Red eye tree frog tadpole care

[LilyPad]

I do not have RETF tadpoles, but I have been raising tree frog tadpoles for the last 6 weeks (0 fatalities in the tadpole stage! 1 toadlet fatality because he didn't come out of the water and drowned ) With that many tadpoles and no filter, I would do at least a 50% water change every other day, daily would be even better. They create a ridiculous amount of waste. My tank is filtered (10 gallon, at the peak there were 35 tadpoles) and I vacuum out poo daily and do a 50% water change every other day. I also have live plants in there, anubias, moss balls, java moss, and floating salvinia to help filter out some of the bad crud and give them something to nibble on.

I do not use fish flakes because I have read that it can cause them to swallow air and then you get "floaters" but others have said they have no issue with it. Currently, I do blood worms, brine shrime, (protein gets added in twice a week after their back legs start growing) blanched and frozen chopped spinach (so it sinks and breaks up the fiber a bit making it easier to eat), zucchinni, algae tablets, and tadpole pellets (if I'm in a rush). I have indian almond leaves in there...the tannins help to maintain a healthy immune system. A cuttlebone is in there to add calcium to the water.

The sinking food is great because it doesn't dissolve into the water as quickly, leaving them some to nibble on during the hours between feedings, and it is really easy to vacuum out using an airline tube siphon if they do not finish it all. You'll get the hang of only feeding them what they need though and end up feeding enough without overfeeding.

Also, the water should be heated, so if you do not have a heater in there yet, you should get one (unless, of course, if you're not running an a/c so your ambient temps are up). Keep the tank at 75-78 degrees F.

I move them to a grow-out tank as soon as they have all 4 legs. It is basically a kritter keeper with a plastic dish of water that is sloped so that they can climb out easily. I keep them in the keeper until their tails are resorbed and then move them over to the big tank. I keep the kritter keeper at a higher humidity because they can dehydrate very easily once they come out of the water.

Obviously not everything has to be done the way that I do it. From the people I've spoken to and gotten advice from, there are many ways to successfully raise tadpoles. This is just what has worked well for me

Enjoy them! Watching my tadpoles transform has been a hugely rewarding experience! I only have a few left and I think I'm going to miss watching their daily changes...though I will NOT miss the daily tank cleanings haha.

13288055_10153508643056976_1287149391_o by A H, on Flickr

I had both grey tree frogs and toads so I had to have multiple tanks to house the metamorphs. I also had a toad that was stunted so he gets his own home while he works on growing. So far, it's going well for him!

20160616_203329 by A H, on Flickr

[Jordanyukio]

I do siphon out the waste on the bottom every morning. i will start doing water changes everyday. I forgot to mention i do have a small water heater but it does keep water at exactly 78.