Tadpoles in the raft system

[Rob Nash]

I recently experienced three weeks of slow growth on the lettuce rafts. The sun had been out just as much or more than the month before, but the plants were showing signs of stress and beginning to stretch and bolt. Leaving me without a harvest for two weeks in a row, i began to panic. The temps have been ideal for growing lettuce, so we had to wonder why the plants were doing so poorly.

While culling some of the less than perfect plants, I noticed a giant tadpole on the roots of a lettuce.

When we raised the raft, we found about 100 bullfrog tadpoles in the raft tank.

That’s also when we discovered the roots were almost completely gone. 

So... we drained the tank and netted all of the tadpoles and put the water and plants back. ...arrr!

I have never heard of them eating roots, has anyone else ever had this problem?

 

[TCLynx]

I suppose once they eat all the bugs then they are hungry and have to eat something.

Dang sorry for your loss there.  Worst problem I had ever heard of with frogs before was one sitting on top of a stand pipe and causing a bed to overflow.

[jon howard]

My cichlids loved tadpoles, I wonder if you could have released some fish into the growbed for a while to clean them up?

[Rob Nash]

Jon, im pretty sure the cichlids would eat the roots as well as the tadpoles. ..the drain and refill only took ...all day.

[Rob Nash]

Oh, and the tadpoles were like 1-1/2" around, it would take a large mouth bass to gulp one of these monsters.

[TCLynx]

Catfish

[jon howard]

Wow!! 1.5 inches, those are some monsters. Would be fun to watch a large mouth bass pick them off though. :D