Tadpole Care Guide

Tadpole Care:

Containers:
Deli cups or similar: You can use a 36 oz deli cup for each tadpole for individual rearing. Initially fill the container with ¼ of tadpole tea. Add some java moss to help with water quality and provide edible plant material. Also add an Indian almond leaf. We also recommend adding a few calcium granules (oyster shell) to add mineral content and hardness "GH" to the water. Every few days add a pellet of food. Same day using a water pipette or dropper, remove uneaten food. Food that spoils will foul the water and affect the mortality of the tadpole. Likewise remove any tadpole droppings that are visible. After the first week add another quarter cup of water to the container. Repeat till the cup is full. If the water appears murky or otherwise every month, do a water change to help maintain water quality.

Tadpole Food:
You have multiple food options available. The goal is to give a balanced diet including protein and vitamins for proper development. Commercial products are available. Be careful of mixes that you create into a gel such as "Soilent green". Although nutritious, it can foul the water quickly. Fluval Bugbites, tadpole pellets from Houston Frogs, or other companies are core choices. Roll pellets in chlorella and spirulina. Live foods such as larva, dead flies, cut worms, shrimp are also valuable feeders. Always provide a plant such as java moss or similar that helps to filter the water and provide additional edible material. Always provide Indian Almond leaves, Catappa to tadpole water. This helps to maintain a soft water, provide tannins and is also readily consumed by tadpoles.
Water hygiene:
Water quality is key for dart frogs. In the wild tadpole deposit sites are often replenished with fresh rainwater. (Note tropical forest rainwater has a low TDS (total dissolved solids) rating. Rainwater in municipalities has a high TDS rating. Air pollutants will be present in rainwater. City rain water also tends to be acidic. Thus avoid using rainwater and well water for tadpoles. Plan for weekly water changes or running a charcoal based water filter. Clean water is needed for raising healthy dart frog tadpoles. Note, the frequency of water changes and providing freshwater is different from say raising fish and the notion of water cycling. In say a bromeliad in the wild, its water is flushed from ammonia, nitrates, nitrites. Thus the same holds true for your tadpole cups. Frequent water changes prevents ammonia buildup, negating the need for nitrogen fixing bacteria to maintain your water quality.
Tadpole development:
After up to several months the tadpole larva will first develop its back legs. Several weeks later it will develop its front legs. During this time its gills will slowly be replaced by functioning lungs. As the front legs become visible and approaching final development length it is time to reduce the water level and provide easy access to land. Since tadpoles lose the ability to respirate from gills in the water it will need to breathe air from its newly developed lungs. Tadpoles left too long in water may drown at this point in time. As the front legs are developed the tail will be absorbed. Loss of the tail will drastically affect its ability to swim. Deli cups used for rearing should be tilted to 45 degrees to allow a tadpole to walk out of water easily when it's ready. If you use reading aquariums they should have platforms to emerge from the water safely. At this time prior to emerging from the water feeding can be stopped. As the froglet will not readily eat as it will get nutrient value from tail absorption.
Froglets:
As the tadpole leaves the water for land it is now referred to as a froglet (little frog). You should have its enclosure seeded with springtails. These small arthropods are a basic cleanup crew member for vivarium's. When you are planning on raising tadpoles you should look to have several cultures of springtails available to keep a healthy supply in your froglets enclosure. For the first few months you should look to have a small setup for froglets. Small enclosures let you easily monitor the health and progress of your froglet. It is easier to maintain a higher density of springtails in a smaller area as well. A froglet setup is typically called a "grow out bin". You want a drainage layer at the bottom to hold water. This can be aquarium/ pond foam. Then layer the surface with leaf litter. Throw in a few plant cuttings. Mist daily. Note that small setups are more at risk to temperature variances. Ideally you want steady temperatures from ~66-76F. Avoid areas that are exposed to drafts and sunlight. As weeks go by and size increases you can start offering melanogaster fruit flies. Don't over feed to start as that can stress them out. Make sure to use an amphibian supplement such as Repashy calcium plus at each feeding. Frog here froglets will get larger and sturdier. Avoid placing small froglets with larger frogs/ their parents as larger frogs can outcompete smaller and more frail frogs. From here you can look to raise as you would older frogs and look to place in a fully planted vivarium.