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February 4, 1998 Water Hardness: Soft 21 tadpoles (including Lucky) The pH has dropped to 6.4 as a result of increased bacterial
biology. I have avoided a partial water February 8 21 tadpoles (including Lucky) Batch 3 was laid overnight. I moved approx. 50 eggs into the net. I'm concerned about the pH level. It's gone as low as 6.2. I am going to have to use a different product to raise the pH since the Neutral Regulator isn't strong enough. February 9 5 tadpoles I've lost 16 tadpoles! They seemed fine when I looked at them in the morning but were dead this evening. I have preserved several in alcohol in case I get the chance to examine them under a microscope. My hunch is that the pH level is the cause. I read recently that many of the African lakes are alkaline to the level of 7.6-8.2. The adult frogs in the tank seem healthy, but I suspect that the tadpoles are a lot more susceptible to the lower pH than the adults. February 11 Batch 3 hatched: 20+ tadpoles I started using a sodium hydroxide solution yesterday to raise the pH. The solution didn't seem to be having much effect and I was puzzled. Then it occurred to me that I had used so much of the Neutral Regulator that I now have to overcome the alkaline buffering capacity to get the pH to rise. I've managed to get the pH to 6.8 but I want to get it to 7.2 and stable. February 13 Batch 4 laid I was surprised to see another 100+ eggs laid only 5 days after the last batch. I collected about 40 and placed them in the net. I have received Dr. Rabb's paper. He describes his tank conditions which confirms my hunch: the pH in my tank was way too low. I have used sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to raise the pH to 7.6. The sodium bicarbonate has the additional advantage of adding a lot of buffering capacity to the water. This should keep the pH stable. February 16 Batch 4 hatched: 20+ tadpoles Water Hardness: Moderately hard The only side effect of the sodium bicarbonate was a clouding of the water for a couple days. I am testing the pH at least once a day and it has been stable at 7.6. My next concern is feeding the tadpoles once they're ready for "solid" food. I have begun culturing fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) for two reasons: 1. as an additional food source for my Floating Frogs (Ooeidozyga lima) and as a food for the tadpoles. I am hoping that the tadpoles will eat the larvae of the fruit flies. Though Dr. Rabb was successful with brine shrimp larvae I would like to avoid having to culture them since it's messy, consumes a lot of space and is generally a hassle. Also, I believe that the fruit fly larvae will be a more natural type of food for the tadpoles. My guess is that in the wild the tadpoles feed on a variety of insect larvae that have hatched in the water. 
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