Okay, this seems as good a time as any to ask this "newbie" question: Do
goldfish eat tadpoles? Would a frog eat toad tadpoles? The local Fowler's
(?) Toads only come to my little wee 3' pond at night; but they make up for
their brief attendance by making a lot of noise! OTOH, when the frog was
there, she(?) would hang around day & night. When I had the first major
algae bloom a few weeks ago, I made a mental note to to watch out for the
tadpoles when I emptied out the pond & refilled it. However, the next day,
there were no tadpoles to be found. What happened to them?

Since it's a teeny water garden, I use a Little Giant pump, so I don't think
the tadpoles were getting sucked into it, nor was there any sign of them
when I cleaned the foam filters (although I did see things that may be
"blood worms" as mentioned in another thread here). Also, the goldfish
never seemed to eat the tadpoles before -- either that, or there were just
lots of tadpoles to go around! I know that some of last year's froglets
managed to get out of the pond (I keep bricks on the plant shelves so the
toads & frogs can get out), but they must have been prodigious jumpers! It
was pretty amazing to see things that looked like perfect little frogs, but
maybe only 3/8" long!

Thanks,

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC


"MLF" wrote in message
...

I've had Wodehouse toads "orgying" every year by my pond
(http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/aug/papr/wtoad.html). The brick sides on
the
pond have always kept them out, but I believe this year one pair must have
made it past the castle walls. I have hundreds of tadpoles, all small and
black and not identifiable as to species. They may be frogs for all I
know.
Down here in New Orleans there are so many types of critters around they
could be anything. The koi don't seem interested in nibbling them either.

Does anyone know the "attrition" rate of tadpoles to toads? I hate the
idea
of culling the masses, but I can't deal with so many, and neither can the
pond filter. How many will make it to froghood?


Michael Fermanis
New Orleans, Louisiana USA (Remove the RICE to reply)
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