I need help with tadpoles!

[April]

My albino clawed frogs mated for the first time and I'm losing the tadpoles. They lived for about a week and were free swimming and seemed to be eating crushed frog pellets and a lettuce leaf...10 died today. I was not planning this at all, so I'm reading up real quick, but I don't seem to be doing very well. I moved them into small containers with 4 or 5 in each container because I read that they will eat each other if there are too many together, but that's when they started dying. Can someone give me some basics?

[Lacibeth]

Have you checked nitrates/nitrites etc? Are you using straight tap water, treated tap water, something else? Have you done any water changes?

[April]

My adults mated just after I changed their water, which is filtered tap water. The tadpoles are in that water, separated from the adults. I have no clue about chemical levels. I have not changed the water.

[Lacibeth]

My adults mated just after I changed their water, which is filtered tap water. The tadpoles are in that water, separated from the adults. I have no clue about chemical levels. I have not changed the water.

I checked nitrites/nitrates using those little dip strips for aquariums. The numbers aren't 100% but they're close enough. I was doing water changes 2x weekly w/ my P. maculata tads and have dropped down to 1x weekly since there are only 2 left in there.

I don't have any experience with clawed frogs so hopefully someone else will chime in with more info.

[April]

Ok, thanks. I am so not prepared for this.

[Lacibeth]

Ok, thanks. I am so not prepared for this.

I understand that. I learned on the fly when I rescued the chorus frog eggs.

[Iratus ranunculus]

Unless you are dealing with big ranid tadpoles, tadpoles in general are very sensitive. Depending on how many you have left, I would recommend gentle water filtration.

1) Get a really big tupperware container (the size of a 40 gallon tank, these are available at walmart, target, wherever). Cut a hole somewhere near the top of this container, and silicone in pvc piping that leads down to a bucket, make sure the bucket is clean of chemical residue etc. The piping should reach the bottom of said bucket. Fill the bucket with sand and gravel about a third of the way, carbon and zeolite (ammo chips) the other thirds, and cover that with filter floss. Cut a hole in this bucket, near the top above the filter floss, and use PVC Piping, siliconed in place to transport water to a second bucket.

What this does is brings water down using gravity to a filter, the water percolates up through the filter media as the bucket fills. The inflow will also always equal the outflow, though you may need to adjust the pump rate to make sure it does not run dry.

2) In the second bucker, put aquatic plants (for additional biological filtration) and an aquarium pump that pushes water back up to your tank using aquarium tubing, and pvc pipe at the end. use PVC pipe at the tank end, so you can cap and and drill holes in it to gently spray the water along the side of the tank, so the inflow does not injure or stress the tadpoles. This also oxygenates the water without hyper-saturating it--which can kill the tadpoles.

3) You have two options for keeping your tadpoles out of their filter

You can cover the outflow pipe with window screen, and keep the tadpoles communally, or you can insert sections of wide diameter pvc into the tank, and house them in batches inside the main tank.

This is how our Xenopus lab raises their Xenopus (though an entire room full of these setups), so I know it works.

[April]

Wow, thanks. I really appreciate all that information, but if they can't survive in a fairly basic tank setup, they aren't going to make it in my house. I wish I could manage all of that, but it's just not practical for my family/lifestyle. Thanks so much though!

[Iratus ranunculus]

Wow, thanks. I really appreciate all that information, but if they can't survive in a fairly basic tank setup, they aren't going to make it in my house. I wish I could manage all of that, but it's just not practical for my family/lifestyle. Thanks so much though!

Bear in mind, I raise a lot of tadpoles (mostly ranids) and can be pretty obsessive.

There are smaller ways of doing it. Hell, you could set something like that up in the tank, using half a milk jug instead of a bucket. Alternatively you could go with conventional aquarium filtration, you just have to take care to break up the current. I would recommend smaller internal filters with a spray-bar or other diffuse outflow.

[April]

Ah, that's a little more manageable. So basically, they need well filtered, still water? Can I just change their water frequently? If so, what's the best way to do that?

[Iratus ranunculus]

Ah, that's a little more manageable. So basically, they need well filtered, still water? Can I just change their water frequently? If so, what's the best way to do that?

You need well filtered water, that need not be still, but the current needs to be gentle. A rapid current can cause physical injury and stress, which suppresses the immune system.

You can do water changes, but doing them often enough to keep tadpoles alive can be a real hassle if the water is not filtered. If you are using tap water, you need to condition it and let it sit out for a while to make sure there are no chemical contaminates. Then you have to get the tadpoles used to the new water conditions by putting them in a bag cutting a hole in the bag and letting the new tank water diffuse in. Otherwise you may pH shock them.

With a filter and periodic partial water changes, you dont have this problem.