?

[Joene Latiolais]

The ones that will be either reticulated or regular albino are rather clear (not really any color to them at this time) and the normal colored ones have dark lines on the tail, sometimes the head as well. The biggest ones from those that hatched on April 17th are now growing legs, some of which are almost 1/2 inch in length (legs)! I am waiting anxiously to see what I end up with, I have my fingers crossed that I will get some quite different from the parents, either with more reticulation in the albino ones or different shades of color with the normal colored ones. I should have QUITE a few if all of them morph correctly, as I probably have over 100 of them swimming in the big tank. I brought eight of the largest with the most amount of "leg" growth back to school with me today so that the kids in Biology, Chemistry and A&P can watch them change over the next week. I take them home on Friday so that they can be fed daily (usually 3-4 times)

[Joene Latiolais]

Update: I have lost two tadpoles in the past few weeks, one when they were still "clingers" and one yesterday, it looked like it had never grown or developed like the others. Most of the others have grown significantly and the majority have either hind legs, both, or have become froglets. The froglets are SOOOO cute!, I just went out yesterday and bought the biggest tank I could afford (40 gallon breeder tank) from Petco, along with a screen top, power filter and heater. Most of the froglets are eating frog/tapole bites (from Zoo ?) as well as some from Repto brand tadpole bites. I still put a little of the tadpole powder in with them for the few that haven't started morphing yet, but most are going along the bottom, picking up the little particles and swimming up to grab a breath of air, then back down to the food. Some of the bigger froglets are doing the hand scoop feeding, but they are soo small! I HAVE LOTS of babies. Is there anyone near central Kansas that would like some FREE ACF's in a couple of weeks? I want them big enough that I know they will survive with their new owners. None of my local pet stores is interested in buying any of them, so I have to find them homes, I don't have the money for a 200 gallon tank, let alone feeding that many! If anyone is interested let me know here on Frog Forum and I'll send a message with my number for you to contact. I don't have the proper materials for shipping, so it will have to be pick up (or if not too far, I can meet somewhere between my location and yours) to pass them on to you. So far I know I have wild colored and albino (since both the mother and one of the father's were reticulated albino, that is probably what most of them that appear albino now will be) Let me know if you are interested. Thanks, Joene

[SwimminSteve]

If you end up with a reticulated albino I would pay for shipping. Good luck with them! I'd love to see some pictures I bet they're adorable.