[Year/Subject] 2nd Year, Environmental Life Studies

Raising Tadpoles[Course Name] Raising healthy animals

Optimum Season
If Sera Yume Kouen (Sera Dream Park) is to be used as a base reference, the best season around theSera area to observe the development of frogs and the various stages of their growth cycle, and to catch them, is the middle ofMay (second to third weeks). Clear days after heavy rains are particularly good for finding black-spotted pond frog egg
deposits. With the diverse ecosystem of animals living within Sera Yume Kouen, it is possible to catch various types oftadpoles until the start of June. (Note) The black-spotted pond frog and daruma pond frog take approximately 75 days tometamorphose from eggs to frogs. The black-spotted pond frog is the best species to raise if you wish to observe themetamorphosis process before the school summer holidays.
Items to Prepare
Preparing before catching frogs
Medium to large sized breeding case or
glass aquarium for tropical fish
Gravel for tropical fish (to cover the bottomof the case to approximately 1 cm depth,
not essential)
Fresh water left exposed to de-chlorinate(necessary amount)Waterweeds (as required, not essential)
Food for tadpoles: boiled soft spinach or
goldfish foodPreparing for catching frogs
Medium sized breeding case, bucket orplastic bag (double layer)
Fine spoon-net
Notes on raising frogs
Place a lid on the breeding case (aquarium).
This prevents unnecessary items fromentering the case.
It also prevents fully grown frogs fromescaping.
 Fill the case with water up to a depth of 5
to 6 cm.
Filling the case any deeper will not change
the number of tadpoles that can be raised,as they tend to live around the bottom of
the case.
 Too many tadpoles, or conversely too few
tadpoles, are not ideal for breeding
conditions.
Too many can lead to insufficient oxygenor defects in their rear legs, while too few
will make it easier for left over food to rot.
 When a medium-sized case is used, therelationship between the length of thetadpoles and the number is as follows:
Length: 3 cm  20
5 cm  10 to 15
 Raise the tadpoles in a different case when
their front legs start developing. Use aplastic container with a lid (with breathingholes) and cover the bottom of thecontainer with gravel for tropical fish.
Ensure that water and gravel each coverhalf the container.

Objectives
Increase the pupil’s awareness of the development of animals by finding, catching and raising tadpoles.
Enable pupils to understand the best way to handle animals, and nurture a fond respect for them.
Tadpoles are outstanding teaching aids Tadpoles are animals that children are familiar with, and they have numerous
advantages as valuable teaching aids.  Easy to collect tadpoles in Sera town as there are many rice paddies.  Raising themis simple as spinach can be boiled and then frozen, providing an easy source of food as it dissolves.  Tadpoles undergo afascinating process of metamorphosis, where they transform from living in the water to living on dry gravel, and pupils areable to observe this natural phenomenon.  Pupils can see for themselves how the tadpole body develops to suit thesedifferent living environments.  Just like humans, frogs are vertebrates, and their bone structure can be compared with that ofhumans.

Example answers (partially entered)

Raising Tadpoles

Where to place the aquarium - Next to a window and out of direct sunlight- Placed on a solid table or bench

Where do you think tadpoles live?
How to change the water- Tap water left exposed half to full day in order tode-chlorinate - Depth of 5 to 6 cm
- Frequency of water replacement: once every several days

It's time to raise your own tadpoles. After some time, these tadpoles will grow intofrogs. What do you think is the best way to raise tadpoles? Write down yourthoughts on the following.

Aquarium

Food - Boiled soft spinach or goldfish food
- Dried foodLet's go out and catch some tadpoles.
There are some here!
What did you catch?
Examine their shape, color and size, and draw a picture of it below.
Where did you catch them? Enter the appropriate number inthe circle at the bottom.
1. Pond
2. Ditch 3. Rice paddy 4. Weeds 5. Dike

Where to place the aquarium

Eggs

TadpolesFrogs

How to change the water Placing the breeding case in direct
sunlight can lead to sudden changes inwater temperature, which is not ideal for
tadpoles. Yet insufficient sunlight can
result in weaker bone formation, and careshould be taken as tadpoles perish easierat the peak of the metamorphosis
process.
 Place for breeding case on a solid tableor bench next to the window and out of
direct sunlight.
 Spinach that has been boiled soft is ideal
for food.
 If providing food everyday, do so insmall amounts so that there is no foodremaining at the end of the day. Sometextbooks recommend bread as a sourceof food, however is not ideal as there arequantities of oil attached.
 Take note that food made of dried
animals, such as dried fish, can rot easily.
 The tadpoles will not eat any food
immediately
beforeorduringmetamorphosis.
 After metamorphosis, provide small
living animals such as crickets for food.
Observation Date:
Sketch//Observations

Food
It is best if this sketch
is timed on the day thatthe front legs appeared(daymetamorphosis
starts) on the tadpoles.

Let's study the best way to raise these tadpoles by reading some books.
Aquarium - Plastic breeding case

- Glass case for tropical fish

- Large plastic container with a height of 7 to 8 cm

 Replace half the water in the case with fresh water(de-chlorinated).
 Replace the water once every several days. If there are any deadtadpoles, replace the water immediately.
 Wash hands thoroughly before replacing the water to remove any
oil or dirt.
 Gravel at the bottom of the container can encourage the growth ofbacteria and can be hard to clean, so is not necessary.

1, 3

1, 2, 3

 Sketching the tadpoles enables more thoroughobservations.
 Taking note of the shape, color, size and habitatis the fundamental point for observation. If theseobservations are being conducted before pupils
have learned how to use a ruler, allow them tocompare the size of animals with their fist.
 Ensure that the pupils understand that eggs andtadpoles can only live in water, while frogs canlive in both water and on land.

1 to 5

 Have the last of the sixobservations on the day thatfront legs have appeared on
the tadpoles.
 Sketch the tadpoles every 10
days (although this depends
on the size of the tadpoles
when they were found).
 Focus on the development of
the rear legs.

Caution Living animals that have beencollected must continue to beraised in a responsible manner.
 The transportation of eggs,tadpoles and adult specimens
of invasive bullfrogs (ediblefrogs) is prohibited by law(Invasive Alien Species Act).
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