African Clawed frog tadpoles

**Dragonrain** · #1 03-27-2007, 05:44 PM

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for raising African Clawed frog tadpoles? I take care of a pair of adults for my school (I work as a lab assistant - mostly taking care of the aquatic animals), and they've been laying tons of eggs lately. I was told just to get rid of all the eggs but I felt bad doing that, so I figured I'd bring them home and see what happens.

Out of all of them I had, only 9 actually turned to tadpoles. I read online that out of 100's of eggs your lucky to get one frog in the end. Anyways, I cleaned the cage, I used bottled spring water for them, and 2 died after that. I think another one might have died today too because it wasn't swimming around like the others were.

So now I have 6 that are swimming around and seem to be doing good. I have them in one of those small hex betta tanks because they're so small, I didn't want to put them in something large and not be able to find them. For food, I just took some of the Frog brittle that I feed the adults in school and soaked it in the water so it breaks up into little pieces in the water.

I was only going to clean the cage once a week, since changing it sunday resulted in 2, maybe 3 dieing - but I think I might be feeding them to much and need to change it again tomorrow maybe.

Anyways, I'm hoping at least a few of them live. My brother wants to take 2 or 3 of them, and I would love to keep 1 or 2 myself. The frogs at school will probably lay more eggs so if these ones don't make it I could try again - then I would just have to find homes for some of them if I end up with too many.

Anyways, sorry for the long post! If anyone has any suggestions for me that would be great!

**Dragonrain** · #2 03-28-2007, 07:03 AM

Well I'm down to 5 now, poor little froggie babies.

I think maybe these 5 are the strongest though, maybe they will all survive. They all have fat tummies and are swimming around a lot.

Oh, and sorry if I put this in the wrong place! I didn't see the amphibian forum until after I had already posted it here!

millie121 · #3 03-28-2007, 01:42 PM

Wow, it's been a long time since I've raised these critters - I hope I can remember something to help you.

They can suffocate quite easily if you overfeed (gills get clogged). Try to only feed what they can clear from the water in a short period, remember they're filter feeders, so the food will need to be ground very finely. Also, it's important to clean the water of any remaining food (a turkey baster works great) after a while to prevent rotting. When I was feeding I mixed the food to a paste with water and then added it to the aquarium to prevent it just floating on top. I used tadpole brittle from enasco.com, but the frog brittle is probably the same if you're grinding it up very finely.

I used an air pump attached to a sponge filter to ensure good water quality (another big factor in survival). The sponge filter is the only way I could find to not have too strong of a current produced though; they are VERY fragile. I can't quite recall how often I did water changes using this method - weekly maybe? Some people are against 100% water changes as being to stressful and would do 20% - 30% water changes more frequently. Maybe Sasami has an opinion on this.

I had very good survival in my control group, percentage-wise, but I was dealing with much higher numbers.

I think water quality, including getting rid of any rotting food, and keeping their gills clear during feeding are going to be top concerns.

Good luck!

**Dragonrain** · #4 03-28-2007, 04:25 PM

Thanks for your help! I didn't know it was bad to leave the food in there, I've been leaving it in because I didn't want them to get hungry.

The 5 that are in there still seem to be doing good though, I'll start feeding them less.

Thanks again!

tarita2004 · #5 03-28-2007, 05:30 PM

got any pix??

i bet they're cute!!

**Dragonrain** · #6 03-28-2007, 05:51 PM

They are cute!

I'm not sure if I can get a good picture of them since they're so small and in the water, and my digital camra isn't that good. I'll try though!

millie121 · #7 03-28-2007, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonrain


	Thanks for your help! I didn't know it was bad to leave the food in there, I've been leaving it in because I didn't want them to get hungry. The 5 that are in there still seem to be doing good though, I'll start feeding them less. Thanks again!

Ya, that food will rot pretty quickly, and they won't really go TO food to eat like an adult frog, they need to filter very tiny particles out of the water. Here's an exerpt from a website that does something very similar to what I did. I never made the mash in that volume, or used a blender (I used a mortar and pestle) and I don't think you need to go buy that brand of food; but the part about making a light cloud in the water - that's what I was trying to describe!

"After experimenting, over the years with many tadpole foods we have found, Nelsons Scientific Mash, has given us greater growth and less death than any other feed. The food is in powder form and must be blended. We recommend the following way to prepare the food for a twenty-gallon tank holding ten gallons of de-chlorinated water. Mix 1 tablespoon of powder in a household size blender with 4 cups de-chlorinated water on high for 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough to the tadpoles to make a light cloud in the water. When the water is clear they are hungry again. Do not over feed you can always add more, but its hard to adjust if you feed to much. Feed several times a day for maximum growth. You must blend the food before each use and keep leftovers in a cold room or refrigerator. We believe all artificial food should be kept in the freezer or cold room and thrown out after 3 months. We clean our tadpoles every day, scrapping the bottom of the tank with a squeegee and sucking it out with a simple siphon. We then replace at least one half the water with clean, trying to keep the temperature the same. If you are going to err it is better to be colder, adding warmer water can cause hemorrhage, especially in albinos. Continue this regiment till metamorphoses, which should be in 6 to 8 weeks."

I never fed several times a day either - but I'm not sure what density of tads they were trying to feed. You've only got a few. This is just to give you the gist of getting that food mash.

This was copied from:
Xenopus I

**Dragonrain** · #8 03-28-2007, 07:39 PM

That's really helpful - Thanks!

**Dragonrain** · #9 03-30-2007, 12:52 PM

Just an update if anyone wants to know...

The 5 are still alive and doing well...yay! I can't believe how fast they grow! I looked at them last night before bed and then again this afternoon when I got out of class and they looked so much bigger, I was suprised.

I've been cleaning the tank more often and they do fine with the water changes.

I hope all 5 survive to turn into frogs - that way I can keep 2 and my brother will take the other 3.

millie121 · #10 03-30-2007, 08:13 PM

Glad to hear they are doing well!

Carissa · #11 03-30-2007, 08:15 PM

woohoo, that's good that they are doing well!

**Dragonrain** · #12 04-03-2007, 07:43 AM

Yup yup...they grow so fast!

All of them have their funny little whisker things on their face now, I'm not really sure why they grow those...

I think I saw some leg buds on a few of them too!

I'm still trying to get some pics - my digital camera isn't that good and it's hard to take pics of them in the water.

ldragon21 · #13 01-24-2009, 01:51 PM

i have 2 albino frogs and 2 fire belly newts in the same tank now ive got little tiny white tadpole looking things the guy at the pet store said there probably frog tadpoles
my question is how small are these things like almost microscopic ?
or is there something in my tank that shouldnt be?

baby's or somethng else