Tadpole Final Transition

Several tadpoles are absorbing their tails now. I’ve reduced the water depth and added a “shoreline” of sorts with gravel up to and around the top of the box filter to make it easier for them to surface for air as they make their final transition from tadpole to froglet. Think about a 2-3” frog needing a max depth of 12” to surface. A 1/4” frog would then arguably need a max depth of less than 3”. I’m relying somewhat on floating plants to allow the babies a safe place to be close to the surface.

My preference is live freshwater foods to avoid polluting the water and give them something to hunt 24/7. Because my daphnia and seed shrimp cultures are not yet large enough to sustain the current population I am primarily feeding live baby brine shrimp. I do think the newly formed froglets would enjoy some live black worms which I will offer later today. All of the tadpoles are content at this stage to eat frozen daphnia and the developed froglets are starting to eat frozen mysis. Both pollute the water but are a nice option to have as the amount of food they need is increasing.

A complication during their final transition is that reducing the water depth combined with adding a wider variety of food options has the potential to negatively impact the water quality. I will be monitoring nitrogen levels, performing water changes and watching for fungal infections. The most advanced froglet had a couple of white spots on its tail before transitioning that I was not able to identify as fungus or simply part of its anatomy so I preemptively treated with Jungle Fungus Clear at 1/4 the dose recommended on the package. There were no side effects that I could see and I’m considering dosing again after the next water change just to be on the safe side.

*Video of African dwarf frog babies eating frozen daphnia. These are estimated to be available for purchase at the end of October.