I have a very small 125 gallon pond.when the filter broke late September frogs moved in.I have never had wildlife in my pond and usually close it in November.But now because of the frogs i am not sure what to do.Do i get a deicer? any other winterizing for the frogs. also in the spring can i put a filter?Any help would be appreciated.I am in zone 6
Frogs in pond
- Thread starter Eve
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j.w
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Not sure but don't think you would have to do anything to protect frogs. They just do what comes naturally. If they don't like it when the ice comes they will leave or just stay down on the bottom I'm thinking but maybe someone else will be able to tell you for sure.
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
considering how far north you are I seriously doubt the frog will survive the winter in that small of a pond. Most of them should already have moved into hibernation or moving into by now. I hate to say it but if the tadpoles haven't developed into baby frogs by now they may not. the only North American frog species I know of that can survive as tadpoles through the winter is the American Bullfrog. I may be wrong on that but still in a 125 gallon pond and living in New York I would suspect that small pond would freeze solid, and if it does and it's a preformed pond it could cause it to split the pond with the ice.
I never considered putting any living thing in my pond because of the size.but being that they showed up i just thought maybe there was something i could do.I don't see tadpoles,only about 4 (3-4inch frogs).the weather has been warm here.So a deicer wouldn't work?maybe i should try moving them to another pond that's in my neighborhood.
herzausstahl
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Eve,
Whats the area around your pond like? Is there any loose soil they could burrow in? I would think they are native to the area and as JW said will just take care of themselves. But like Fishin said I wouldn't leave the water in the pond over winter, I would just do what you normally do and trust nature to take care of itself.
Whats the area around your pond like? Is there any loose soil they could burrow in? I would think they are native to the area and as JW said will just take care of themselves. But like Fishin said I wouldn't leave the water in the pond over winter, I would just do what you normally do and trust nature to take care of itself.
HARO
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Frogs will find water when they need it, and in nature many of these "ponds" are temporary, composed of snow-melt, rainwater, or a gardener attempting a small toad-puddle for the summer. Go ahead and drain your pond, it will not pose a hardship for your frogs. They will find loose soil, leaf litter, or whatever to hibernate in or under! John
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The maryland green frog stays as a tadpole over winter. They are in my lotus and big pond, so will wait till spring and see if they morph into frogs.
Eve,
Yes, frogs are very adept at surviving the environment and what is thrown at them for the most part. I wouldn't do anything special to accomodate them. In the spring, when you restart your pond, they will come back and jump in for a swim. Over the winter, they will burrow down into the soil, heavy blanket of leaves or some mud somewhere and hibernate. Some frogs that I watched on a PBS or NatGeo show can burrow into the mud when a lake or natural pond dries up and they encase themselves in a sort of mud cocoon. They can remain there for decades if need be... up to fifty years or more according to the show. When the rains return, they just pop out and go looking for mates.
Just to tell a story, I live atop a hill where there isn't any bodies of water really close. But, there are frogs here in the yard. It is amazing that even with a small puddle of rain water, frogs just naturally move in. They must have either traveled a very long ways or they were here all the time beneath the soil and emerged because the conditions were right. I appreciate them. They are great for bug and mosquito removal and I love to hear them sing in the evenings. The really fasinating ones are the tree frogs, the ones with the special padding on their feet that allows them to climb up any surface. I see them all over my picture window, the side of the house and often they climb up and snuggle with my porch lamp. They are really fun to watch!
I am a nature nut, so I really get into all animals that come visit my home... Frogs, wild turkeys, raccoons, oppossums, whitetail deer, skunks (eeewww!), bald eagles, red tail hawks, turkey vultures, woodchucks (Hey you woodchucks! Quit chuckin' my wood!), whipoorwils, owls, skinks and snakes of all kinds, etc. etc. etc. Neatest snakes here at my home are the ringneck snakes. A little itty bitty fella about 12 inches long at most. They are a really pretty dark, smoke-grey color with an orange to dull red colored "bracelet" around their neck, just behind their head. They are everywhere and there are dozens of them if not hundreds. I have to watch out for them when I mow.
I am contemplating putting in a really elaborate pond here to accomodate all my guests. I think they would appreciate it and take advantage of it.
But, you needn't worry about what to do for your "froggy" friends, as long as you set up your pond again in the spring, they will return. They were always close by to begin with... and that is what is really cool!
Gordy
Yes, frogs are very adept at surviving the environment and what is thrown at them for the most part. I wouldn't do anything special to accomodate them. In the spring, when you restart your pond, they will come back and jump in for a swim. Over the winter, they will burrow down into the soil, heavy blanket of leaves or some mud somewhere and hibernate. Some frogs that I watched on a PBS or NatGeo show can burrow into the mud when a lake or natural pond dries up and they encase themselves in a sort of mud cocoon. They can remain there for decades if need be... up to fifty years or more according to the show. When the rains return, they just pop out and go looking for mates.
Just to tell a story, I live atop a hill where there isn't any bodies of water really close. But, there are frogs here in the yard. It is amazing that even with a small puddle of rain water, frogs just naturally move in. They must have either traveled a very long ways or they were here all the time beneath the soil and emerged because the conditions were right. I appreciate them. They are great for bug and mosquito removal and I love to hear them sing in the evenings. The really fasinating ones are the tree frogs, the ones with the special padding on their feet that allows them to climb up any surface. I see them all over my picture window, the side of the house and often they climb up and snuggle with my porch lamp. They are really fun to watch!
I am a nature nut, so I really get into all animals that come visit my home... Frogs, wild turkeys, raccoons, oppossums, whitetail deer, skunks (eeewww!), bald eagles, red tail hawks, turkey vultures, woodchucks (Hey you woodchucks! Quit chuckin' my wood!), whipoorwils, owls, skinks and snakes of all kinds, etc. etc. etc. Neatest snakes here at my home are the ringneck snakes. A little itty bitty fella about 12 inches long at most. They are a really pretty dark, smoke-grey color with an orange to dull red colored "bracelet" around their neck, just behind their head. They are everywhere and there are dozens of them if not hundreds. I have to watch out for them when I mow.
I am contemplating putting in a really elaborate pond here to accomodate all my guests. I think they would appreciate it and take advantage of it.
But, you needn't worry about what to do for your "froggy" friends, as long as you set up your pond again in the spring, they will return. They were always close by to begin with... and that is what is really cool!
Gordy
Scientific American
A deicer helps with gas exchange but can decrease the water temperature since ice acts as an insulator. So kind of hard to tell if a deicer would help or hurt because there's no way to tell whether gas or temp pose the greater danger or any danger. Winter is a dangerous time. I generally leave things to nature unless I really think I understand what I'm doing, which isn't often.
Your filter doesn't seem to be needed to convert ammonia since the pond seems to have been able to handle the load just fine on its own. For cleaning a 125 gal I don't think you can beat a cheap minnow net from the pet store. Scoop out the muck at the bottom once a week or so and you'll have a very clean pond. Takes just a couple of minutes. Just the stirring greatly helps in breaking down waste. Way better results for small ponds compared to any filter.
So I don't think you need a filter for fish/frog health. I don't think most backyard ponds need filters. But they don't hurt anything also long as they're not set up to empty the pond should it leak.
A deicer helps with gas exchange but can decrease the water temperature since ice acts as an insulator. So kind of hard to tell if a deicer would help or hurt because there's no way to tell whether gas or temp pose the greater danger or any danger. Winter is a dangerous time. I generally leave things to nature unless I really think I understand what I'm doing, which isn't often.
Your filter doesn't seem to be needed to convert ammonia since the pond seems to have been able to handle the load just fine on its own. For cleaning a 125 gal I don't think you can beat a cheap minnow net from the pet store. Scoop out the muck at the bottom once a week or so and you'll have a very clean pond. Takes just a couple of minutes. Just the stirring greatly helps in breaking down waste. Way better results for small ponds compared to any filter.
So I don't think you need a filter for fish/frog health. I don't think most backyard ponds need filters. But they don't hurt anything also long as they're not set up to empty the pond should it leak.
According to the program I watched, the frogs (not those cited by Scientific American - but some African frogs) made mud "coccons" and trapped enough moisture to continue breathing what little O2 leached in and survived there for decades. Each species has some way of managing it somehow. I am sure that the Leopard, Pickerell, American Bullies and Green frogs around here aren't as capable of what these African frogs accomplished, but they have their own way.
Gordy