Tadpoles

[Carrie B]

Hi there,
I am new to the pond world. Been having some algae issues and was looking into tadpoles as one possible part of a solution. I have already added more filtration and just bought an umbrella and some plants to help with more shade and using up the extra nutriants. Back to tadpoles here are the questions that come to mind.
1. What happens when they turn to frogs? What kind of care is required for frogs?
2. They need to be able to get out of the pond right? I currently have a net on my pond. Do they stay around? Or do they wander off?
3. I have a skimmer set up is there concern for them getting in there?
4. Any dog owners have insight? I am a little nervous if I have a frog jumping around that my dog will try to play with it and possibly hurt it?
5. Lastly I have gardeners and while I know I can tell them to "watch out" I have concern of the frogs getting hurt by gardening equipment...my backyard is filled with lush green plants so they could easily blend and be missed I think.
6. Any bad things about frogs I should be prepared for? Do they get in houses and cause damage or anything like that?

Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Tula]

I'm not sure frogs eat algae. I know they eat bugs, even birds....just not sure about algae. Mine have come and gone, currently I don't sen to have any. I used to buy bull frog tadpoles, but my koi just ate them!

 

[CometKeith]

If anything frogs may wander off. You don't have to really worry about them. They manage on their own fine and will help keep the insect population around the pond down. Personally I don't like bullfrogs. They get too big and will eat almost anything. In some states they are illegal to sell or transport. Unfortunately most of the tadpoles you see for sale are bullfrogs.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Hi there,
1. What happens when they turn to frogs? What kind of care is required for frogs?
2. They need to be able to get out of the pond right? I currently have a net on my pond. Do they stay around? Or do they wander off?
3. I have a skimmer set up is there concern for them getting in there?
4. Any dog owners have insight? I am a little nervous if I have a frog jumping around that my dog will try to play with it and possibly hurt it?
5. Lastly I have gardeners and while I know I can tell them to "watch out" I have concern of the frogs getting hurt by gardening equipment...my backyard is filled with lush green plants so they could easily blend and be missed I think.
6. Any bad things about frogs I should be prepared for? Do they get in houses and cause damage or anything like that?

Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

1. Frogs don't need any care. They'll find their own shelter and food and pretty much just hang out around your pond. They wont eat algae so after tadpole stage they wont be of much help until they breed a few years later and give you more tadpoles, though algae grows faster than tadpoles can eat it. I don't know your pond setup, but they need to be able to overwinter in your pond. If you keep your fish outside in winter, the frogs will be fine.
2. A net could be a problem, if the frogs get caught in it, they will most likely die. Some will most likely stay around if you get them from tadpole, but frogs do tend to wander, which is why they show up to garden ponds.
3. I have no experience with that, but I'm pretty sure I've read some people on here have had issues with frogs getting stuck in their skimmer.
4. Your dog might try to hurt it. Frogs are fast and can get away, but after awhile they because used to your presence which can leave them vulnerable.
5. Same as #4, though my frogs generally always stayed right on the waters edge until dusk, when they hunt for bugs.
6. No "negative" effects from frogs, though some frogs can be VERY loud in breeding season. Try getting Green Frog or Leopard Frog tadpoles. They're much quieter during breeding.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello & welcome!

Ditto to what everyone else has said, and though they are somewhat seasonal, frogs are gonna happen naturally over time, anyway.

Bullfrog tadpoles take longer to develop into frogs than most other kind, but still, they only eat algae in the tadpole stage.

My only concern with adding tadpoles/frogs would be that you try to introduce a type of frog that is native to your area (and I didn't catch your locale). If you add a non-native animal, there's always the chance that it can have a negative impact on the surrounding animal populations.

There are other ways to combat algae. Please give us a little more information about your pond, and maybe we can suggest other ways to help, with or without adding tadpoles (adding more shade is a good start).

• What size is your pond? Gallons and dimensions?
• Where do you live?
• How do you filter your water?
• What kind of algae? The kind that turns your water into a pea-green soup; the kind that covers the sides; or the stringy kind?
• Do you have fish?
• If so, how many & how big are they?
• How often do you feed them?
• Do you test your water? We recommend testing for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, pH, KH. And we recommend using a liquid test kit rather than test-strips.
• With regards to "gardeners," does any fertilizer ever accidentally get into the water?

Hope we can help, and welcome to a fascinating and addictive hobby!

 

[Lisak1]

I've never heard of using tadpoles to control algae. I would think you would need A LOT of tadpoles to even notice a difference. And frogs are not loyal - you raise them up from tadpoles and first chance they get, they wander off and you never see them again! As for dogs, one of ours catches and kills frogs if we don't keep a close eye on him.

 

[addy1]

We have thousands of tads in the spring, the pond balances out, some frogs stay some hop away, some survive some get eaten by hawks. Usually during the summer I have 1-3 frogs in every body of water even have frogs in the tiny water collections in the stream. Two live in our small shallow deck pond.

 

[RobAmy]

I have a skimmer and the only frogs so far that do go in are tree frogs. The bull frogs tend not to at all. I never had any tadpoles in the skimmer basket at all. I block off the top of the pump with filter material so the frogs do not get sucked down into the pump. I do have tons of bull frogs and they have caught birds. I have never seen them catching a fish yet. Not saying they can't I just have not seen it. I have one missing new koi that I added this year, a frog could have been the reason not sure. I have tons of tadpoles that over wintered and this year are developing the bodies. Mostly all have the back legs now. I never seen any frogs eat algae. They most likely add to the algae because they do poop, so good filtration is needed by plants or man made.

 

[Dave 54]

Hi Carrie B dont worry your frogs will feed themselves with whatever flies crawls or swims by that they can catch .
You have the same name as a very dear friend to Val and I who passed away sadly due to lung cancer in 2012 , what part of the world are you from ?

Dave

 

[CometKeith]

Lisak1, When I had tadpoles in my pond they would clean up some of the algae that the snails wouldn't even touch. They can be very effective for removing algae if that is something you want to do. The only problem is once they become frogs that's the end of the algae eating...... so you have to keep adding more tadpoles.You can end up with a lot of frogs if you keep that up!

 

[snoozer]

I have leopard and bull frogs that call the pond home. They showed up the first year we had the pond and they or their offspring have been around ever since. They come agd go, At dusk I sit out by the pond and the frogs all seem to come hopping out accross the yard. I don't know if there are more bugs in the scrubs for them to eat or what they do but after dark you can hear them splashing back into the pond. Mother nature will take care of them.

 

[JohnHuff]

Tadpoles would not be a good solution. Don't release any non-native tadpoles to your pond. They are not an algae solution.

 

[CometKeith]

John, We have peregrine falcons keeping a watchful eye over our suburban community. These are definitely non-native. They were introduced to Chicago to keep the rat problem in check. Now they hunt rabbits, smaller birds and anything else they can catch. ... but without them we would be overrun with rabbits and other small animals because all their natural predators are gone. I agree about non-native species and especially do not like bullfrogs, but it seems in many areas that is mostly what you have nowadays and there is no going back to all original species unless we can live with bears and wolves roaming our streets!