Tad Poles... Suddenly Dead!

[glennsche]

hi there,

this is my very first post on fishforums. i'm so distressed!

i caught two tadpoles which were in different stages when we got them. they were both small, but one was a few weeks older/larger than the other.

the older one got some hindlegs then suddenly died. the younger one, which was tiny tiny translucent when we caught it, grew and grew and grew until finally was around the size of a thumbnail and was a complete frogpole (ie, a perfect looking frog but just had its tail still), and then today it too suddenly died. it had a rock to sit on and had spent the last few days glued to the glass of the bowl.

we fed them spinach and kept them in a bowl of filtered water which we treated with that ammonia/chlorine killing chemical, so their water shoudl've been sufficient. they had plenty of spinach. they didnt seem to be quite at the carnivorous phase yet, since we put in a few odd blood worms into the water with them which we feed our newts (which, thankfully, are doing great).

any tips on why our tadpoles cant seem to quite make it to froggyhood? its very distressing, especially about this last one. It was just about ready to go into the main tank with the newts.

any help would be appreciated,

glennsche

 

[mixmaster jay]

when i had some i fed them salmon/and a mix i made up salmon/prawns/mussels/squidrings/cucumber/lettuce/1 piece of garlic/spinach/bloodworm/a little water fairly lightly blended to a smooth lumpy (small lumps for the fish) paste put some in a freezer bag folded the open end over (about an inch) thinned it out so it filld the bag but went very thin (so you can snap it) and then freeze it and just snap a bit off when you want it, my tadpoles and froglets went mental for it a complete feeding frenzy they loved it but if you dont want to do all that just try small pieces of fresh salmon/prawns ect they should eat that fine also sink a bit of cucumber in to

you shouldn't really catch these as i think its illegal i got mine from some pond plants i got given and they went back into this pond too

take a look at this http/aqualandpetsplus.com/Amphibian,%20Tadpole.htm

 

[afishdude]

It's not illegal if you have a fishing license as long as frogs are in season and you do not take over your limit of frogs. Tadpoles count as frogs in iowa.


Source: I'm a conservation officer.

 

[mixmaster jay]

is that law the same here then mate as tadpoles and frogs are protected here

 

[afishdude]

is that law the same here then mate as tadpoles and frogs are protected here

I would say that if you can not take frogs then you can not take tadpoles.

 

[saltynay]

In the UK you can remove the tadpoles/eggs but you must return them to their original pond before they complete development. It is not illegal to remove them unless you go outside these guidelines but its good for it to be common knowledge that it is illegal so that our amphibian populations are not destroyed. I let my friends catch my tadpoles and newts but when they ask if I could stick it in a tank I always tell them its illegal even though it is not except for the great crested.

 

[mixmaster jay]

cool now i know

 

[keenonfish]

In the UK you can remove the tadpoles/eggs but you must return them to their original pond before they complete development. It is not illegal to remove them unless you go outside these guidelines but its good for it to be common knowledge that it is illegal so that our amphibian populations are not destroyed. I let my friends catch my tadpoles and newts but when they ask if I could stick it in a tank I always tell them its illegal even though it is not except for the great crested.

Will add that it is also illegal to even disturb any pond containing protected species (great crested newts, silver diving beetles etc) so I would make sure the site isn't an SSSI or similar before going near it with a net!

 

[saltynay]

Indeed I believe the protected species are not allowed to be disturbed unless the pond has not been their habitat for 5 years. I have the unfortunate problem off my garden pond being a great crested newt thriving breeding ground as it did not have fish in it for a few years and the population of newts and frogs exploded for it. Last time I cleaned it out there were 67 (yes I did count them as I returned from the bucket I had stored them in temporarily) newts with the majority being great crested and there were still some lingering in the 3" high water. I try my utmost to not harm them and I have grown up with them so can id them very easily so make sure none of my friends ever catch one.

 

[keenonfish]

Indeed I believe the protected species are not allowed to be disturbed unless the pond has not been their habitat for 5 years. I have the unfortunate problem off my garden pond being a great crested newt thriving breeding ground as it did not have fish in it for a few years and the population of newts and frogs exploded for it. Last time I cleaned it out there were 67 (yes I did count them as I returned from the bucket I had stored them in temporarily) newts with the majority being great crested and there were still some lingering in the 3" high water. I try my utmost to not harm them and I have grown up with them so can id them very easily so make sure none of my friends ever catch one.

You are very lucky mate! I have to admit I occasionally have a dip at a protected pond I visit (when the rangers gone home lol) but I have never actually caught a Greater Crested newt and would love to see one! However it is mainly the smaller critters that I go for not the newts