New to forum. No problems, but a murder mystery.

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Greetings. I've been lurking for a while and have enjoyed reading the conversations. Here's the mystery.

Four weeks ago, we suddenly had hundreds of tadpoles. We've seen green, leopard, and occasionally bullfrog visitors since we built the pond a few years ago, but never saw any spawn. We have largish, 2-year old goldfish and assumed they'd eat any frog eggs anyway.

A week after the tadpoles showed up, we had to leave town for 3 days. Upon return, there were only a few left, and I did a lot of poking around trying to see if they were hiding in the plants or under the bottom detritus. No tiny corpses either.

This week, I've seen only one. When they were plentiful in that 1st week, we never saw the goldfish eating them. In fact, when a fish did grab one, it immediately spit it out, so we assumed the tadpoles had a toxin or bad taste. And wondered if they might be 'toadpoles' instead.

The fish seem healthy and are eating the algae, plants, insects, and other available food as always.

So what decimated our baby frogs (or toads) in the course of 3 days? Has this happened to anyone? Did they suddenly lose their protective bad taste? Are they all hiding under pots at the bottom?

When they were around, we'd see them surface occasionally for a quick sip or bite and then go back down. So if they are in the pond still, they're not coming to the surface.
 

Mmathis

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Hello and welcome! Glad you finally joined!

Well, the last time you saw any, where were they in their development? Were there any legs yet? I think that their development might pick up pace once the legs start to pop out. Just a thought. Either that, or they died and decomposition got to them quickly. Or there are predator bugs in the pond. Those bugs can make quick work of a tadpole.

I'll notice a similar thing happening with my taddies. One day while netting the pond bottom, I'll get hords, and a week later, none. Then all of a sudden there are babies [usually toads] everywhere in the yard. As soon as they are ready to leave the water, they're out of there. But you didn't mention finding babies......

Anyone else?
 
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tbendl

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I'm not sure what all eats them, birds, dragonfly, or even the fish but that's why they lay thousands of eggs, nature knows only a very small percentage will survive.
Also mine hid out until they were larger, even now they are quick to dip below the surface when I come outside.
 
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Thanks for the welcome to this community. My wife and I quickly learned that talking about ponds bores the hell out of people who don't have ponds.

The tads were limbless when we left, the one survivor I saw yesterday was also limbless (3 weeks later), so maybe he's not from the same hatch/die-off.

My favorite explanation is Turtle Mommy's 'predator bugs'. Sounds pretty cool.

Next hatch, we're going to do our best to see what's what, but it's already cooling off here in Missouri, so maybe next year.

All the best!
 

Mmathis

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@Rosenbeck These aren't the greatest pics [iPhone and it was at dusk], but this is the graphic evidence! I think this was back in June, maybe......

I was draining my filter and there were tons of taddies that had been sucked in by the pump. I had a bucket and was saving as many as I could to release back into the pond. There was a "bug" in there with them. I watched [and watched, and watched......gross but fascinating] as that darn bug grabbed one of the tadpoles and ate it!! I know that's the "nature of things," but still......

View in upper left, you can see the tadpole. Other pics are just various shots I took. Never got a for-sure ID, but think it's some kind of water-bug [that's what they're called....]. There are also dragonfly nympth-thingys in the pond and some other things -- I don't know what they are, but assume they're all predators. None of them looked very "herbivorous."

image.jpg
 

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