Please help with me Afican Dwarf Frog Tadpoles

Please help with my African dwarf frog tadpoles..I woke up 2 days ago to adf eggs..now they have hatched and I don't know what to do except what I Have tried to find online. Can anyone help with these questions? 1 they don't have liquid or Dry fry food at petsmart So what can I feed them? 2 do I need the light on during the day? 3. I have them in a 1 gallon tank with no filter so how much water do I change a day and do I add anything like Prime? Please can someone direct me to a page where its just info on the babies or tell me from ur own experience what to do. Also is it OK to leave the unfertilized eggs in there? Will they eat the yoke from those? Please help and thank u in advance

 

Congrats on the tadpoles & good luck. Raising them is time consuming, tedious but oh so rewarding.

This sticky was invaluable to me
ADF Tadpole Development | Amphibian Forum | 96366

I had the most luck with this set up:
Picture in post 16 here:
I've got ADF tadpoles and more! | Amphibian Forum | 163144

Those threads should answer your questions and help guide you.
I only used room lighting.

Infusoria is a great first food. (tank water, lettuce in clear jar sit in the sun) There are threads here on on the forum that will help with that)
Infusoria cultures and recipes | Fish Food Forum | 35869

After reading the above links, please ask if you have more questions.
A few of us have had luck raising them

 

I'm no professional at frogs but Algae and Mosquito larvae seems to work well for all frog tadpoles in my pool to become adults. algae and moquito larvae.

Some info on species specifics I found here.
Tiny Eggs & Tadpoles: Caring for Your African Dwarf Frogs

When tadpoles have hatched its almost exclusively algae fine particles as I understand it.
I don't know specifics of your species but I'd suppose it would be the same for all frogs.
The article I read said liquifry or baby brine shrimp so I'd think just something really small they can get into their mouths. I've had luck with newly hatch fish fry and Hikari first bites.
2. Natural light is best I believe, light being on 12 hours and off 12 hours, as a normal light cycle. 12 hours of light will also promote algae growth which is a first food source, always some of my fry supplement with algae as they grow.

3. Chlorine will kill them, just like in a pool. You should dechlorinate and do water changes daily. As the tadpoles grow their size and the bioload increases, the water will get worse and worse if you don't and you want clean non-toxic water for the best growth and development.

This is my personal opinion next.
at around 3-4 weeks of growth they can eat larger insect larvae. if it's warmer where you are and you have mosquitos, put out a tray of tap water in the morning in an area that doesn't get much sun, in a day or so it will dechorinate and you'll have mosquito rafts on the water and probably new hatched mosquito larvae.
I know people hate mosquitos but where I am, south Florida, they are an easy and abundant food source for tiny fry and stuff just ripe for the picking and available almost year round and easy. Eggs hatch to larvae in 25-48 hours, 7-10 days after that and the larvae molt 3x and become pupae and case up and float on top, from this point they would hatch into flying mosquitos. All you have to do is leave a tray of tapwater out for a day or two and voila Free easy food!
As long as you get them out, manually or by them being eaten, by the time they pupate, you won't see a flying mosquito in the house.

I wish you all the luck, from my experience with fish, like the unhatched eggs, you won't be able to save every one of the tadpoles or fry either. It's the reason the have so many offspring in the first place. Don't freak out and worry if some die it's just part of the whole deal. Some aren't going to make it..

Oh and I never had luck with growing infusoria as was mentioned trying, however I don't have planted tanks and don't have infusoria to multiply from to begin with. I tried a few times and got nothing but foul water. I'm suspecting it has to be present in the tank water from plants and stuff and then you can grow and multiply them, but if you don't have them they won't just appear.

 

I'm no professional at frogs but Algae and Mosquito larvae seems to work well for all frog tadpoles in my pool to become adults. algae and moquito larvae.

Some info on species specifics I found here.
Tiny Eggs & Tadpoles: Caring for Your African Dwarf Frogs

When tadpoles have hatched its almost exclusively algae fine particles as I understand it.
I don't know specifics of your species but I'd suppose it would be the same for all frogs.
The article I read said liquifry or baby brine shrimp so I'd think just something really small they can get into their mouths. I've had luck with newly hatch fish fry and Hikari first bites.
2. Natural light is best I believe, light being on 12 hours and off 12 hours, as a normal light cycle. 12 hours of light will also promote algae growth which is a first food source, always some of my fry supplement with algae as they grow.

3. Chlorine will kill them, just like in a pool. You should dechlorinate and do water changes daily. As the tadpoles grow their size and the bioload increases, the water will get worse and worse if you don't and you want clean non-toxic water for the best growth and development.

This is my personal opinion next.
at around 3-4 weeks of growth they can eat larger insect larvae. if it's warmer where you are and you have mosquitos, put out a tray of tap water in the morning in an area that doesn't get much sun, in a day or so it will dechorinate and you'll have mosquito rafts on the water and probably new hatched mosquito larvae.
I know people hate mosquitos but where I am, south Florida, they are an easy and abundant food source for tiny fry and stuff just ripe for the picking and available almost year round and easy. Eggs hatch to larvae in 25-48 hours, 7-10 days after that and the larvae molt 3x and become pupae and case up and float on top, from this point they would hatch into flying mosquitos. All you have to do is leave a tray of tapwater out for a day or two and voila Free easy food!
As long as you get them out, manually or by them being eaten, by the time they pupate, you won't see a flying mosquito in the house.

I wish you all the luck, from my experience with fish, like the unhatched eggs, you won't be able to save every one of the tadpoles or fry either. It's the reason the have so many offspring in the first place. Don't freak out and worry if some die it's just part of the whole deal. Some aren't going to make it..

Oh and I never had luck with growing infusoria as was mentioned trying, however I don't have planted tanks and don't have infusoria to multiply from to begin with. I tried a few times and got nothing but foul water. I'm suspecting it has to be present in the tank water from plants and stuff and then you can grow and multiply them, but if you don't have them they won't just appear.

Thank you for ur help I'm going to read the articles and try. I have already lost some but trying to do the best for the remainder. They say ur lucky if out of 750 a couple live. Well I'm gonna try my best. Thanks

Congrats on the tadpoles & good luck. Raising them is time consuming, tedious but oh so rewarding.

This sticky was invaluable to me
ADF Tadpole Development | Amphibian Forum | 96366

I had the most luck with this set up:
Picture in post 16 here:
I've got ADF tadpoles and more! | Amphibian Forum | 163144

Those threads should answer your questions and help guide you.
I only used room lighting.

Infusoria is a great first food. (tank water, lettuce in clear jar sit in the sun) There are threads here on on the forum that will help with that)
Infusoria cultures and recipes | Fish Food Forum | 35869

After reading the above links, please ask if you have more questions.
A few of us have had luck raising them

Thank u. I'm going to read those articles cause everything I have found on line is generic at best. I hope I can find something they can eat and when to feed them because I cant find any powdered or liquid food. I'm hoping maybe I can find a way to crush some frozen brine shrimp or something cause I wasn't prepared for this and scratching my head on why PetSmart doesnt have anything. Thank again

Congrats on the tadpoles & good luck. Raising them is time consuming, tedious but oh so rewarding.

This sticky was invaluable to me
ADF Tadpole Development | Amphibian Forum | 96366

I had the most luck with this set up:
Picture in post 16 here:
I've got ADF tadpoles and more! | Amphibian Forum | 163144

Those threads should answer your questions and help guide you.
I only used room lighting.

Infusoria is a great first food. (tank water, lettuce in clear jar sit in the sun) There are threads here on on the forum that will help with that)
Infusoria cultures and recipes | Fish Food Forum | 35869

After reading the above links, please ask if you have more questions.
A few of us have had luck raising them

Omg thank u so much for the infusoria recipe..that I can do lol You are a lifesaver or shall I say ADF baby saver

 

Frogbreeder actually lives up to her name. She bred them and was a speaker at many Canadian fish clubs and conventions on the subject.
Her write up just about holds your hand step by step

Please post pictures and keep us up to date!

 

Thank you for ur help I'm going to read the articles and try. I have already lost some but trying to do the best for the remainder. They say ur lucky if out of 750 a couple live. Well I'm gonna try my best. Thanks

Thank u. I'm going to read those articles cause everything I have found on line is generic at best. I hope I can find something they can eat and when to feed them because I cant find any powdered or liquid food. I'm hoping maybe I can find a way to crush some frozen brine shrimp or something cause I wasn't prepared for this and scratching my head on why PetSmart doesnt have anything. Thank again

Omg thank u so much for the infusoria recipe..that I can do lol You are a lifesaver or shall I say ADF baby saver

In my area petsmart and all the others don't have anything for fry or microfish or tadpoles because the packaging is so small, it sells for like $7 and people steal it.
I hunted for the Hikari first bites couldn't find it anywhere. Checked my local fish store and even they said they didn't have it and never seen it, so I wnt to the back at the fish counter and noticed they had a locked display case behind the counter and there it was. I asked the guy again and he was like "ohhh yeah, we lock it up because it's so small people steal it, I didn't even realize it was there nobody asks for it".

Nobody asks for it because it's not with the fish foods and nobody that works there knows it there. Lol.

You can order first bites and most other things off Amazon though, just with the first bites it was like $5.99 for 0.35 oz. And then they want another $4.99 for shipping.

Probably decapsulated brine shrimp would work (the non-hatching kind). There's also ocean nutrition instant baby brine shrimp (needs to be refrigerated after opening and has an expiration date)

There another dry food from Sera, a German company, that has a food called Micron Nature. That might be what you're looking for for tadpoles. It's a micro fry food made with zooplankton and phytoplankton, probably it's the best to meet the dietary needs of tadpoles from that aspect.

If you can't find something locally, it's usually on Amazon and a day or two shipping away, just saying

You know, I was reading the articles posted by Lucy, and my mind is blown by the wealth of info there on ADFsand feeding them! Follow those instructions for sure! Be blessed!

 

If you can try to get some live baby brine shrimp hatched. These little guys are carnivores and will hunt mid tank. Powdered foods and frozen baby brine shrimp will sink or float and foul the water either way it's a lot of food wasted.

With that said, I really sucked at hatching BBS. So mostly I used Ken's golden pearls and frozen baby brine shrimp thawed in tank water and squirted gently in the tank so they appeared to be 'swimming"

 

If you can try to get some live baby brine shrimp hatched. These little guys are carnivores and will hunt mid tank. Powdered foods and frozen baby brine shrimp will sink or float and foul the water either way it's a lot of food wasted.

With that said, I really sucked at hatching BBS. So mostly I used Ken's golden pearls and frozen baby brine shrimp thawed in tank water and squirted gently in the tank so they appeared to be 'swimming"

Lucy u have been great and I hope I can ask u question as time go on. I followed ur link to where u had babies urself and did a great job!! I am making a batch of the inf u told me about and it should b ready in 2 to 3 days I quess but I have a question already..lol...when do I start feeding them. The eggs were 2 days ago now they r hatched today when I woke up and when I changed the water some were actually swimming but their idle now. So this is there first day. Will they be OK for a couple days while I wait for their food to develope? Also I noticed a couple in the parents tank, I was leaving them to nature but will whatever they emit harm the adults? I know this is why the bath is done so should I take em out and put in the 1 gallon tank with the rest?? Thank u..ur gonna be my new bff..

 

I hadn't heard of ocean nutrition instant baby brine shrimp that SparkyJones mentioned. That looks promising, as they said they'll feed off the egg sac at this point

You have time to hatch BBS or get frozen or micro food. Newly hatched, they'll hang on to plants (if you don't have live, now's a good time to get some easy ones) and decorations and munch on micro-organisms that grow there then venture out a little
Once they really start free swimming they'll look to hunt food at close to a week old.

Tads won't hurt the adults and any left in the tank will likely be eaten.
Remove any infertile eggs, they'll go fungusy.

There are other members who have had luck raising them and are also a wealth of info

 

Good afternoon Lucy thank u for ur help. I watched ur progress with them and noticed they were kept in kriter keepers and I thought they were not supposed to have anything in there tank yet. I made the mistake of keeping a few small rocks in the bottom and they tend to hand out down there sometimes. I did 50% water change today and there are around 10to 15 swimming around but after awhile the go about 1/2 inch below the surface and remain still. Me being such an animal/ critter lover actually feel bad thinking I'm hurting them somehow. I guess this will be trial and error and I'll know what to so if I get anymore eggs. Do u know how often they lay eggs? I have 2 boys and 1 girl for a year now and they have been doing the hugging thing for MONTHS with no eggs, them BAM babies. I already have 4 tanks 1 is the hospital tank that they r in now but I guess I may have to buy another tank but going to wait to see how many r going to make it over the next couple weeks. Another question sorry, from hatching how long does it take for them to get legs or arms? This is when I should separate them like u did right? Just curios how long I have to get another tank cause I cant throw them in my guppy tanks till their fully developed. Thank u

I hadn't heard of ocean nutrition instant baby brine shrimp that SparkyJones mentioned. That looks promising, as they said they'll feed off the egg sac at this point

You have time to hatch BBS or get frozen or micro food. Newly hatched, they'll hang on to plants (if you don't have live, now's a good time to get some easy ones) and decorations and munch on micro-organisms that grow there then venture out a little
Once they really start free swimming they'll look to hunt food at close to a week old.

Tads won't hurt the adults and any left in the tank will likely be eaten.
Remove any infertile eggs, they'll go fungusy.

There are other members who have had luck raising them and are also a wealth of info

Quick question I noticed frogbreeder said to put a piece of plant from another tank in there for food. Do I put the whole piece or cut it cause they r paying it no mind. Also is the blood from the frozen brine shrimp or blood worm have any nutrition for them.? I have to wait till the stuff I made the inf..whatever it is lol grows or for amazon to deliver the BBS hatchery this week and don't want them to starve.. Thank u

 

My thread is just the way I did it, not a hard and fast rule or probably how anyone else did it. lol
I found that by floating tupperware or kritter keepers, (I had several lying around) in a heated tank that the temperature and pH stayed consistent for daily water changes.

A live plant is better, cuttings will die off. Java moss if a good choice for the tadpole stage.
Java fern is also a good choice. Something that doesn't need to be planted if you keep their containters bare bottom

Mostly I separated them when they start to actively hunt, maybe at a week old. They will smell and sense movement. At least one of my tads decided it's sibling's tail was food.

I wouldn't use the blood. I've never seen that recommended. I imagine it would foul the water quickly.
Can you get to the store to get frozen baby brine shrimp, Hakari first bites or the fry food Sparky suggested?

You're not hurting them by putting rocks in the bottom but their 'tanks' will be harder to clean left over food.
Get a turkey baster. It will come in handy for quick clean ups.

Frogbreeder's guide can probably answer your how often question.
It seemed mine would mate for a few days in a row then have a period of a month or so when they didn't, or t least didn't produce eggs that i saw.
Sometimes I never saw any eggs, then bam, I'd spot a few tads.

If you search the amphibian forum here for 'eggs' or tadpoles you'll get an idea of other members set up and successes and adapt other styles to what will work for you.

Redshark1 might have suggestions as well.
They've had success and pretty sure a different routine

 

How are they doing?
Post some pictures when you get a chance.

 

How are they doing?
Post some pictures when you get a chance.

How are they doing?
Post some pictures when you get a chance.

They are doing good so far but I woke up this morning to more eggs in the parents tank. The insuforia is still under my grow light and cloudy so it's not ready yet. I do have frozen bbs but many say they wont eat them yet. I'm not so sure how to use this forum cause I'm new but I saw frogbreeders posts and it was a wealth of info. If I put the new eggs in with the tads will they try to eat there yoke?? I'm going to put them in a jar for now. I haven't been able to hit petsmart yet but petco has the 1$ a gallon sale right now so I better go get atleast a 10 gallon long. I really wasnt ready for this since I've had them a year and no eggs..lol. I dont know if u can see these pics but one is the tads and one is the new eggs. I'll take more when I do the water change.

How are they doing?
Post some pictures when you get a chance.

I just took out as much of the new eggs as I could. I noticed if I use a white Tbls to scoop em up it's easier to see. Anyway I thought it was crazy for a cup to float on the top with the eggs but WALLLA... got it to work with plastic and glass containers. Just hope the adults dont knock em over when jetting up for air!! got to go to work for a couple hrs then it's off to petco to get a new tank and more supplies..here is my crazy setup right now. Also how do I start a "thread" so I can post their progress and pics, instead of hitting reply, which is fine but i noticed you and some others do this.

 

Looks good!

My guess is the eggs will be okay with the tads for a little while. You'll be able to see by their growth and movement when they're ready for the BBS.

 

Looks good!

My guess is the eggs will be okay with the tads for a little while. You'll be able to see by their growth and movement when they're ready for the BBS.

On my way to petco to get a 10 gal long and some more cups to float. I guess I should get some real plants too. I'll send better pics. And can u tell me how to make a thread like you did posting there pics and progress? Thanks again 4 all ur help.

 

You can start a thread here in this forum just like you started this one.
Amphibian Forum

Looking forward to the progress

 

You can start a thread here in this forum just like you started this one.
Amphibian Forum

Looking forward to the progress

Can I ask u a question please? The adult tank is very high in ammonia. I have changed half the water, 2days no and also did a change where I added tank water from my big guppy tank. I cleaned the tank good the day B4 the eggs were laid. Now every day it's extremely high. Could that have been feeling m the eggs? I have added amonia lock and BB and changed water to no avail. I'm getting worried now. And I use bottled water so there nothing from water. What do I do? Thanks

 

What are the exact readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
What kind of bacterial additive did you add?

Adding water from an existing tank only transfers nitrates, not much beneficial bacteria

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about using bottled water. Ammo lock, hadn't read about it for several years. Had to google it because the claims used to be different.
It still confuses me. It says it converts it, removes it and detoxifies it. Can it doall three? I dunno but it does say your API kit will still pick it up.

 

What are the exact readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
What kind of bacterial additive did you add?

Adding water from an existing tank only transfers nitrates, not much beneficial bacteria

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about using bottled water. Ammo lock, hadn't read about it for several years. Had to google it because the claims used to be different.
It still confuses me. It says it converts it, removes it and detoxifies it. Can it doall three? I dunno but it does say your API kit will still pick it up.

I moved them into my big guppy tank because I was so scared. I have had them a yr with no water issues. I have even cleaned whole tank B4 and nothing like this. Though maybe it way due to the eggs. Anyway right now
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 10
pH 6-6.5
Kh 40
Gh 60-120
Ammonia between a 2-4ppm
I added tank water incase I threw the tank into new tank syndrome, and everyone says keep doing 10-50% water changes and that is the fastest way to get it down but it doesn't work plus I don't like adding a big much of chemicals but have tried them too. I'm putting a pic of the ammonia stuff and the BB and the starter for frogs.

 

Wow, that's a lot of products. Also those readings are pretty toxic

What are the readings in the guppy tank?
How many guppies and what else is in it? what size are both tanks?

 

The guppy tank is 20 gal and the water is perfect that's why I put the adult adfs in there and they r doing great..I have 1 mama guppy and 4 babies about 2mo old. I don't use all those products just have them on hand. I have taken down the 3gal tank the adults were in. I have lost a bunch of the tadpoles since I made the bath things with the cups for them the good news is the bbs hatched so now I can feed them..it's hard separating the live from dead tads and it breaks my heart how they pass so easily. I am pampering them with hopes I at least get 1 or 2 that make it to full grown. How many weeks does it take to go from tad to legs and arms?

 

`Aw, sorry you lost so many. I know the feeling.

It takes f o r e v e r or at least it seems like it. It'll take a good month and a half or so before their arms and legs are fully developed and a little longer before they are officially froglets and lose their tail.
That's a lot of feedings and water changes.

Sounds like the smaller tank was going through a full cycling process.