4Real Forums: Tadpole aquarium questions

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Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science

Topic: Tadpole aquarium questions

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christinalinz
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Joined: June 26 2006
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 12:29pm \| IP Logged

Earlier today, we found quite a few tadpoles at the end of a culvert which runs through our backyard and drains into the Neuse River Basin behind our house. Most of their water had evaporated, and some tadpoles had already died. We added some water to their puddle, hoping to preserve the rest.

Now we would like to create a tadpole aquarium, as in Lesson 44 of Comstock's Handbook for Nature Study.

We went to another culvert drainage area (which has many tadpoles and emerging frogs... last week's eggs are now all hatched, and then we saw no frogs) to collect some water, but it smells putrid. Does that mean the water is unhealthy, and I should look for some actual pond water instead?

Also, what kind of aquarium would be best, or can we make do with the large plastic biscotti jar we are using now? How long should it take for legs to appear generally - I'm sure this varies by species? I'd love to hear what others are doing with tadpoles. I hope it goes better for my dc than for me as child! I confess I filled my wading pool with hundreds of tadpoles, feeding them bread, and by the time my mother discovered my "frog pond" it was beyond hope for them...

I want my dc to have a joyful experience!

lapazfarm
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Joined: July 21 2005
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 12:46pm \| IP Logged

I would get clean pond water. Then you can use your large jar (no more than a few tadpoles per gallon) if you change out about a third of the water weekly (or so) replacing with fresh pond water or bottled spring water (no chlorine). If you have a small aerator (bubbler) that is a great touch also. Keep it out of direct sun so it doesn't get too warm. Warm water doesn't hold as much oxygen. Add plants like elodea from an aquarium supply to help oxygenate the water and keep healthy algae growing.
Here is a link to a photo of the one we did: tadpoles
I think the jar was about 2.5 gallons and we ended up releasing most of the tadpoles as it got too crowded as they grew. Had to clean it weekly. The plants ended up not doing too well as they needed more light than we gave them, which is why I recommend elodea, which can tolerate lower light levels.
Good luck!

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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning

Karen T
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 9:22pm \| IP Logged

I will warn you, though, that many of the common frog species have *long* metamorphosis cycles. the American bullfrog, which is about all we can find around here (tons of them, from the sounds we hear at night!) can take up to 2 years to develop, depending on the temperature. I'm not sure what the shortest time is; we currently have a batch of tadpoles and one has some back legs already so we're hoping at least that one will continue to develop quickly. last year we had a couple for 6 mos before we found out how long it might take, and released them back into the creek.

Karen

christinalinz
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Joined: June 26 2006
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Posted: July 12 2006 at 9:58pm \| IP Logged

Thanks for the photo of your tadpole jar, Theresa - it looks great! We decided to keep only four tadpoles - one is a good bit bigger and has back legs like your's Karen. I'm thinking ours are Southern Leopard frogs since I see them around the culvert often, though we also have many ordinary toads. Maybe they'll grow quicker than bullfrogs - we saw those tadpoles in ponds in MI, and they were HUGE. Such fun to watch.

It's amazing to watch the tadpoles eat. Ds put one under the microscope (only 10X), and we could see it's eye buds much better. Ds does not enjoy drawing yet... any suggestions for encouraging him?

If we are able to keep the tadpoles until they are adults, is there anything we need to know about releasing them? Is there a better time of year to release, i.e., before winter comes? How (and what) would you feed adult frogs?

Christina

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