Pollywogs or tadpoles

[unknownclown]

Hello
I took my kid up to the mountains yesterday and while we were wondering around I found some frog eggs in a pond.

I thought this would be great to teach her about how they grow and develop into frogs. I grabbed some along with some of the water of course. On the way home they started hatching. I had no idea they would hatch so quickly! I read something off the internet and think it could be because of the temperature change?? Not sure if thats true or not. Today they are doing just fine. Im wondering though if anyone has suggestions on what I should be feeding them. Theres a bit of algae for them in the tank and Ive heard that they like fish food. Ive also heard that they dig on lettuce thats been boiled and frozen. I havent tried the lettuce thing before and Im kinda iffy on wheather I need to go thru all that.

I also have them in a small fish bowl at the moment but plan on transferring them to one of my empty 10 gallon tanks later once I get enough safe water for them. Does anyone know if bottled water is OK? Im thinking no... although it doesnt have chlorine in it. Maybe if I leave it out on the deck for a couple of days??

Also Im wondering if I need to make sure theres enough oxygen in the water. Ive pulled up a few sites and cant find anything suggesting I do but Im not sure if that means I dont or if they forgot to add that detail to thier site.

You know when I was a kid it was so much easier since I didnt worry about this stuff I just caught them kept them and viola they were frogs.

I was wondering what you all suggest. I want these little guys to be as healthy as possible so that I can let them lose back where I found them once they are froggies.

 

[Bugweed]

WHAT? Tadwogs and polypoles

 

[Treaqum]

Throw them in a pond. They will be fine (theoretically but I will wait for Luis to rebuck me). Either way the frog population was/is declining and so I woul drecommend you release the buggers as soon as they are frogs rather then feeding them to your plants (like some might do).

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]I grabbed some along with some of the water of course. On the way home they started hatching. I had no idea they would hatch so quickly! I read something off the internet and think it could be because of the temperature change??

They do develop faster the warmer the temperature is... I just have one question: did you look at the eggs when you took them? I'm assuming they were already formed right?

Quote[/b] ]Im wondering though if anyone has suggestions on what I should be feeding them.

You should definately have algae in there. You can also put some fish food. If they're really small, they'll even eat baby fish food.. but just regular fish food pellets work fine. Once they get moist, the tadpoles will have no problem eating them. Have they already eaten their egg... goo? (whatever you call it ). They'll also eat dead fish and just about anything. They'll eat the stuff on pond leaves, rocks, etc.

Quote[/b] ] Does anyone know if bottled water is OK? Im thinking no... although it doesnt have chlorine in it. Maybe if I leave it out on the deck for a couple of days??

I don't know about bottled water... I think maybe it's not oxygenated enough. It doesn't matter though. You can just leave tap water outside so the chlorine evaporates. I've grown tadpoles, salamander larvae, fish, snails, and daphnia like that.

Quote[/b] ]Also Im wondering if I need to make sure theres enough oxygen in the water

don't have them in water too deep and have plenty of algae. That should be enough to keep the water oxygenated. The water shouldn't be too deep so that all the water is oxygenated and since tadpoles like to hang out at the bottom of ponds, you want the bottom oxygenated too. I'm guessing it's also helpful during the night when the algae produce CO2, since it'll diffuse out of the water and into the air faster.
They can also go to the surface and get air (in their later stages) if it's needed.

Quote[/b] ]You know when I was a kid it was so much easier since I didnt worry about this stuff I just caught them kept them and viola they were frogs.

lol... well, just do what you did back then and you'll be fine!

Tadpoles are a piece of cake to keep. They're tough. They have to be, seeing how many of them are perfectly fine living in shallow, muddy, and hot tire tracks.

 

[Treaqum]

like I said

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]Either way the frog population was/is declining and so I woul drecommend you release the buggers as soon as they are frogs rather then feeding them to your plants (like some might do).

It is declining. Pesticides, fertilizers, and other crap from factories and stuff. OH! and of course, acid rain.
lol I'd definately not recommend feeding them to your plants, but you can show your kid how frogs really eat if you keep one of the froglets for a little while. Just be sure to use something appropiate (no sharp tweezers for example ... I kind of hurt my frog that way... but I kept it and it got better.) to feed it.

 

[buster1]

Most pet stores sell algae wafers - I think they're made especially for algae eaters and frog/toad tadpoles. I have used them myself in the past, and find them clean and easy.

 

[Gawd_oOo]

Another large factor on the declining frog population, has to do with the removal or erosion that covers aquatic vegatation. Atleast with the green frog here in WI, they won't swim through open water. They can call to each other during the mating season, but won't go to each other if there isn't adaquate cover.

But ya, tadpoles are pretty tough little buggers.

 

[unknownclown]

Theres deffinately plenty of algae in the tank and the tank is about 4-5 inches deep. They seem to be swimmin up to the top pretty easily. And yes they were already formed but I thought that they could have grown larger before they hatched.
Their eggs are still in there so if they feel like munchin on some egg goo (BLECH) theres tons for them to chow down on although Im very tempted to take them out, and think I will tomorrow.
Oh and by the way I wouldnt think of feeding them to the plants, for some reason I just dont think thats the lesson I wanna teach my kid right now.

 

[The Griffin]

They will probably be fine, but if it was me, I would probably hook up one of those little sponge filters to a small pump just for a little filtration and water movement(and oxygenation).
Don't feel bad about grabbing them, as you probably improved their chances on making it to froglets. I imagine tadpoles take a beating by predators, ect, in Nture.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[Treaqum]

I finally saw treefrogs again last year after 7 years of none

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

I wouldn't try a bubbler if I were you. like someone said in a previous thread, tadpoles have gas problems sometimes and they die I once tried a bubbler and a ton of tadpoles kept floating up to the surface (belly up) because they had a bubble in their bellies.
Besides, it's not necessary. They'll be fine without one.
are they eating their goo? because if they are, I'd leave it there. it's full of nutrients and other stuff that should keep them healthy.

 

[Treaqum]

Alpha about how many weeks till they gain legs then bodies. Would you mind giving us a timeline?

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

depends on the species, temperature, and amount of food they get

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

For example, bullfrog tadpoles can take two years to grow into frogs, while spring peepers or something (darn... spring peepers? hmm... maybe that's not the one I'm thinking of) will take less than a month. Heck, some tropical species hatch as froglets already

 

[Treaqum]

Thanks.

 

[Starman]

I wouldnt remove the egg shells from the water as they eat these for over a week(in my experience) they then move onto eating algea in the water
In my tank of tedpoles I have plenty of duckweed and a few other pondweed types and the water always stays clear, but theres loads of tedpole poo in the bottom, how do get rid of it?
Dino