CARING for TADPOLES
by Kay Heaton

Rearing tadpoles should only be undertaken in area where the species once lived or still live naturally and where they can, when developed into frogs, leave and find a natural home or suitable artificial home.
Frogs are very sensitive to chemicals but live happilyin an organic garden and are excellent predators.
Preparation.    
A good sized polystyrene or plastic box or a small paddling pool are ideal as tadpole nurseries. Do not use metal containers or boxes that have contained chemicals. Clean well and rinse thoroughly. Half fill with rain water. If you do not have rain water then use tap water but let it stand for a week. Tadpoles are very sensitive to chemicals and often piped water contains chlorine and other additives.
Any chemicals dissipate from the water after a few days. You also need to be aware of this if you have to add water to your container. Have some ready on stand by. If you have water plants then add a couple but they are not compulsory. Have a means of escape from the water to out of the box. This can be a branch or slat of wood (untreated).
Once the tadpole has developed legs it needs to have access to both water and land and a new diet of insects etc.
N.B. If mosquitoes breed in your area then you should introduce some small mosquito eating fish when the tadpoles are about a week old and large and viable enough to keep out of their way.
Position The box should be out of direct sunlight - under a shady tree, in a fern house, under some bushes and protected from danger (a big dog, with a huge thirst that loves to paddle or native birds that are avid bathers etc.).. If there are a lot of falling leaves, debris where you have positioned your box then cover loosely with some gauze or fine wire. This keeps the water a lot cleaner and saves you work. The new frogs usually leave at dawn. They are tiny and fragile and need a moist environment so ensure that when they leave the box they have grass, mulch and plants to move around and hide in on all sides of the box, not gravel or dry dirt.
Introducing the tadpoles   
Float the container of tadpoles or spawn on top of your box until you estimate the two water temperatures are the same. Then gently float them into their new home.
Feeding    
Cooked lettuce leaves are a perfect food. Boil until soft. If you want to do a lot at once you can freeze some in an ice cube tray and defrost as necessary. Feed daily. If there is still some food from the day before then remove it. Decaying food contaminates the water. If you do not overfeed or overcrowd the water will stay reasonably clean. If it starts to become murky remove half the water and replace with fresh.
Repeat this after a day or to if necessary. One lot of spawn may contain enough tadpole eggs for several boxes. You can start with one box and divide them into two or more as they grow.
General  
The time taken for tadpole to frog varies a great deal. Generally in warmer months the process is shorter. Beware taking on tadpoles at the end of the breeding season. Often these tadpoles will "winter over". This means they will stay tadpoles until the following spring and you will have to maintain them for months and months.
Personal Experience   
We have reared two species of local tree frogs in our garden. We used polystyrene boxes at first and these were very successful. Later we used old bath tubs half sunk into the ground and also built a small pond.
One of the tree frogs is still here in small quantities; the other we hear calling occasionally but not in our garden. However a local ground frog has moved in en masse and taken over pond and baths. Their calling is deafening and a mild embarrassment to us (for the neighbours sake). The frogs that breed here now require no feeding but we do remove debris 2 or 3 times a year and top up with rainwater (we have a tank) if the water levels drop. In the winter, when there are no small tadpoles, we run water in until it overflows to clear the water. The original fish bred and now there are hundreds. They require no feeding or any special attention.