[AQUAMAC]

Here’s our new tadpole setup...I have had an old one just like it for about a year now and it works like a charm...I do next to no water changes. Just add some water once a month or so and change the filter. Each tadpole has its own acrylic tray so no cannibalism. This setup has a filter, heater, and aeration and the water stays clean and is never stagnant. Just thought I may let you all in on my little secret. I am in the process of formalizing something for the market. It’s the best lazy man/woman’s tad setup and it will be relatively inexpensive when I get them up and going.

 

[Guest]

I'd buy one....they look good, and best of all, very little work needed.

 

[Ed Martin]

Hey Mike,
We saw your tad setup a while ago, looks like you have refined it since then. Since you use a common water source, are you seeing any evidence of smaller tads that may have been caused by "growth reduction hormones" from the other tads?
I have tried raising cannibalistic and non-cannibalistic in large enclosures together and it seems that one or 2 always stay significantly smaller than the others.
Ed
BTW That looks really nice, what kind of filtration are you using?

 

[mindcrash]

I would be interested in one also.

 

[AQUAMAC]

Thanks!

Ed-

Yep it was refined but still the same basic idea. I have seen very little difference in the size of the tads. They all morph out around relatively the same time and I've yet to lose a froglet (knock on wood). Ryan may be doing some graduate research on this growth inhibitor hormone so he would be the person to ask but from my experience with my other setup I have seen little differentiation in size from tads within the same clutch.

Best,
Mike

I should have these setups out soon...I will keep everyone posted. They will come all setup and shipping should be no problem (they are plastic so I'm not worried about it). The only manual labor will be setting up the filter and heater and plugging them in (plus tad feeding of course) but it sure beats single cups and the water changes that come with them!)

 

[joshua_delancey69]

mike
let me know when your ready to ship one of these i am interested and would like to try one......

 

[fishy332003]

can this set up in the glass fish tank?or it just fit in limit size rubbermate tub?

 

[Guest]

First off looks like a nice setup. I've been thinking about doing something similar to this. However I have a few questions....First how many tads does your system hold? What's the footprint of the Rubbermaid box you’re using? How are you controlling cross contamination and spread of disease among tads? Do you see a faster Tad development rate with this system verse the single tad to a cup method?

THanks,
Matt

 

[AQUAMAC]

Hey-

Thanks for the interest. In answer to your questions:

can this set up in the glass fish tank?or it just fit in limit size rubbermate tub?

It can be set up in a glass aquarium though each acrylic unit is only about 3" deep so it would be a lot of wasted vertical space. I know that Twin Oaks has 1/4 cuts of aquariums or something like that so they might work. The main reason they are constructed in plastic is it is lighter, less expensive, and if bumped or dropped it is less likely to break and ships well.

First how many tads does your system hold? What's the footprint of the Rubbermaid box you’re using?
This one holds around 86 tads. The footprint for this one is 4'long by 18" by 7" high..it fits well on a rack and takes up little vertical space so you can get a few on there, but I will prob make ones for holding 40-50 tads as well, when they go up for sale, that will be smaller.

How are you controlling cross contamination and spread of disease among tads?

This setup has the same basic concept as a community setup without the tads being able to cannibalize one another. There is free flow of water much like a fish tank so that the water in each unit is cycled through the filter several times throughout the day. If a tad looks ill, the unit is nice in that the tad can be pulled and quarantined. I know several good American and European breeders that use community setups with a lot of planting and have had success, this system is similar in concept but the water is cycled more frequently to prevent ammonia and bacteria buildup and there is no chance of cannibalism. I have had one working for a year and have had no problems.

Do you see a faster Tad development rate with this system verse the single tad to a cup method?

I've recorded growth rates in each setup (single or this setup) and I have found growth rates to be very comparable. The bonus to this setup is that you don't have to do the water changes that come with individual setups (using a turkey baster to suck stinky water out of a small deli cup is highly overrated)

 

[snmreptiles]

This product does look great, I just have one question. When feeding the tads I assume that you would put the food into each unit for each tad, but wont the filter just suck most of that up? Or is the flow so minimal that the food stays there long enough for the tads to get to eat?

-Shelley

 

[AQUAMAC]

Shelly

Thanks very much. Each arcylic unit has a small 1/4 inch hole drilled in the front and back for water exchange and there is a small plastic vent to pevent the tads from escaping. The exchange is enough to keep the water circulating but not enough to move tad food out. I feed my tads the same way the tads in the cups are fed with no problem.

-Mike

 

[snmreptiles]

Shelly

Thanks very much. Each arcylic unit has a small 1/4 inch hole drilled in the front and back for water exchange and there is a small plastic vent to pevent the tads from escaping. The exchange is enough to keep the water circulating but not enough to move tad food out. I feed my tads the same way the tads in the cups are fed with no problem.

-Mike

Fabulous! I might want some of these puppies too! Right now I put the egg crate stuff in the bottom of a rubbermaid then put a layer of deli cups, then another egg crate and one more layer of deli cups. I had an escapee tadpole before from the top layer and it ended up in the bottom of the rubbermaid (had a froglet before too) and they were able to swim around under the egg crate. That was a pain! So your system sounds great especially with the vent to prevent this scenario. Definitely let us know when you have some and how much they will be.

-Shelley

 

[Guest]

Mike,

Do you have more detailed pics of the individual cups? are these home made or store/online bought arcylic units?

THanks,
Matt

 

[Guest]

AQUAMAC, do you have pix from different angles?