Raising Tadpoles (Day 57) - For a Few Gallons More
Day 57
I added another gallon of water from the main tank to the froglet tank and used the turkey baster to clean up any remaining food particles on the ground. Additionally, I removed one of the two suction cup leaves and put it into the froglet tank so that they'll have a place to rest and breathe at the surface without having to float, though they seem to be more buoyant than the adults.
A few days ago, I placed a new decor in main tank after sanding it down to the point that I felt it was safe for the frogs. This is the first new decor being introduced into the tank without my frog, Thomas, who passed away in January at the age of 15. He was always the clever explorer of the group and was the first to utilize any items placed into tank. Still waiting to see how long it takes them to enter into it the new tree decoration, neither seems to interested in giving it a chance so far. I hoped they would have given it a chance by now since, if I do add the froglets to the tank, the medium-sized Colosseum decoration will be given to the froglets to use on their side since the tree would be too big.
I also shifted the PVC tubes in the tadpole tank for better viewing. The tubes are now on three sides of the tank instead of the front. The ammonia levels in the tank haven't moved, I wonder if the lack of water movement is resulting in the decreased effectiveness of the zeolite?
It's a shame that my old 10 gallon was destroyed a few years ago by someone who thought they'd be doing me a favor by filling it with soapy water and leaving it outside in the middle of winter but there's not much to do about that. Now that I think about it, that was the first decent tank I had for keeping African Clawed Frogs. When I first was given my two frogs, 16 years ago, I had a 3 gallon (in fact, I think this is the same 3 gallon I used for the eggs), then a 5 gallon (the one that's gone missing in a garage and had to be replaced with this new 5 gallon), then a turtle 10 gallon with a removable side (terrible for African Clawed Frogs because you have to keep the water level low), then the next tank was either a second turtle tank or the real 10 gallon aquarium, followed by the 20 gallon (that the tadpoles are now being kept in), and finally the 30 gallon I use for my frogs today.
I'm now considering purchasing a new 10 gallon with a cap since they seem to be fairly cheap (looks to be around $24 through Walmart). It would allow me to use the spare aquarium for the froglets and concentrate on daily water changes for the tadpole tank until enough tadpoles have developed into froglets that I can switch them over to the 20 gallon. Considering rapidly fast the froglets are growing, I don't foresee the 5 gallon being an adequate holding tank for any large number of them (two or three more are being moved in tomorrow) while I'm waiting for them to be big enough to hold in a section of the main tank.