Frog spawn questions

[Vectisbirder]

My aunt put some frog spawn she was given in the garden pond, but it sank immediately to the bottom and hasn't been seen since. Last time she did it the same thing happened, and there were no tadpoles.

Isn't frog spawn supposed to float? If so, what would cause it to immediately sink?

The pond is about three years old now, it looks healthy enough with plants in, but so far no animals have turned up and no frog spawn survives.

Could there be some sort of environmental factor causing this, such as the the type and density of plants? There's weed in the pond but it's not choked with it, and there is an oxygenator running too (when the sun's out, that is, it is run by solar panels).

Cheers
VB

[ron1863]

Frog spawn doesn't float, it sinks and frogs will lay their eggs in the warmer shallows. If your pond is too deep the spawn will sink to the colder bottom and this could deprive the spawn of much needed oxygen leading to the death of the embryo's.

[Vectisbirder]

Originally Posted by ron1863

Frog spawn doesn't float, it sinks and frogs will lay their eggs in the warmer shallows. If your pond is too deep the spawn will sink to the colder bottom and this could deprive the spawn of much needed oxygen leading to the death of the embryo's.

Great, thanks Ron. I was under the impression the stuff floated.

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by Vectisbirder

Great, thanks Ron. I was under the impression the stuff floated.

No problem, only too glad to help