- Joined
- Aug 28, 2015
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Central Missouri
- Hardiness Zone
- 5b
- Country
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.
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.
