Size in D. truncatus tadpoles

Marco Esposito

In October of 1994, I obtained some D. truncatus eggs from Mick Bajcar. By November, 4 tadpoles had successfully hatched.

Not knowing what to expect, I kept one tadpole alone in a tub measuring 10cm x 7.5cm with a water depth of 4cm (4" by 5", water depth 1.5"). The remaining three tadpoles were kept together in a goldfish bowl 30cm diameter, water depth 13cm with a gravel substrate and strands of Elodea.

All tadpoles were fed with TetraMin Baby fish food "E" and kept at a constant water temperature of 22˚C (70˚F - I can't control the temperature in my flat!).

I changed the water only when fouled. In reality, this meant hardly at all with the goldfish bowl. In chronological order, my remaining observations are as follows:

February '95: Solitary tadpole kept in small tub metamorphoses measuring 12mm.

April '95: The first of the goldfish-bowl-tadpoles metamorphoses measuring 16mm.

May '95: Second of communal tadpoles metamorphoses, also measuring 16mm.

June '95: Last tadpole metamorphoses measuring a massive 18mm. They all appear to be doing well.