She's laid about 150 eggs and really does not look any thinner.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v162/nonamethefish/?action=view¤t=MVI_1556-copy.flv
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critterguy.antfarm |
spawning video |
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I picked up a male for the group of 3 I managed to build so far(all from same source). Everyone appeared happy about the introduction and last night I caught
them in amplexus. Here is a really cruddy video of the approach, rollover, and oviposition. It really doesn't match the breeding account on here. The
female released anywhere from 5-12 eggs each time, and on good attempts they actually broke the surface a bit while laying and left them as a cluster.
Sometimes they were unable to actually get the eggs onto the surface successfully and what few they would produce on these dry runs would drop to the bottom.
What I see interesting is how the male scrunches up so his cloaca and the females can be as close together as possible....he actually points it
downward(upward.
She's laid about 150 eggs and really does not look any thinner. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v162/nonamethefish/?action=view¤t=MVI_1556-copy.flv |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Amy73 |
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Very interesting!
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critterguy.antfarm |
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I'm going to give it a shot. Set up some jars with a piece of banana peel in them in hopes of getting some microlife going. Can they take BBS at hatching?
I've heard they need paramecium etc. for the first week or so.
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Amy73 |
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Hmmm....I can't answer the tad feeding question, as I've never raised any. Sorry.
Amy
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todley |
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Sound slike they've been busy little frogs. 150 eggs is a good amount and there will be more to come in the near future no doubt. They'll hatch in
about 48 hours and look like a little brown grain of rice while they morph into tads. They'll need and will likely find microscopic foods for the first
couple of days but once they develop into tads with long tails and start motoring around, they should be able to feed on BBS. You could start some eggs to
hatch in the next day so you have some live foods for them when they're ready for it. Have you moved the eggs out? The parents will feed on eggs as well
as tads if not. You'll also need a grow out tank for them all. I'm not sure if you've had a chance to review our Breeding Article or not but it gives you the basics from a combination of our experience here on
raising them. This will be interesting to follow with you as you get into Tad Ranching.
todley |
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ShellyB518 |
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Congrats! With all the sadness on the board it is just great to see this! Adorable little video and I am hoping for some cute little tads very soon.
-Shelly |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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So far est. 25 eggs that I removed from the tank are developing into little commas. Over half the eggs fungused over. I haven't seen any of the frogs
eating the eggs...the big female even got one in her mouth while going for a blackworm and spat it out.
Also, right now the biggest and smallest female are going absolutely ballistic...running laps around the tank. Could this be a sign of another night of froggy hugging? The male is nowhere to be seen, but he is pretty shy and pops out of the plant covered fake log only on the occasion for worms. |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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I'm sure many of you have read David Cecere's dwarf frog breeding log. If so, what do you think of using a net breeder or similar arrangement? I'm
thinking of getting a plastic salad box(the ones from Costco that have the organic mixed greens...they have the footprint of a critter keeper) and putting the
tads there for now. Also have a large sweaterbox or two that could be used for tad growout. Things are warming up here but I think room temp is still a bit too
cold so I'm trying to keep everything confined to one tank ATM.
Thanks guys for all the help! |
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todley |
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Well tomorrow is the first day of spring so it could very well be the ladies are searching for a mate. I hope you removed all the fungused eggs as they'll
foul the water if left in there. This occurs often if they didn't get fertilized but I'm glad you;ve got some that hatched. Are you going to move them
into a separate container and try to raise them?
I'd check your water parameters to ensure there's nothing out of whack and driving the girls to distraction though and do keep your eye on the main tank if you removed the little ones as you'll likely continue to find a few stragglers. todley |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Sure enough at 11 o clock the male had appeared and was in amplexus with the big female. More eggs, seems not quite as many as yesterday but still 100 or so
have been laid.
Eggs of previous batch have hatched into "tadpoles". Some are starting to actually get the distinctive head/tail. 2 are curled up that either haven't hatched or are injured somehow so I'll be removing them. Time to start the BS hatchery? |
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ShellyB518 |
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todley |
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They hatch in 48 hours and stay in the grain of rice stage for another 2 or 3 days so by day 4 or 5 some will be ready for some good foods.
todley |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Ok, the tadpoles have hatched and are hanging around near the surface upside down. Is it time to offer them food?
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ShellyB518 |
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I haven't had tads (only have girlies at the moment) but I would think you should start offering foods.
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Well, I regret to report that most of the first batch of tadpoles have dissapeared/been eaten/starved due to a rather preventable accident. If you are going to
float them in your tank, make sure the rim of the container is above the water. *feels stupid* The tadpoles transformed to the mobile stage and were seen
swimming around the tank but have probably either starved or got eaten by the adults at that point.
I took out the container and put it outside the tank a few days ago. Well...lo and behold in this 65 degree or so water I discover one tadpole is still alive and much bigger! The water is pretty dirty/scummy so probably has lots of microlife its been feeding on. But are low temperatures like these harmful? The tad seems to be doing well enough I might forget about trying to keep them at 75. The adults are predictably laying eggs almost every day. I sucked up some to see if they will hatch in this cooler water. Also, does it strike anyone as amazing how much these tadpoles are like fish?! It is an amazing example of convergent evolution. The irridescence, the large eyes, and their way of hunting is almost indentical to, say, anabantoid or killifish fry! |
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ShellyB518 |
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I am so sorry. Can you tell us what is your room temp? It is likely a bit cold for them so if you want to do the tad ranching then I would probably invest
in a small grow out tank for them. I am not sure what the heating requirements are for eggs to hatch. Are you doing any water changes in the tad's
container?
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todley |
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I have no answer for you on the cooler temps for hatching issue but if you are using cooler water, please post about it so we can learn a little more. Knowing
what temp water you have and hatch rate for the eggs would be interesting. I'm sorry you lost so many though. Stephanie is right about the need for a grow
out tank if you are successful in hatching more eggs.
I found myself watching them from above for hours as they motored around with their tails hunting for a tasty tidbit. They seem to be all belly and eyes at that stage and their vision is perfect. todley |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Well, it appears 65 is not too cool to prevent eggs from hatching. That being said, the viability of these eggs leaves something to be desired. I'd like to
raise up one batch of similar aged tads/frogs and out of the 100+ eggs typically 20 will actually develop. Is this normal?
I hope to get some of the eggs under a dissecting scope soon. That would be interesting! |
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critterguy.antfarm |
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Hello Shelly:
Is their any cheap way you guys know of to provide the heat required? I have several sweater boxes of types I have used for raising newt larvae/fish fry in the past...they should work for the tads but I'm hesitant to buy yet another heater unless one is truly needed. Yes, water is changed every few days as I see fit. |
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todley |
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That's interesting to note they hatch out at lower temps but I'm almost positive they'll need warmer water to thrive and grow. Usually I have had
upwards of 75 eggs hatch out of 100+ but only around 25 survivors after the first couple weeks. Apparently some of these little ones are able to emit a
chemical into the water which will reduce their numbers so the more water available for them, the better chances for more suvivors. Part of survival of the
fittest in Mother Nature's grand plan.
How big a container or tank do you have them in? Smaller ones might be able to be warmed by a light shining on it 24/7 which you could cover at night with dark towels to retain the warmth and give them a night and day scenario. Anything larger, I'd highly recommend a heater. You can get a really good 25w Visatherm Stealth heater for reasonable prices which works well on smaller tanks. I highly recommend at least a 5 g grow out for them with an air stone if you don't have a cycled set up going for them. The next 2 months are busy times for tad ranching, what with feeding, cleaning and water changes, especially if you're hatching & growing your own bbs. todley |
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