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Hymenichorus tadpole mortality

xxianxx

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My hymenichorus boettgeri layed a while back, I had a couple hundred tadpoles. They are starting to morph now and I have about twenty. They were kept in a cycled , unfiltered 3ft ,heavily planted and lit tank. Daphnia and Moina were added daily, I was concerned that some where not eating so trialed 20 on infusoria, they all died. I did no water changes but the ammonia, nitrate and nitrate levels where fine. The questions I want to ask are
1) is an 80% mortality rate typical for this species ?
2)what could I do to increase the survival rate ?
 

Boomsloth

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I know this post is pretty dated but after researching about them (my guys laid eggs while in quarantine two days ago) it seems like high mortality is common. You seemed to provide them with everything thats advised to help keep them alive. If you have another batch of eggs maybe get the tank cultured with some food source then add the eggs?

African Dwarf Frog - tadpole/froglet tank and feeding conditions
 

Boomsloth

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So wanted to update. Out of about 20 eggs only 4 hatched the rest got fungus. I put them into a deli cup and added a bit of duckweed suspended in a tank at 76F. Every few days I add a few milliliters of water containing zooplankton and Copepods. Didn't really expect much since I wasn't planning on eggs but they seem to be growing and none have died. Although 4 is hardly a number to go on. As I write this they seem to have begun laying again and I've already pulled out about 50 so I will see the mortality based on this strategy.
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xxianxx

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Hymennichorus ? I have more eggs hatching ATM, I have 3.3.11 and they are laying regularly. The juveniles are growing fast and are near enough the size of the males.
 

Boomsloth

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Yes hymennichirus most likely boettgeri but could have been hybridized at some point. I have 2.2 but never planned on any breeding. I will see how these tadpoles turn out. they seem to be doing fine on copepods which I have plenty from one of my tanks.
 

Boomsloth

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They were thriving until one became larger than the rest too quickly. It ate the others then passed. Definitely the most odd tadpole situation I've seen. The other eggs failed to hatch at all but the females are getting plump again.


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Boomsloth

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alright i've got tadpoles again. Unsure how many but no more than 10. My frogs laid eggs a few times since that first batch but seem to like laying while i'm in lab and eating most before I get back. I let the water go green with algae so I can't get an accurate count but I see them swimming to the sides often. The sides of the container have tons of copepods which is what they are eating (saw one chase one down). My frogs laid more eggs a few days ago and managed to scoop out about 30. will update if any make it any further.
 

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Here's an update. From what I can see there are at least 3 fat tadpoles. I've been adding small amounts of bbs so you can see the bright red bellies. Haven't done water changes besides a top off from the parents tank.
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Boomsloth

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And the update: the tadpoles were healthy and eating bbs each day, then suddenly I check the cup and there were only 4 fat healthy tadpoles. A few days later only one... then none. I replaced the water daily with the parents. These are also not really the best genetic stock since the parents are all pet store bought and not really planned for breeding. I haven't seen any new eggs for a while but caught one of my males doing a half *** mating dance. No idea if I plan on doing this again since i'm busy with my axolotl larvae.
 

xxianxx

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High mortality rates seem to be the norm for this species. I will be raising eggs next year ( hopefully) when I have plenty of live food available, I am planning to try a four foot tank outside , seed it with bugs and let them get on with it. I am just about to contact a commercial breeder in the UK about hymenichorus to see if I can get any info, will let you know if I learn anything.
 

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I picked up a 'blonde' adf juvie just to add to their numbers. I'm going to try a different technique if I have eggs again. I'll remove the adults rather than the eggs and set up larger copepod cultures. I believe I figured out why mine kept laying so many. At first I kept their tank half full just while they got settled and I could do water changes easier. I filled it up and then they bred a few times. Also the temp lowered a bit during that time which also may have triggered them (and my axolotls)
 

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well removing the adults and not disturbing the eggs greatly increased the hatch rate. lets see if i can get them to adultsWIN_20141224_003054.jpg

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Okay so they have all become free swimming! dropped in a bit of bbs and can see them hunting them down.

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