# frog spawn



## *hungry-tortoise* (Apr 17, 2008)

The kids are off next week so wanted to do something educational but free with them - I was wondering how ethical/legal it was to collect some frog spawn with them and to keep them till they turn to frogs - we have a large round ex pond that used to hold fish in, thats been sitting with tap water in it for about 3 weeks - would it be ok to collect some spawn and put it in the water to hatch? Im only just looking into this so obviously wont do if its not advised/allowed etc but thought it might be a nice educational thing for the kids to do - any advice appreciated also Im thinking whilst they are spawn or young tadpoles a filter system would be a bad idea also what plants should we put in for food etc xx


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## Parrot Lady (Jan 17, 2012)

If you go onto the FrogLife website they say that you should not move frog spawn from one pond into another because of transferring diseases but they do say that you can keep them in a container and then release them back into the pond you collected them from, I havent read the details in full though so may be worth a look. Also, there is a good book by Nick Baker called Bug Zoo, in here he teaches you how to create 'homes' and look after different 'bugs', we have had great fun making habitats, watching, learning and observing 'critters' this way and as its by Nick you know you are on the right track! Not sure if frog spawn is in there, as I am at work now and the book is at home, but it might be.


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## fardilis (Mar 22, 2011)

*hungry-tortoise* said:


> The kids are off next week so wanted to do something educational but free with them - I was wondering how ethical/legal it was to collect some frog spawn with them and to keep them till they turn to frogs - we have a large round ex pond that used to hold fish in, thats been sitting with tap water in it for about 3 weeks - would it be ok to collect some spawn and put it in the water to hatch? Im only just looking into this so obviously wont do if its not advised/allowed etc but thought it might be a nice educational thing for the kids to do - any advice appreciated also Im thinking whilst they are spawn or young tadpoles a filter system would be a bad idea also what plants should we put in for food etc xx


There are laws protecting comman frogs from harm, but you are aloud to take them and keep them. As long as there kept properly and NOT sold/traded it's legal.

Try the amphibian section for info on tadpole care.


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

As has been said, no laws against taking frogspawn and keeping it...

Though to be ethical... you need to make sure you provide a good and clean and safe environment for them. What you are doing sounds ideal! Not keeping the poor devils in tiny plastic tubs with no filtration >.<

You have let the water sit for a few weeks which is great  So here is a few things I would do:

* I would personally still advise getting some dechlorinator to treat the water, leaving the water allows the chlorine to evapourate but you still really ought to use the dechlorinator to bind the heavy metals (copper and iron etc) and the chloramine that is still left behind in the tapwater.

* I would buy 6 bunches of Elodea (Pond weed) as it helps keep nitrates (waste) products down and also provides lots of hiding places for the tadpoles and young froglets.

* I would also buy a few bags of live Daphnia (water fleas) and chuck them in the water. Daphnia are great, they eat algae so will help keep water a little clearer and they breed prolifically. Good idea? Definately! They are the best food for the tadpoles!

* I would also buy a pack of frozen bloodworms for when those tadpoles start growing and getting hungry.


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I would change a little bit of the water every couple of weeks if you are feeding quite a lot to keep the water free of nitrates which will build up fast with no filtration and lots of food.

Other thing i would say is make sure there is plenty of food that is high in protein, livefoods like daphnia (get it estalished before spawn hatches and you'll be laughing!) and frozen foods like bloodworms, daphnia, tubifex and brineshrimps.

You can use flake but mostly its a waste of time, you'd be adding a food they mostly wont eat, that has a high waste content and will pollute the water...

Tadpoles are really carnivorous, if you dont feed them, they will just eat each other....

Thats about it really... dont take more spawn than you have to... just in case...


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## *hungry-tortoise* (Apr 17, 2008)

Thanks for all the brilliant replies they were all really helpful - we've found a pond with some spawn in it so as soon as have dechlourinated water etc we will hopefully be getting some - I dont know about the kids being excited but I am!


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## em_40 (Sep 29, 2010)

I was thinking of doing this, this year with my son. My OH parents say there's tons in thier pond.

How big a container do you need and how deep? Do I use the little air filter I have spare? (or the internal fluval but I think it'd be too high powered)

Where do you get live daphnia?

Did you collect your frogspawn already? If so, how's it going?


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