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#1
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Bullfrogs
I imported a dozen big bullfrog tadpoles from a company. They all looked fine -- second year tadpoles. Some had hind legs starting. #12 died. As an experiment, I let #11 out of his protection screen box to see the koi reaction. They looked him over but didn't pay much attention thereafter. So, I assumed, it would be ok to let them all out. That was about four weeks ago. Haven't seen any since. The pond is concrete, about 30 x 40 x 2 feet and full of string algae, lilies, etc. One center area 6 x 6 is 3 ft deep. The seven koi are big, well fed, about 25 years old. Any ideas anybody?? Do they hide until dark? Will someday I see some sitting on a lily pad? Do I start over? Somewhere I read that koi don't like to eat tadpoles but they are always rooting around in the algae for live food including goldfish hatches. Could they have gobbled them by mistake? Thanks..... Bruce Matthews Monterey |
#2
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Bullfrogs
Jeanne wrote:
I imported a dozen big bullfrog tadpoles from a company. They all looked fine -- second year tadpoles. Some had hind legs starting. #12 died. As an experiment, I let #11 out of his protection screen box to see the koi reaction. They looked him over but didn't pay much attention thereafter. So, I assumed, it would be ok to let them all out. That was about four weeks ago. Haven't seen any since. The pond is concrete, about 30 x 40 x 2 feet and full of string algae, lilies, etc. One center area 6 x 6 is 3 ft deep. The seven koi are big, well fed, about 25 years old. Any ideas anybody?? Do they hide until dark? Will someday I see some sitting on a lily pad? Do I start over? Somewhere I read that koi don't like to eat tadpoles but they are always rooting around in the algae for live food including goldfish hatches. Could they have gobbled them by mistake? Thanks..... Bruce Matthews Monterey From personal experience... At a prior home, we built a backyard pond (about 10k gals); the Bullfrogs showed up all by themselves. Kind of interesting since the only consistent water supplies were an overflow drainage pond, about 1/2 mile away and the Delaware River, about a mile away...those frogs had to do some major hopping across several roads to get to my backyard. When we asked the pond guy, he said that's the way it is, the frogs will come naturally and stay in a place that suits them. He also said that the frogs could have come from other backyard ponds. So, I suppose your frogs could have just hopped away to a neighbor's pond or other natural water source. Something you didn't mention was how much edge planting and brush was beside the pond. Frogs spend more time on land, beside the water source, than in the water. They need cover to be protected from predators and the sun, as well as conceal themselves for hunting. Something to consider: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/a...bullfrog.shtml |
#3
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Bullfrogs
From personal experience...
At a prior home, we built a backyard pond (about 10k gals); the Bullfrogs showed up all by themselves. Kind of interesting since the only consistent water supplies were an overflow drainage pond, about 1/2 mile away and the Delaware River, about a mile away...those frogs had to do some major hopping across several roads to get to my backyard. When we asked the pond guy, he said that's the way it is, the frogs will come naturally and stay in a place that suits them. He also said that the frogs could have come from other backyard ponds. So, I suppose your frogs could have just hopped away to a neighbor's pond or other natural water source. She mentioned they were tadpoles and just starting to get there legs... Cheers, Chris |
#4
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Bullfrogs
Dude wrote:
From personal experience... At a prior home, we built a backyard pond (about 10k gals); the Bullfrogs showed up all by themselves. Kind of interesting since the only consistent water supplies were an overflow drainage pond, about 1/2 mile away and the Delaware River, about a mile away...those frogs had to do some major hopping across several roads to get to my backyard. When we asked the pond guy, he said that's the way it is, the frogs will come naturally and stay in a place that suits them. He also said that the frogs could have come from other backyard ponds. So, I suppose your frogs could have just hopped away to a neighbor's pond or other natural water source. She mentioned they were tadpoles and just starting to get there legs... Cheers, Chris From the OP "...second year tadpoles. Some had hind legs starting...so, I assumed, it would be ok to let them all out. That was about four weeks ago." From several sites having information about the life-cycle of the Bullfrog, it's common for a Bullfrog tadpole, after its back legs emerge, to quickly develop its front legs, lose its tail, and begin to start hopping about. Whether this was the case for her (actually, I think it's a he "Bruce Matthews, Monterey") was somewhat informed speculation on my part, hence my writing "I suppose..." Thanks for pointing that out; allowing me to clarify my prior response. |
#5
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Bullfrogs
I have a small pond (11x16), and clean it out in the spring each year. This
year, in addition to 5 new fish, I found 7 bullfrog tadpoles. The tadpoles were large, about 3 to 5 inches long. I put the fish & the tadpoles in a 18" deep kiddie pool while I'm cleaning the pond. The next day, I notice that all but one of the tadpoles are gone. They must have been eaten by the fish. A few of my fish are about 16" long, the rest are smaller. "Jeanne" wrote in message ... I imported a dozen big bullfrog tadpoles from a company. They all looked fine -- second year tadpoles. Some had hind legs starting. #12 died. As an experiment, I let #11 out of his protection screen box to see the koi reaction. They looked him over but didn't pay much attention thereafter. So, I assumed, it would be ok to let them all out. That was about four weeks ago. Haven't seen any since. The pond is concrete, about 30 x 40 x 2 feet and full of string algae, lilies, etc. One center area 6 x 6 is 3 ft deep. The seven koi are big, well fed, about 25 years old. Any ideas anybody?? Do they hide until dark? Will someday I see some sitting on a lily pad? Do I start over? Somewhere I read that koi don't like to eat tadpoles but they are always rooting around in the algae for live food including goldfish hatches. Could they have gobbled them by mistake? Thanks..... Bruce Matthews Monterey |
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