My apologies for the fuzziness, still getting the hang of my digital camera, and their home is a clear plastic box that distorts everything if seen through the wrong angles. Well, they seem to be okay. When we put them in their new home, it didn't take very long before one of them started bouncing around, and a little later, swimming in one place, head down. The info booklet that came with them says this means they are happy tadpoles. A few hours later, the second one started bouncing around, too. What's funny is when they bounce on each other's heads. They don't like that much, apparently, and that's the most active they ever get. The third one is still spending most of its time resting on the bottom, but is occasionally seen floating head down, happy tadpole style. They are all identical, except one has slightly more substantial hind legs than the others - that one was the second to acclimate to the new home.
I set everything up exactly as the booklet instructs. I had to go to the store and purchase spring water. I let the water and the tadpoles sit for an hour (well, probably more like two hours because the piano movers came with our new-to-us piano) to adjust to the temperature in our house. I put the water, decorations, tadpoles, and one level scoop of tadpole food in the tank. And then I posted my report yesterday. After that, I decided the water was just too clear (they are filter feeders and need cloudy, mucky water) so I gave them a tiny bit more food. It should take a couple more days before the water is right.
DD1, four years old, is too excited about the piano to care much about the tadpoles, but she did sit and watch them a while. Her comment was, "All they do is sit still and look at their reflection" (see photo) and then she said, "They look more like fish than frogs. Are you sure they're tadpoles?" DD2, not yet two, however, is absolutely mesmerized by them! I'm smitten. I can't wait to set up a big aquarium for them once they metamorphose!
:-)
No comments:
Post a Comment