[bristles]

I'm sure there is a thread on this, but I did a quick search & didn't find anything but I'm confident there is a thread on this. I bought a pair of blue & black auratus a month ago at a frog party. And in the last month they have given me two sets of eggs (fertile & developing & have a few tads in cups) I didn't have a water feature or pond in their tank so two days ago I put a 8oz tad cup with water in for a temporary water soaking spot. Last night when I was frog gazing I thought I saw movement in the cup & to my surprise there was a tad swimming as bold as brass tacs. So I put it in a separate cup today and replaced the water cup & within 3 hrs. there was a new tad in the cup so I'm guessing these frogs have been saving tads in the leaf litter, but can't believe they didn't put more than one in there to begin with, I know that some tads are predatory but do the parents plan accordingly ?

 

[WendySHall]

Ha! No one knows kids like their own parents do! Sounds like you have some smart auratus.

If you have some small condiment cups, those may also work and allow you to place quite a few in there without taking up tons of space like the deli cups would. The tads don't need tons of water before you remove them (as long as you're not leaving them in there long).

 

[Eric Walker]

If your using small 2oz condiment cups make sure to partially burry them. If you dont they are way to easy to tip for an auratus.

 

[srrrio]

This is a big reason why I feel more comfortable having some sort of water body in my tanks. Those frogs can be quite elusive with their clutches. Anyway I think that tads can last quite a long time in their clutch so Dad can be a little choosy or perhaps the tads (when they don't wiggle off his back). With my auratus they seem to welcome a new water source to dump the tads, but I have had them drop as many as 3 in aprox. 8oz. When I see this in a container I have put in there, I usually pull and separate them. When they drop into the little ponds I have in most of my tanks, I let nature take it's course and have had up to 4 or 5 tads morph out nicely within a few weeks of each other. The question is, I am never sure if that was all that were dropped, or did some become extra protein.

That probably did not really answer your questions, but congrats on the new tads!

Sally

 

[bristles]

Thanks Wendy, Eric & Sally,
I have ponds in a number of my tanks (some with waterfalls) but lately I've been experimenting with removable ponds (rabbit & hamster ceramic water bowls) so that I can clean them more easily. I have some green & bronze auratus that almost live in their pond, I mean if they think you are looking at them to closely BAM! they dive in & under the stones (I have a few bigger smooth stones in the pond so they can sit half in half out of the water) Well, as I said I had just got the blue & black & haven't gotten a chance to get a proper pond so I put a 8oz deli cup (that's what I keep my tads in) partially buried (like Eric mentioned) just so they had a water feature. I never guessed they would use it for tads as they had been laying eggs in the coco hut & I had been removing the petri dish when there were eggs in it then putting a empty petri in it's place. I find it so interesting that in their drive to reproduce they would regularly lay eggs in the hut AND hide some from me (Hmmm... the wife doesn't have a lot of confidence in me either)
But since I posted last I've collected three more tads, I've just pulled the cup & replaced it with a empty. Another interesting thing is, that it seems that the tads they deposit in the cups seem more robust & a bit bigger than the ones that I hatch out

 

[Ed]

This paper (if you can get a copy) actually discusses the type of pool preference by D. auratus see BioOne Online Journals - Competitive Interactions in Phytotelmata

Ed

 

[Ed]

I had been removing the petri dish when there were eggs in it then putting a empty petri in it's place. I find it so interesting that in their drive to reproduce they would regularly lay eggs in the hut AND hide some from me (Hmmm... the wife doesn't have a lot of confidence in me either)

They probably aren't hiding eggs from you instead they are simply using alternate spots and simply not redepositing eggs with the prior clutch. Clutch frequency is controlled by fat availability in the female.///

But since I posted last I've collected three more tads, I've just pulled the cup & replaced it with a empty. Another interesting thing is, that it seems that the tads they deposit in the cups seem more robust & a bit bigger than the ones that I hatch out

This could be due to differences till hatching due to the frogs being able to optimally choose niches with optimal temperatures (which may be different than where you are keeping the eggs and tadpoles) see http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/76954-why-remove-tads.html#post680555 for a relevent discussion.