Pond life

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orangeknight

Original Poster:

276 posts

142 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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Just bought a house with a large pond which will be getting rid of. Had a look in there today and noticed lots and lots of little creatures wriggling around. Pic is hopefully attached, anyone got any idea what they are?

Cheers,
OK

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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Not sure. My phone screen is a bit small to see clearly sorry but please check carefully that there aren't any newts in the pond. They'll need help finding a new home if there are.

JeremyH5

1,668 posts

141 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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Look like tadpoles to me. There is frog spawn in the foreground.

Tonsko

6,299 posts

221 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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JeremyH5 said:
Look like tadpoles to me. There is frog spawn in the foreground.
Exactly this. If you're really lucky they will develop front legs first, in which case they are newts. But likely to be frogs.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

176 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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Yes it's fairly recently hatched tadpoles feeding on the 'jelly' with a few unhatched/infertile eggs remaining. UK Frogs do clumps of spawn.

Newts tend to deposit individual eggs on plants, often folding a leaf around it, so you probably wouldn't even be able to see it.

And toads do strings of jellied eggs!

JeremyH5

1,668 posts

141 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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The pond looks to be in good condition, nice clear water. Why get rid of it? They are a wonderful addition to a garden. We put one in last year after removing a dead tree.
Big tree. Pond is 5m across.

Doofus

27,950 posts

179 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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I love our pond. Frogs, dragonflies, two kinds of snails. And we get ducks every spring smile

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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JeremyH5 said:
The pond looks to be in good condition, nice clear water. Why get rid of it? They are a wonderful addition to a garden. We put one in last year after removing a dead tree.
Big tree. Pond is 5m across.
My assumption was young children.

Doofus

27,950 posts

179 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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bexVN said:
My assumption was young children.
We had a big pond when I was a child. And I ate sand, and worms. I fell out of trees, and I fell into rivers. I played on farmland, and I sledged into a Landrover coming up the hill.

I am still here, and none the worse for my childhood. I wish people could let their kids be kids.

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Monday 18th April 2016
quotequote all
Doofus said:
bexVN said:
My assumption was young children.
We had a big pond when I was a child. And I ate sand, and worms. I fell out of trees, and I fell into rivers. I played on farmland, and I sledged into a Landrover coming up the hill.

I am still here, and none the worse for my childhood. I wish people could let their kids be kids.
And too many young children drown in ponds every yr. I made an assumption OP may not even have children but it came to mind based on the fact that whilst I don't wrap my kids in cotton wool neither would I take stupid risks.

JeremyH5

1,668 posts

141 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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Perhaps OP just doesn't like them.

Nimby

4,856 posts

156 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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OP - could you at least keep a small pond in the same place? Frogs return to the same location year after year to spawn, and those tadpoles will too. It would be such a shame if all they find is grass or concrete. They don't need a lake - just a small shallow (and todler-safe) pool will do.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

176 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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I agree it's a shame, but the same location thing is a bit of a myth, they follow the frog-chorus grrrrppp grrrrrrrp grrrrrrpp and the smell of water, they will find their way to another pond if they have to.

orangeknight

Original Poster:

276 posts

142 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Thanks for your replies everyone... will give it a few weeks and see what they turn into. We have been told that newts have been seen in the pond before.

We ideally want rid of the pond due to having dogs and wanting the space back.

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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orangeknight said:
Thanks for your replies everyone... will give it a few weeks and see what they turn into. We have been told that newts have been seen in the pond before.

We ideally want rid of the pond due to having dogs and wanting the space back.
In that case may be do as suggested above and just shrink it down? May depend on the size of your dogs, little ones can get in trouble in ponds aswell unfortunately. But if it does have newts that is lovely, fascinating creatures smile

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

176 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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orangeknight said:
Thanks for your replies everyone... will give it a few weeks and see what they turn into. We have been told that newts have been seen in the pond before.

We ideally want rid of the pond due to having dogs and wanting the space back.
As I said before, it's frog tadpoles. It's too early for newt tadpoles and newts lay SINGLE eggs.

In a week or 2 the tadpoles will have dispersed and you will think they've all gone, they haven't.

The froglets won't emerge until mid-summer to Autumn.

Nimby

4,856 posts

156 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Mr GrimNasty said:
I agree it's a shame, but the same location thing is a bit of a myth, they follow the frog-chorus grrrrppp grrrrrrrp grrrrrrpp and the smell of water, they will find their way to another pond if they have to.
If it's a myth it's repeated on:
www.froglife.org: "Amphibians tend to return to the same pond each year".
www.arc-trust.org/frogs-toads-no-pond.html - "Amphibians migrate to ponds in spring, often returning to areas where they spawned in previous years."

The common frog's call is pretty quiet - I'm not sure it would carry very far.

But whatever - their numbers are in serious decline and they need all the help they can get.