Tadpoles

[smiley]

Well here's a request!!

I have some tadploles again this year in my garden. Managed to kill them all last year.
There happy at the moment I've put a large rock and smaller stones in the water, collecting as much rain water as poss.

What do I do next? killed them last year reducing the water level.

Help

 

[JohnM20]

Hi Smiley

What tadpoles are they ?. It seems VERY late in the year to still have them. We get loads of frogspawn in late February which has normally hatched by May at the latest with the young froglets leaving the pond July / August time. We're not in the warmest part of the country in southern Derbyshire. Generally they will fend for themselves and don't need any intervention but, to stop preditors make sure there is some vegitation for them to hide under.
They will eat algi and also meat, including their own siblings if one should die. I once put an uncooked bone in my pond with the tiniest amount of meat left on it. Within a short while there were dozens of them nibbling away at it.
Remember though that frogs and toads are amphibious and don't actually spend much of there lives in water and will leave soon after they have grown their four legs and absorbed some of their tails.
Hope this helps a bit but I'm still intrigued why they are so late.

JohnM

 

[Damian]

I too am amazed that there are tadpoles at this time of year. Our resident frogs and toads spawned a little late this year due to the cold weather, but all the spawn hatched and the little ones left the ponds in July.
They are now ensconced in used growbags and under wood piles, and in my pile of washed grit!

 

[smiley]

Do they need feeding ?????? how do I make sure they get their legs?????

 

[602]

I too am amazed that there are tadpoles at this time of year.

Hi

If it was Granny having a baby late in life, it would be called a "Gift from God".

602

 

[Damian]

Just make sure they have enough water to swim around in, and feeding would be helpful, flaked or floating fish food is ideal for them

 

[smiley]

I'll go and check my babies are still there after all this rain, fish food got it!!!!!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

A couple of more points smiley.
Hopefully you have pond plants because as has been pointed out, tadpoles will rasp the algae off the sides of the pond and plant leaves. They will also as they grow eat the plants.
Contrary to what some say goldfish will also kill tadpoles. They suck them in and then blow them out after crushing them with their pharangeal teeth.
Again as has been mentioned, the tadspoles as they grow (can't remember which stage) become meat eaters. You should be ok if all of your tadpoles are the same size having hatched at the same time but the larger ones will prey on smaller ones. They will also eat dead tadpoles and dead fish.
Some water beetles and dragonfly larva prey on tadpoles although I'm not too sure about damselfly larvae which I have plenty of in my pond.
The whole idea is to keep the right ecological balance regarding plant and fish life. There are so many tadpoles that some will survive. If they all did they would eventually starve.
All I do is feed them some floating fish sticks and they come back year after year. At breeding time it looks like the water is boiling in my pond although they were exactly one month late spawning this year.
They do say not to use tap water direct into your pond but I top up mine with the hose although it goes through a smaller pond and two waterfalls which aerates it.
I felt a bit sad recently after being away in the van for a few weeks. First thing I did on arrival home was mow the grass and I cut a frog in half