Well, we were lucky enough to receive a tupperware of tadpoles from a homeschool friend!
Their pond was FULL of 2 different breeds of frogs and their eggs plus tadpoles in various stages of development!
We got 11 tadpoles from as tiny as a pencil dot, up to thumbnail size almost frog tadpoles and everything in between! Plus a snail and several what appeared to be freshwaster shrimp....plus whatever other protozoa and amoebas that were living in the pond water!!
Into the 5 gal. tank they went, as we prepared the proper ecosystems for all creatures involved!
In order for them all to thrive and grow into frogs that we could then introduce into OUR pond, we had to create a balance of nature! That meant keeping the oxygen at a decent level within the brackish pond water, enough food both in the form of fish meal and vegetation and the right amount of sun but not too much that it heated the tank and fried the little guys.
We have spent the better part of a month, 4 tadpoles have become frogs and been transferred to our pond. 7 more are in transformation! I think we will keep them inside for another week, then the rest will go to our pond to finish. The longer they are in a small tank, the harder it is to keep their ecosystems intact and working.
But, we have been able to study them despite it being Summer and we are technically off school!
This is the kind of science we LOVE!
Hands-on and fun!!
Happy Homeschooling!
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