My frogspawn is not developing

[gerfisk]

Can anyone help? This year I was lucky enough to get frogspawn in my very small pond. However, it's not developing and the jelly is disappering before my eyes. Last year the spawn turned into tadpoles, but they did not grown legs and develope into frogs. I think they just died. I kept some spawn seperate last year and this year and that did not survive. I can get some developed tadpoles from a friend, but don't want to inadvertantly kill them off. Hope someone can help.

[Back]

I've been lucky to be able to watch the spawn in my friends' garden and it disappeared too. It sort of dissolved. I thought it was odd, but carefully looking under the duckweed near where the spawn was has revealed small tadpoles. And great big Smooth Newts waiting to eat them!

I couldn't watch the process everyday, and it seems if you do not look often, you can easily miss something happening.

[miranda]

Try putting the spawn in a 'creche' made of a net suspended over,but mainly submerged in, the pond.The newts all crowd around the outside looking in but the tadpoles are safe!

[gerfisk]

I definately do not have newts in the pond. The jelly is vanishing, but the eggs are still there. They have not developed at all. I also keep some spawn in a container in the kitchen to observe, and that is not developing either. I'm wondering if there's a problem with the water. The pond is a small square man-made thing.

[dampflippers]

You could test the water, but is there other pondlife in the pond?
Take a glass of the water and hold up to the light. Can you see anything moving?
If so, then it probably isn't the water.

Has he water been colder than usual?

My spawn that I put in buckets has hatched (presumably because it was warmer), and in one pond I can see tads swimming about. In another at least one clump had successful hatching, but this one has lots of newts so I haven't seen any swimming around. In the other pond I haven't seen tadpoles yet, but I put some of the spawn in from the frist pond quite deep in case of cold weather.

When there is a warm evening, go out with a torch and you may see tadpoles then. You may also see newts. I know you don't think you have any, but it's not impossible.

[gerfisk]

Thanks Dampflipper, I checked the water as you suggested and there is nothing alive and swimming about. I put some spawn in a container with fresh tap water. However, I notice the spawn is a milky colour (not very encouraging).

If I clean out the pond and put in fresh tap water will this solve my problem? I can get some tads from a friend.

By the way I had two goldfish in the pond for a few years and I took them out recently because I believe they eat tads. The are living happly in a bucket with the pond water.

[miranda]

Hmmm.It's all seemingly rather random (why some blobs develop and others don't).I suspect there are several factors: some 'dud' spawn or 'blank' spawn(i.e unfertilized),frost,sudden changes in temperature,water going stagnent(always more of a risk if you move spawn to a small container....This is why I like the submerged-net idea).Also,newts really can consume huge quantities of spawn at a prodigious rate(and in the dead of night when they think no-one's looking!). And,yes...the few taddies that DO make it we probably never see again cos they are the ones who are good at hiding!
BTW, HAS ANYONE GOT TOADSPAWN YET?...AND,IF SO,COULD YOU SAY WHICH AREA OF THE UK ? THANKS!!

[dampflippers]

I have seen toadspawn in NE England (not in my pond though).

The milky spawn sounds as if either it wasn't fertilised or it has been killed by frost.

I would suggest putting your fish back, give up on your spawn for this year, but hope a few have hatched.

Do you have any plants in it? Make sure you have lots of oxygenators and marginal plants to try to build up your pond. More plants= more pondlife= more food for newts= better habitat.

I'm not sure you need to change the water. You could add some live daphnia from an aquarium shop.

Do you have a photo of the pond? It's difficult to advise without knowing exactly what it's like.

[gerfisk]

I will take your advise and start from scratch. There were two plants in the pond, but I think the very cold weather killed them off. As suggested I'm attaching a photo of my pond. It has a lot of scum on it, this has developed over the last couple of weeks as the weather has gotten warmer.

[Adrian Vygus]

I would take out the blanket weed , get some pond weed take a couple of jam jars of water from your nearest pond or canal complete with anything other than leeches that maybe in it. I think your water maybe too warm, because of the lack of life in it.