"Sacha" wrote in message
ups.com...
snip
The wildlife pond (ex
duck pond) is being left that way so that the frogs find it and have a
chance to breed without fish eating the eggs and the tads.......
there's always something.....
--
Sacha

You are of course quite right. I was not trying to annoy Boypete and I am
certain he and you know what you are doing.
I have a bee in my bonnet at the moment.
Last week a neighbour built a small pond for wildlife. He now has
tadpoles,
large exotic fish, a fountain /uv light, all contained within a black
plastic liner, half of which is above water level.
The pond is in full sun and as yet contains *no* plants. If the tadpoles
make it to froghood they will never be able to get out of the plastic
prison.
I really hope one of my cats or a Heron eats the lot and puts them out of
their misery.

Have you tried explaining to him that the frogs need to be able to get
out! What a clot - presumably he thinks someone helicopters in and
airlifts them out - dragonflies, perhaps! Our fishpond has a little
island in one corner and the frogs happily hop in and out using that
and the wildlife pond has large, mostly flat stones all around the edge
with some of them dipping into the water. In frog season, I've seen
people weight one end of a plank and slide it into the water, resting
the other end against the edge of the pond, thus making a frog ladder.
He really must put in some plants, though. I'm always slightly amazed
at people who want to make their pond water absolutely clear because
nothing is more unsettling to the fish, apparently. And who wants to
stare at a plastic or cement pond shell, anyway?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

He is not the sort of bloke who takes advice. i.e. I suggested he gave the
fish a bit of shade and he stated "that will make the water go green". One
of the big fish looks distinctly ill and I bet it will be belly up by
tomorrow.
AFAIK you can't really have a wildlife pond and a fish pond on a small
scale.
His wife is back tomorrow and he will be away golfing so I will work on her.
They are both very nice people but....

Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
ups.com...
snip Have you tried explaining to him that the frogs need to be
able to get
out! What a clot - presumably he thinks someone helicopters in and
airlifts them out - dragonflies, perhaps!
snip
He really must put in some plants, though.
snip

He is not the sort of bloke who takes advice. i.e. I suggested he gave the
fish a bit of shade and he stated "that will make the water go green". One
of the big fish looks distinctly ill and I bet it will be belly up by
tomorrow.
AFAIK you can't really have a wildlife pond and a fish pond on a small
scale.
His wife is back tomorrow and he will be away golfing so I will work on her.
They are both very nice people but....

If the fish dies, he may learn something, though at a cost to the fish,
I do agree. In our 'formal' fish pond we just have to let nature take
its course. The frogs emerge in their dozens each year to spawn there.
Going out on a wet night with a torch is a magical experience because
there are toads and frogs coming from all directions, towards that
pond. It's been there for over 50 years so must have been home to
numberless quantities of them. I've suggested that next year we
insert some sort of mesh barrier between the part of the pond they
usually lay the eggs in and try to keep the fish away. I particularly
want to do this because this year being so dry at the vital time, we
have seen many fewer frogs than usual. I'm hoping, too that we'll get
lots going to the wildlife pond. We now have 3 ponds in the garden,
one of which will remain fish-less. I'm beginning to think of another
in an entirely different part of the garden but don't know if the Boss
will agree!
My problem will be that there is no electricity in that area and no
naturally running water so I think it will just end up as a stagnant
puddle, which seems a bit self-defeating.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"Charlie Pridham" wrote after...

"Janet Baraclough" answered"Bob Hobden":

A hot humid thundery night might kill the lot if it's a pond full of
(de)oxygenating plants!

Interesting. How does that work?


Unless you are very unlucky a cat is not going to be your problem.

I think mink will take fish too.


All our cats take fish but are very considerate and only take large
ones!,
as the gold fish breed at an alarming rate its quite a useful population
control measure. down here its otters that are the main problem (never
thought I would live long enough to here people complain there are too
many
otters :~))


Charlie, that's interesting, do they kill and eat them or just bring them
to
you alive just to prove how clever they are? The only cat I know that was
a
good fish catcher used to do the latter.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Our cats just kill and leave them by the pond the only thing they have been
proud enough to bring us was a very cross grass snake :~) why we get so many
of those in the middle of a village only they know, but they are the chief
predators of the poor frogs often see them in summer disappearing with a
frog in their mouths (everything seems to eat frogs, even the buzzards)
My suggestion to the original poster is don't put expensive fish in your
pond, then you can relax and let nature take its course :~) indeed if you
beg some pond weed from someone with fish during summer you will probably
get the baby fish for free.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

Sacha writes
My problem will be that there is no electricity in that area and no
naturally running water so I think it will just end up as a stagnant
puddle, which seems a bit self-defeating.

You may be OK. For various reasons we are not running the pumps in the
front garden atm (haven't for at least a couple of years) but the ponds
don't seem to be suffering. One has a bit of sun, and the frogs breed in
that one (the newts have now found it too). The other gets sun only from
the NW or NE, and the frogs move to that to escape the heat of the
summer. The third is much tinier, with no amphibians, but still has good
insect life and is relatively sweet. Water in all three is clear. I
think if you can get the balance right, with sufficient depth of water
and good plant growth, you can keep it going without a pump.
--
Kay

Our cats just kill and leave them by the pond the only thing they have
been
proud enough to bring us was a very cross grass snake :~) why we get so
many
of those in the middle of a village only they know, but they are the chief
predators of the poor frogs often see them in summer disappearing with a
frog in their mouths (everything seems to eat frogs, even the buzzards)
My suggestion to the original poster is don't put expensive fish in your
pond, then you can relax and let nature take its course :~) indeed if you
beg some pond weed from someone with fish during summer you will probably
get the baby fish for free.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.

and don't bother to scrounge/buy/obtain pond snails.

They appear!

Mike

--
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www.rnshipmates.co.uk
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