Do Tadpoles Need Special Elements to Metamorphose?

[leroyjenkens]

I used to have a bunch of tadpoles and they never turned into frogs. Long after I got rid of them, I read up about how tadpoles need a certain kind of mineral or something in the water (forgot what it was) or else they won't turn into frogs.
Recently I tried to read up on it some more and I couldn't find ANYTHING on the internet that talks about that.

So do tadpoles really need this element in their water, whatever it was, or am I crazy?

 

[Moonbear]

They would obviously need proper nutrition to grow sufficiently to undergo metamorphosis, but I don't think that would include anything special in the water.

How long did you wait for your tadpoles to undergo metamorphosis? The timing is species dependent. Some will only take a month or two from hatching to metamorphosis, and others can take a full year. Water temperature can also affect the rate of metamorphosis, with cooler temperatures slowing the process.

I have no way to know if you're crazy though. With all the odd things around on the internet, who knows, maybe you did read something...doesn't mean it was right.

 

[leroyjenkens]

They would obviously need proper nutrition to grow sufficiently to undergo metamorphosis, but I don't think that would include anything special in the water.

How long did you wait for your tadpoles to undergo metamorphosis? The timing is species dependent. Some will only take a month or two from hatching to metamorphosis, and others can take a full year. Water temperature can also affect the rate of metamorphosis, with cooler temperatures slowing the process.

I have no way to know if you're crazy though. With all the odd things around on the internet, who knows, maybe you did read something...doesn't mean it was right.

Yeah I fed them and the water was probably a little cold, but I live in Florida so it couldn't have been too bad.
I had them in there a while. My uncle gave them to me. I wanted them because they were so big. They were the biggest tadpoles I'd ever seen.
I put them in a big container and left them outside with a covering over it partly and fed them stuff.
Since they were big when I got them, I assumed they were close to metamorphosis. Maybe I was wrong. I had them for maybe a little less than a year.

And assuming everything you read on the internet is correct, then I'd have to be crazy if it turned out not to be true.

 

[Moonbear]

YI wanted them because they were so big. They were the biggest tadpoles I'd ever seen.
I put them in a big container and left them outside with a covering over it partly and fed them stuff.
Since they were big when I got them, I assumed they were close to metamorphosis. Maybe I was wrong. I had them for maybe a little less than a year.

Yep, sounds like you had bullfrog tadpoles. They can take over a year to undergo metamorphosis and would be BIG.
http://web.uvic.ca/bullfrogs/page4nathist.htm

 

[leroyjenkens]

Here's a video where the guy explains that tadpoles need iodine to develop into frogs. I heard this somewhere else, but I couldn't find any other sources.
He says it starting at about 3:00 into the video.
So apparently it's iodine.