Tadpole Care

[n321]

So I've been keeping my tadpoles for a few weeks now, but their population is slowly decreasing. I think this is because of the huge amounts of waste they produce and the difficulty in managing it. What I've been doing is just using a turkey baster to remove some of the muck off of the bottom every day. I just put in a small filter yesterday...

What do you do to keep the tank(s) clean? Do you just keep the densities super low? I currently have all of mine in a 20-gallon long tank...

[Mentat]

Cleaning would depend on the species, number, and size of tadpoles. A filter that can't harm tadpoles is a good idea; but will take around a month to cycle it's ammonia and nitrite removing capabilities. Seachem's stability can reduce that in half.

In my opinion tadpoles are not as delicate as fish fry so they tolerate small water changes. Can use aquarium airline tubing and gravity to siphon off water and dirt from bottom; then replace with same temperature and pH dechlorinated water. How many tadpoles do you have on the 20L and what is their size? Thank you !

[n321]

My guess would be about 50. They are mostly about .5" in size.

[n321]

How sensitive are they to water changes? Could I do like a 25% daily change?

[Geoff]

How sensitive are they to water changes? Could I do like a 25% daily change?

Here are some extracts and two photos from some posts I made almost 10 years ago about my own approach to rearing Xenopus tadpoles, which may be of help to you:

"These tadpoles are filter feeders, which means that they obtain their nourishment from food material suspended in the water. The biggest problem with this is that you cannot use a filtration system to maintain good water quality because it would deprive the tadpoles of food. Without a filter system the water is soon contaminated and the tadpoles exposed to the risk of disease so most of the effort has to be devoted to regular water changes.

I change most of their water every day. I use two plastic bowls, which I alternate. They're transferred from one to the other each day. When they've been transferred to a bowl of clean water, the bowl that they've been in can be cleaned out quickly and easily ready for the following day. I will eventually transfer them to a glass tank because their development is more interesting to observe when they're in a tank. However, a tank is harder to maintain.

Towards the back of the bowl you can see an air line attached to a glass tube that provides a gentle current of air to one corner of the bowl. This keeps the water "sweeter" than it would otherwise be and is the same method I used when I reared these tadpoles before.

The bowl is only 12" x 12" x 4" (30cm x 30cm x 10cm) and holds a little over 2 gallons (9 litres). It's a fine balancing act with the potential for things to go dramatically wrong very quickly. The main advantage is that it's quick and easy to carry out substantial water changes. I use tap water that's stood for 24 hours and I don't use any water conditioners. I don't use a heater either and the temperature varies with the weather from about 21°C (70°F) to 26°C (78°F)."

[n321]

Thanks, Geoff. That's very helpful.

[Gemma]

How sensitive are they to water changes? Could I do like a 25% daily change?

As long as you condition the water and have it the same temperature as the water you're replacing then they should be fine. I did a 30% (sometimes larger) water change every day when I raised tadpoles and I used airline tubing to suck the dirt off the bottom. I raised 80 and I think I only had one death, which was very early on.