Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i recently received a freshwater tadpole as well as some other fish for my birthday (nov 9)

the fish seem to be doing great, but the tadpole is a different story. It pretty much just lays at the bottom of the tank for what seems like hours(im not exactly sure how long, but 9 out of 10 times that i look at it, its laying down) it breathes normally and what not. then sometimes, out of no where, it will just go crazy. it will swim around really fast, sometimes even up to the surface and back. and after a few mintutes of that, it will just lay back down again. between these periods i do notice that it will move here and there, but wont swim farther then a few inches every half hour or so.

i was told that it would eat the normal fish food, as well as bloodworms, and algae pellets, so thats what its diet consists of now. as for the type, im not quite sure. my friends bought it at petco and they said it would end up being a type of bullfrog.

can anyone give me advice on what i should do, or whats wrong with it? thanks

I'm not experienced with tadpoles, so I can't give you specific advise on it, but based on what you have said about having the fish and frog for such a short time I'm going to make a guess that you have a new set-up and are having "new tank syndrome". The fish is giving off amnonia as well as body waste, plus any food that isn't eaten will contaminate the water. Your water hasn't had enough time to age, bacteria to break down the nitrite and nitrate and this in turn can cause ph flux. It sounds like to me your tadpole is suffering ammonia shock. Do you have test kits for checking your water for Ph, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, chorine, chloramine,etc.? I believe your fish may not be as fine as you may think but rather the frog is less tolerant to the conditions and show the effects more. You really need to supply more information as to tank size, number of fish,size, tropical or cold water,e.g. goldfish, koi etc. Water temp.,how much and how often do you feed (most people, esp. newbies) feed to much to often. I have just begone to keep frogs (one Leopard frog) myself however, I have kept and breed fish for a few years know. HOPE this is of some help. try to give more data and soon as I feel action must be taken very soon. Like I said someone with experience with tappoles may say that everything is normal.