Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Any idea on what to feed newly born tadpoles? At least that's what I think they are. The last time I hatched some I fed them flake fish food and romaine lettuce and they seemed to do well on it. These were in a globular mass about 3 to 4 inches across. I thought at first they may be salamanders but they look more like tadpoles.
Rick D.

I really like the Frog and tadpole Bites. They are available at pet shops, or even online. I like them because the other foods I was feeding tended to float, and the tadpoles/sal larvae were spending most time at the bottom of the tank, and these Bites will sink down to their level. You might not see them actually eat, but if they stay plump and don't get skinny, they're eating.

Rick, Tropical fish flakes ground to a powder and mixed with a small amount of aquarium water can be poured directly into the tank. This takes care of the floating problem. Adjust amount as needed, start on the light side. Hank

Hi Rick,
Salamander larva at the time of hatching can look very similar to tadpoles (and some people call them tadpoles). Look very closely at the head and look to see where the mouth is situated. If the mouth is wide and looks to go from side to side as opposed to a beak like structure then these are salamander larva. Salamander larva also have structures called balancers on the sides to help keep the larva upright until the legs fully develope. These can also be seen by a very close inspection (in some species you will need a magnifying glass).
The reason you need to determine this as most salamander larva will not feed on any flake or pelleted foods and you will need to start them out on live foods unless you are willing to cut blackworms or bloodworms to the right size and feed each larva off of tweezers.
Ed

Hey Edk,
I just happened to recently capture, photograph and upload a picture of a Marbled Salamander larva. It should help with your description. This one does not have balancers, but the mouth is obvious...

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a real easy way to feed them is to pull out plants from a ditch, pond etc. search the plants for any large animals, remove any you find. small animals will stick to the plants and algae will be present for grazers. Change the plants weekly. I used this method successfully for rearing salamanders. Its very eASY and maintenance free.

Has anyone considered BBS? (baby brine shrimp) are Salamander and Newt larva to small for this? What abot Rotifers?