In what season do frog-family tadpoles appear, what food do they eat, are they poisonous, and can they be eaten?

Tadpole is the larval form of frogs and toads, also known as hamadan dan, huoshi, kedou, huodong, xuanyu, xiamazi, xuanzhen, xiamaer, guozi, xiamatai, xiamanian, shuixianzi. Those that gather in dense groups are toad tadpoles, while those that are more scattered are mostly frog tadpoles. So in what season do they appear? What food do they eat to grow up? Are they poisonous? Can they be eaten? According to frog-family data, tadpoles are not poisonous, but toads are poisonous.

In what season do tadpoles appear?

Generally in mid-to-late April. The reproductive characteristics of frogs are separate sexes, fertilization in water, and oviparity. The breeding time is roughly mid-to-late April each year.

During reproduction, frogs have a very special phenomenon——amplexus. It should be noted that amplexus in frogs is not mating, but only a stage in the reproductive process. Research shows that if male and female frogs are artificially separated (that is, without the amplexus process), then even during the frog breeding season, the female frog cannot release egg cells. It can be seen that the biological significance of amplexus is mainly that through amplexus, the female frog can be prompted to ovulate. Generally, frogs lay eggs and fertilize them in water. After the eggs hatch, they become tadpoles, live in water, and then become young frogs that move onto land.

What food do tadpoles eat to grow up?

1. Newly hatched tadpoles are brownish-yellow, with a body length of 6-8 mm. They have a horseshoe-shaped sucker on the head for attachment, and the mouth is located below the sucker. They are relatively weak and not very active, and are supplied with nutrition through the yolk sac, so they do not begin feeding through the mouth. After 3 d, exogenous nutrients can be fed to meet their nutritional needs and growth requirements. The optimal temperature for tadpole culture is 23-25 degrees C, and the suitable pH is between 6 and 8. Tadpoles grow slowly, and it takes about 60-80 d from tadpole metamorphosis into young frog. It is generally divided into early, early-middle, middle and late stages, and tadpoles have different nutritional needs at each stage.

2. The feed for artificially cultured tadpoles should be mainly plant-based food. Boiled spinach and lettuce are suitable feed, but do not overcook them, and remove the fiber. Give less feed at first, then gradually increase it. Feed regularly once a day, and do not give too much, so as to avoid feed remaining in the water and causing spoilage. After each feeding, the leftover feed must be removed with a suction tube, and the water should be changed every one or two days. The simplest bait is crumbs of bread or biscuits or broken rice grains, and a small amount of cooked egg yolk can also be given as animal-based feed. Keeping tadpoles at home, it may be more realistic for them to eat these. Newly hatched tadpoles have poor adaptability to the external environment, and at this time the digestive organs are not connected through, and the abdominal yolk sac supplies nutrition, so they do not need to take in external food. Therefore, newly hatched tadpoles should not be moved immediately to the tadpole pond. You can wait until the abdominal yolk sac is fully absorbed, the digestive organs are fully connected, or you observe that the first feces have been excreted. Only then should the tadpoles be moved into the tadpole pond for rearing.

Can tadpoles be eaten?

Tadpoles can be eaten, but water makes up 90% of the tadpole body, and the main remaining components are amino acids and ribonucleic acid and other essential life compounds. When you stir-fry tadpoles or braise them, the water all comes out, and what remains is a layer of skin carrying some chemically altered elements. That has little flavor, so most people do not eat them either!