Baby Frogs Dying

[ymm]

Hi all, wonder if anyone can give me some advice please?

We've had loads of pleasure this year watching lots of tadpoles develop into tiny frogs and seeing may of them hopping in and out of the pond. We counted at least 20 baby frogs just last week, (plus about 20 tadpoles with legs & tail that still need to complete their develpoment) and they seemed to have been thriving in the pond. Today, however, when I went to check on them, there were 2 baby frogs dead and floating in the pond. Nothing has changed in the pond as far as we're aware and there are still a few tadpoles swimming around, but I can't see any actual frogs any more. The dead ones seem to have a blue/grey colour to them, but I don't know if this is normal once they die.

If anyone could help, I would be really grateful.

Regards,
Yvonne

[aland]

Hi is it possible the pond as got contaminated or as any blue type [alggey] ? on it, our neighbors pond once had a problem with farm type effluent every thing died, my wife and i put a new bottom in it as it was seeping in from farm land, aland.

[aland]

I forgot to mention this warm weather can cause problems with still water, if this is the case you need to agitate the surface or oxygenate the water have a hose with a sprinkler on it for some time if poss, ponds need some shade, this is why fish keepers use pumps to circulate the water, our pond has seventy fish some large and we have three pumps to brake up the surface also large trees surround it, other wise our fish would certainly die, any disturbance of the surface you can do will help, aland.

[Bullseye]

Could be Dragonfly nymphs,they suck the juice out of them.

[ymm]

Hi Aland & Bullseye,

Thanks for your replies.

I'm pretty sure the pond hasn't been contaminated, but I must admit, we haven't used the pump much lately, although I usually top up the water with the hose every few days, so maybe this is why. Now they're all much bigger, I'll keep the pump/fountain going, (I was worried about the little tadpoles being sucked into the pump!).

We also have loads of dragonflies around too, which is great, but I never thought about their nymphs doing any damage.

Hopefully, we won't find any more dead frogs now, but really appreciate your advice.

Cheers, Yvonne

[aland]

Hello, it probably is down to warm weather i have had to call out the environmental people to a gravel pit near warwick one year it became covered in a blue algey and chub were dieing they used a pump to oxygenate the water, i think it only happens in extremes of warm weather, aland.

[Paul mabbott]

Could be something toxic in the ground water but unlikely to be lack of oxygen - they should be lung-breathing at that stage, I think.
Do the dead ones have all their limbs? Cannibalism is a possibility.
Do they have enough food? At the limbed stage they will be switching to a carnivorous diet (although marmite sandwiches are acceptable).

[crazylilthing]

Yvonne, I used to keep frogs and toads for many years and reared them from egg stage onwards.

What aspect is your garden pond? (north, south, east or west facing) Unless it is very deep, it is possible that it will get very warm to hot if it is in direct sunlight and facing south to west. This will kill the frogs very easily.

The pond should ideally be partially to heavily shaded by plants (at least 50% shade) for the hottest part of the day in midsummer. There should also be shade areas around the pond, such as low-growing plants with broad leaves, flower pots (clay/terracotta) or similar.

The discoloration is a normal decay indicator.

The survival rate of froglets is very low, not surprisingly, given their tiny size, which makes them a very appealing snack, but you can give them a good start!

[Gill Catton]

My money is on predators like greater waterboatmen and dragonfly larvae. Where there is life there is death and really that is how it should be.

Amphibians breath air should should be able to cope relatively well with wamer water and lower oxygen levels, in addition if they have their legs they are able to leave a pond if the conditions become unsuitable and as they haven't I'd guess that they'be been eaten!

Tadpoles develop in the wild quite succesfully in everything from tyre rutts to disused swimming pools so are pretty resiliant to a wide variety of water conditions. If everything else is living happily in the pond then you can probably rule out contamination and a healthy aquatic ecosystem with predators and prey in!

[crazylilthing]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Amphibians breath air should should be able to cope relatively well with wamer water and lower oxygen levels, in addition if they have their legs they are able to leave a pond if the conditions become unsuitable and as they haven't I'd guess that they'be been eaten!

True, but I've noticed that some garden ponds have difficult exits for froglets. Even if they want to escape the warm water, they can't because there's nothing for them to help them get out.

Paradoxically, some tiny froglets may be able to clamber up near-vertical surfaces when there's a high surface tension, like wet glass, but not sheer-sided pond walls.