On 18/03/2012 16:19, Jake wrote:
On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:33:46 +0000, wrote:



Congratulations! Hope you get lots of froggie friends to eat your molluscs.
As Janet says, they live off the very nutritious jelly that surrounds
them. As they get bigger, they will start to eat small pond critters
and drowned flies. I believe they also eat a certain amount of plant
matter. If you don't have pond plants (or if you do but you don't want
them eaten), try floating some lettuce leaf and see if they nibble on
that. I'm also fairly sure that, as they develop, they eat other
taddies, so you will find that a) there is enough food, and b)you won't
need to thin them out.

Thanks. I've already got loads of frogs (and some newts with a death
wish). See my reply to Janet about something I've never encountered
before which is the massing of the babies and the moving of the jelly
to a ring around that mass.

I'm not thinking of thinning out but want to give them all a fighting
chance.

Meanwhile the cat's intrigued. He's spent hours today just sitting
beside the pond looking at them. I know he's sort of scared of frogs
and wonder if he realises what he's in for if a lot survive.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.


Ah, yes. Understood now. That massing is wierd. One of Nature's puzzles.

Taddies and frogs do seem to intrigue cats. A previous cat used to play
tiddlywinks with frogs, but didn't harm them. Current cats are a bit
more feisty so, although I miss having frogspawn, I'm relieved of that
particular burden.

If your adult frogs get a bit peckish, I can always send you some of my
slugs .. very juicy they are!

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay