# General Topics > Fieldwork >  Microhyla fissipes tadpoles - rescued from puddle

## numpty

Hi there,

I suppose this one should probably go in the Microhyla section as the pictures aren't really from the field, but anyway ... the froglets will be going back to the wild soon enough.

I was checking out an area near Taipei a couple of weeks ago when I came across a couple of puddles by the side of the road. They had a mixture of tadpole species, but I was intrigued by the tadpoles of the ornate narrow-mouth frog, Microhyla fissipes. They're almost transparent, and filter plankton from the water. Beautiful things. I didn't like the way the puddles were looking ... not only were they drying out in the sun, but farmers were parking their trucks in them, throwing cigarettes in them, dropping tar in them, etc. I took what I thought was four tadpoles, intending to release them later on once wetter weather returns.

(Incidentally, newly hatched tadpoles must be absolutely miniscule, as it turned out later that there were another three tadpoles in the water that I hadn't even seen ... they were so small, I must have mistaken them for plankton!)




Two have already metamorphosed ... I'm keeping them in a hastily-adapted terrarium until conditions are right for release. This species preys on ants, so I'm throwing in as many as I can catch. Luckily my kitchen's full of sugar ants in the summer months!

Here's one that popped his head out a couple of nights ago ... a tiny thing, smaller than my pinky nail. (This species likes to stay under leaf litter, so it's hard for me to know how they're doing.)


Thanks for looking!

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## numpty

Both froglets poked their heads out this morning after I posted that last message. Here's a snap of one, checking out the surroundings ...

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## Carlos

Wow your macro-photography of that clear tadpole is astounding!  Care share details of last photo?  The froglets look very nice and healthy too  :Frog Smile:  !

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## Louis Charles Bruckner

Welcome to the forum,

and you have my vote for photo of the month

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## numpty

> Wow your macro-photography of that clear tadpole is astounding!  Care share details of last photo?  The froglets look very nice and healthy too  !


Thanks! There really isn't much to share. I use a cheapo Casio compact, set it on Super Macro, try to stay still and hope for the best! As far as I know, the macro photography capability on a lot of compacts is actually pretty decent compared to macro lenses on DSLRs ... certainly compared to lower-priced macro lenses anyway.

That said, I'm tired of the temperamental focus on my compact. It can take me ages to get a good focus, by which time the subject has long since hopped out of view!

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## numpty

> Welcome to the forum,
> 
> and you have my vote for photo of the month


Oh my! Thank you kindly ...

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## Carlos

Louis has an excellent idea!  Here you go Numpty:  http://www.frogforum.net/photo-month...ne-2013-a.html.  Load up a good quality version of that photo and you are in.  Don't forget to include the tadpole's species name.  Don't know al the rules, but as long as it is your photo, you can enter it.

I also used the "luck" technique when photographing my fish.  Prefocus on an area and wait... then take lot's of pics and hope for the best!  Right now I'm looking at 2 camera's by Fuji.  The "cheaper" X20 comes with a zoom lens that has some sweet macro capabilities focusing down to 1 cm.  :Frog Surprise:  ; very tempting  :Frog Smile:  .

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## numpty

Just an update. Following torrential rain, all tadpoles were released on Saturday in puddles the size of lakes. They'll probably dry off again if the weather stays sunny, but with any luck the tadpoles will have matured by then.

I released the froglets today. Being a species that prefers to stay hidden under the leaf litter, I hadn't actually seen them for a few days, and was wondering what I'd find when I went poking around. Well, they were both there, and both looking healthy and frisky enough.

A couple of photos after I let them go in their new surroundings.



Good luck to them both!

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## Carlos

Congrats to froglets and good luck  :Frog Smile:  !

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## Heather

> Welcome to the forum,
> 
> and you have my vote for photo of the month


I agree! Great photo! You should enter  :Smile: .

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## Heather

> Wow your macro-photography of that clear tadpole is astounding!  Care share details of last photo?  The froglets look very nice and healthy too  !


The clarity of the photos is fantastic!

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## Heather

That's wonderful to hear! Very kind of you to save them and release them to be free  :Smile: . They look great! So cute!

And yes, Carlos is right... so long as its your photo, you can enter the monthly photo contest  :Smile: .

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## numpty

Thanks all.

I've just entered it in the competition, though to be honest I don't think it deserves to win compared to some of those other gobsmackingly beautiful pictures!

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## Heather

I'm glad you entered. It's a great photo  :Smile: .

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