Tadpoles surfacing

[Daniel Broadbridge]

Hi all,

I'm new to raising tadpoles and want to check something I've noticed.

So I gathered some tadpoles from a pond in suburban Melbourne and placed them in a tank I purchased. They've survived for most of a week and seem fairly healthy, so I must be doing something right.

Anyway, I've noticed they seem to be swimming to the top periodically and breaking the surface, then going back down to the bottom again, about every minute or so. It doesn't seem to be food related as they're not targeting the food fragments I've given them when they do it. Do they need more oxygen, or is this normal behaviour?

Based on published frog counts for the collection site, I suspect they're either Eastern Banjo or Brown Tree.

Would appreciate suggestions.

Thanks

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[darkness975]

Hi all,

I'm new to raising tadpoles and want to check something I've noticed.

So I gathered some tadpoles from a pond in suburban Melbourne and placed them in a tank I purchased. They've survived for most of a week and seem fairly healthy, so I must be doing something right.

Anyway, I've noticed they seem to be swimming to the top periodically and breaking the surface, then going back down to the bottom again, about every minute or so. It doesn't seem to be food related as they're not targeting the food fragments I've given them when they do it. Do they need more oxygen, or is this normal behaviour?

Based on published frog counts for the collection site, I suspect they're either Eastern Banjo or Brown Tree.

Would appreciate suggestions.

Thanks

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I see that behavior from wild tadpoles too. I think they are acquiring oxygen from the air.

 

[Andrea82]

Maybe they're starting to develop lungs and use them? I have the worlds biggest tadpoles (axolotl) and they have gills, skin and lungs to get oxygen and they frequently get a gulp of air from the surface

 

[Sarkhan42]

Lungs usually develop around the same time you start seeing the start of legs in most species if I remember correctly, so if they’re around that life stage it would make sense that they’re going up for their oxygen.

 

[darkness975]

axolotl

Makes me sad they are nearly extinct.

 

[Andrea82]

Makes me sad they are nearly extinct.

In the wild, yes. In hobby/science there are actually so much that you can get them for free in some areas, or for a small price. I think i saw an article on the idea of place captive animals back to the lake they originate from. But as long as the Mexicans keep fishing and eating them, refuse to keep their crap on land instead of the lake, and their government keeps drying parts up for farming and hotel buildings, it's like carrying water to the ocean...
I enjoy my two, once you have the parameters right and the tank cycled, they're pretty easy to keep. Very food motivated I feed mine by hand, they are very tame. I don't handle them of course, but feeding is fun

 

[darkness975]

In hobby/science there are actually so much that you can get them for free in some areas, or for a small price. I think i saw an article on the idea of place captive animals back to the lake they originate from.

Sadly both of these statements I also knew. Captivity is okay and all, but losing a species in its native habitat, especially for such useless and stupid reasons, is unfortunate.

 

[Esherman81]

We had a few over the spring ..a grey tree frog laid eggs in my bird bath and scared the birds would eat them so we raised them ..only 4 didn't make it ..they grow and we let them go ..great way too show kids the life stages of frogs and still have the joy of letting them go .