Bullfrog tadpoles

[Cbellehumeur]

Well i had bulfrogs lay tons of eggs in my pond...which is great! but i'm worried about what will happen to them over the winter. I know bullfrog tadpoles can take upto two years to grow legs and become frogs. i also know they need to burry themselves in mud/muck at the bottem over the winter. so i guess my question is, will they survive in a 5.5 ft pond that has a liner and no mud at the bottem. has anyone had any experience with this?

thanks

[leslie]

Hello
I don't have experience with getting tadpoles to survive winter in a pond but it should be the same as fish if fish can live through the winter in the pond then all you have to worry about is the mud. The mud is easy to fix just put a container full of mud in the deepest part of the pond two months ahead of the expected time of the first snow. You do that the tadpoles will thrive. If the pond is not deep enough then you have three options 1. do all of the stuff to the pond as if it was deep enough to keep fish in the winter but put a de-icier in the pond at the first time the pond has ice on the top 2.release them in Mississippi river or some other big slow river 3. keep them in side in a tank to. Feed them you have to put lettuce or spinach that has had hot water on them for a minute you add more when the food goes moldy or is all eaten and that should be all un less they grow both sets of legs then you need to make a land area.

[petri]

Hi

If I may add...  depending on what you usually do in winter with your fish (I presume you have some in there).  There should be an opening (heater or air bubbles) This will allow the release of toxic gas that would stay stuck under the ice. 

Unlike fish, amphibians (frogs etc) breath though their skin during winter. Making them very susceptible to absorbing high level of toxins.  Because your pond is an enclose area with a high level of organic waste, they are less likely to survive.

Therefore, if you choose to place a tub of mud, it should be considerably wide and deep to allow all the tadpole (a few hundred) to bury themselves and minimise the toxin level.   You will also need the surface opening. 

I've got a little soft spot for frogs  and this is what I would do for a better survival rate...  release them and let nature do it's thing (Mer Bleue, where they have the floating docks should be safe).  Of course, that's if your up for the challenge of catching them!

Your other option is to let them be and let your fish ( if big enough) have a feast! Sound a little raw, sorry!

Good luck and enjoy them!

[Bwhiskered]

I have the third generation of Green Frog tadpoles in my ponds. The only extra care that they get is the egg mass being moved to a pond that has no fish large enough to eat them. They eat the same flake food as the baby koi and goldfish and the only soil in the pond is in lily pots and is covered with pea gravel. Both the frogs and the tadpoles basically survive in bare bottom ponds for the winter. I also have established over the years a spawning group of toads that sing in the spring driving my idiot neighbours nuts. [Short trip] This year a good crop of up to 1000 have been spreading out over the neighbourhood. I feed the tadpoles Romaine Lettuce and flake food.

[Cbellehumeur]

i have a soft spot for the frogs too,  that's why i was hoping to save as many as possible.....without putting mud in my pond (lets face it i just spent all summer keeping it clean and clear). i have a 10,000 G pond sooo fishing them out with a net is kindda out too. thanks for the suggestions though

[The Pond Boy]

Hi,

We like frogs in the ponds, exept the bullfrog. This because a bullfrog will eat everything what they can get, such as frogs, birds, koi and goldfish. For the pond owners to decide if they like them.
Thanks,

The Pond Boy

[Cbellehumeur]

so i ended up draining the pond collecting ALL the tadpoles last night....i just couldn't let them die. Now i just have to find a place to release them.