Found a foreigner in my native tank

LOL well not really
When I caught these fish I accidentally caught a tadpole. I kept it thinking it would die or get eaten. Nope. Found it today and it's pushing 2". Miracle frog LOL

It was about 1cm in length when I caught it.


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Makena: My name
'95GT: My 1995 convertible Mustang GT

 

So what happens when it turns into a toad and wants OUT?

 

it won't. It'll turn into a frog next summer (they take 2, sometimes 3 years if the conditions aren't great, which is neat, most tadpoles only take a summer). That's a bullfrog tadpole, you can tell them easy if you spent much time playing in muddy ponds as a kid. They don't really look like any other kind of tad pole. And when it does, well, terrarium? except be careful, those suckers are LOUD. wake you right up out of a sound sleep.

 

Might have to swap your native tank into a bigger tank and turn it into a paludarium! That'd be awesome and unique.

 

Hope you'll get a lily pad for him. And you shouldn't try to keep him in the house. After all, he may not want to be a bachelor all his life. Bull frogs croak really loud when they're looking for a date.

 

or when they've already found one lol.

 

Wait too long to get him his own tank you may find fish missing.

 

Wait too long to get him his own tank you may find fish missing.

wait, I've never seen a tadpole eat a fish! Really?! Or do you mean after he's a frog?

 

When he's a frog.

 

LOL I have a friend in CalI that wants him she already named him Ninja.
Although that would be awesome to have a tank that's half land half pond *ponders* hmmm
BUT I'm already in pretty deep with two aquariums that I have to find somewhere to put over the summer. Id rather not rehome them since I've thrown so much money into them and I'm attached but the father won't let me bring them home -.- grr


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Makena: My name
'95GT: My 1995 convertible Mustang GT

 

Would it be safe to keep these? They get pretty huge, right? I'd imagine they would require a very large tank.. You may also want to make sure it is legal .

 

Would it be safe to keep these? They get pretty huge, right? I'd imagine they would require a very large tank.. You may also want to make sure it is legal .

? They get to be a few inches as a tadpole, and maybe about as big as your hand and maybe 5" tall as a frog. And since when is it not legal to keep tadpoles and watch them turn into frogs? We did that quite a bit as kids, and at school and such. My mom did that every year with her high school biology class, just for fun. I guess I never realized that there'd be a law about that.

And @ Lucy: agreed; as frogs they will seriously chow fish, much bigger than you'd think they could, too. Bull frogs are like catfish. If it can fit inside the mouth, then it is food.

 

Illegal?. Probably not. Besides, I'd doubt a cop would come strolling by and say "wait a sec, you can't have that tadpole. You're under arrest" as many times as I've done things that were illegal (but those things where unless you were being hardcore stalked by the law. Or they were really obscure laws nobody knew about) I should be locked up for life. But I'll check up on it.
I find it interesting because I've never seen a big tadpole like this at the creek. Nor bullfrogs. That I know of. Maybe little ones. But the frogs I have seen w're not even an inch in length. Also weird that my native tank seems so much more stable and the fish are all much more relaxed already than the 20G. Weird. You'd think they'd be freaked since they aren't in their home. At the creek you could be 10 feet away and if they see you, they'd swim away now they come watch me at the tank front and know I'm the one with the flakes >. Oh and those leech things disappeared >.> as well as any larvae that WAS in there. Piggy mosquito fishies. I also put two Convict fry in there just to see how they'd fair. until they get about an inch in length. Then they go in the 20. Then they find a new home. They were the same size and age of my others. But in the native tank now they're much bigger than the others. More weiiiird.

In the 20G my red wag Platy went missing. Checked everywhere filter decor, around the tank. I think he died and someone tossed him -.- but oh well. No more Platy babies LOL

I'm so rambling but I also noticed the Mosquito or as I call them Skeeter fishies didn't like the filters. The current scared them and they'd hide in the rocks. So I'm going to test out leaving the filters off and doing WCs every other day. I also lowered the water level a bit. They seem to prefer the more shallow areas of the creek that have just inches of water so I dropped it by about 20%. The water is SO clear and pretty though and they really stand out against the BG. I'll be moving the hood from my ghetto rigged 20G light fixture back to the 10G to see if that makes it purdier ;P

I'm also going to try and scrape off the paint on the sides of the 20G. Think it's safe to use paint thinner so long as the top is covered?

Hmm matter fact I think I'll head over there right now!


_______________
Makena: My name
'95GT: My 1995 convertible Mustang GT

 

I find it interesting because I've never seen a big tadpole like this at the creek. Nor bullfrogs. That I know of. Maybe little ones. But the frogs I have seen w're not even an inch in length.

Because they eat so much, they have bigger territories than most frogs, but it's weird to find a tadpole all by his lonesome, unless he tagged along on a water fowl's leg as an egg (this is how we got fish in our pond, fun fact).

I also put two Convict fry in there just to see how they'd fair. until they get about an inch in length. Then they go in the 20. Then they find a new home. They were the same size and age of my others. But in the native tank now they're much bigger than the others. More weiiiird.

There's a few other threads on the forum speculating about how when a fish is the only one of its species in a tank, it is the dominant fish, and will grow faster, as opposed to when a fish is the smallest, wimpiest one of its species in a tank with lots of competition, it will grow more slowly.

I'm so rambling but I also noticed the Mosquito or as I call them Skeeter fishies didn't like the filters. The current scared them and they'd hide in the rocks. So I'm going to test out leaving the filters off and doing WCs every other day. I also lowered the water level a bit. They seem to prefer the more shallow areas of the creek that have just inches of water so I dropped it by about 20%. The water is SO clear and pretty though and they really stand out against the BG. I'll be moving the hood from my ghetto rigged 20G light fixture back to the 10G to see if that makes it purdier ;P

You could try using a current diffuser on your filter; that way they'd get the crystal clear water they're used to, but wouldn't be spooked by the current.

I'm also going to try and scrape off the paint on the sides of the 20G. Think it's safe to use paint thinner so long as the top is covered?

Hmm matter fact I think I'll head over there right now!

NO! Do not use paint thinner near your tank! Risk of contamination is WAY too high, imo, and the hood isn't air-tight; those fumes are NASTY, even for people. What kind of paint is it? I bet I can find a slightly less toxic method for you.

 

I was just thinking that about the Convict. He/shes just under an inch now where the others are about half an inch.. maybe. That's a pretty cool fact to test out though

Ahh so I just decided to take my finger nail to the paint. Turns out it just chips off. So I got a straight edge razor blade, and handeled it. No scratches, and no paint whoooo

Good thinking on the diffuser. Of course my dumb brain wouldnt think of something a obvious. lol. I'll try that method with the tin can I saw on here.. After I find a can >.>
Or ill find some other creative way to make my own. Wait, wouldnt a plastic water bottle do the same thing?? AHA! *Goes to make diffuser*

 

I was just thinking that about the Convict. He/shes just under an inch now where the others are about half an inch.. maybe. That's a pretty cool fact to test out though

Ahh so I just decided to take my finger nail to the paint. Turns out it just chips off. So I got a straight edge razor blade, and handeled it. No scratches, and no paint whoooo

Good thinking on the diffuser. Of course my dumb brain wouldnt think of something a obvious. lol. I'll try that method with the tin can I saw on here.. After I find a can >.>
Or ill find some other creative way to make my own. Wait, wouldnt a plastic water bottle do the same thing?? AHA! *Goes to make diffuser*

plastic water bottles can indeed do the same thing, many other members have used this method. If it doesn't cut down the flow enough, you can stick sponges to the outside edges so the water has to flow through that to get to your tank. And you really scared me with the paint thinner lol. Sounds like it was acrylic, which we used to use to paint our store windows since it comes off so easy. You can scrub it off, too

 

Check out if you haven't already. It's an active thread addressing the same issue. Hope it helps!

 

LOL sorry for the scare

Yes, I did see that thread I just ghetto rigged my filter output with cut out water bottles. Not so much a diffuser as a current pointer LOL. Now the current goes the length of the tank, skimming the surface, rather than straight down into the depth water. It only seems to work enough. The Skeeters are out and about


_______________
Makena: My name
'95GT: My 1995 convertible Mustang GT

 

When he turns into a froggy he's gonna take up all of your tank and eat all the fishes!