Algae on plants and what to do about bullfrog

[fishin4cars]

I notice the most action a good hour or so after dark. There is a good three hour window the big light is on and that's when all the frog activety is the highest. Last night we had a light rain just before dark, an hour later I counted 38 different frogs and bullfrogs hadn't even come out yet. lol If I was able to spot and count each frog in my hard on a night when they all cranked up I would bet I could count between 200 and 300 frogs on less than a 1/4 acre of land! 6 different species for sure including the toads, 2 more very possible. One sound I can't place with a frog but I know they are there.

 

[addy1]

They have you pegged fishin, telling all their frogs friends to come and visit, and they just stay

 

[SE18]

As a kid I had a toad in a terrarium. You could stick a piece of hamburger there and it would totally ignore it. So I rolled it into a ball and stuck it on the end of a string and swung it back and forth. The toad lunged for it and gobbled it down (not the string though, which I pulled back). I'm sure the same trick can be tried with frogs.

Fortunately, there are plenty of bugs outside that I don't need to feed my frogs, must enjoy them in natural element. I'm thinking that the frogs are jumping up into my aqueduct to feast not only on bugs but on my tadpoles! Yikes, cannibals.

Off-topic: BTW, my co-worker has a koi pond. All his koi died when his son sprayed the area with some sort of bug repellent. What a heartbreaker that must have been! I'm sticking to frogs for now. A small water turtle would be nice as well.

 

[CountryEscape]

SE18, I wondered about the water turtles, as I have plenty of them in my farm pond, but I would worry about them trying to "dig in" on the liner and tear it, so for now will keep them out, if any do get in. I've seen them under my deck, so they do wander into my yard.
That's awful about the koi dying. I will be sure to keep any bug spray away from the pond. I did spray Sevin on my mini rose on the deck, but was careful no drift went past the deck.
I used to catch bullfrogs on a fishing pole with anything on the hook, like a piece of white paper. Dangle in front of them and they would jump for it. This morning Mr. Bullfrog is in the pond showing himself once again. Can't wait to watch for the action tonight with the flood lights. If I can see him, I'll be able to hear him plop in and out of the water.

 

[SE18]

CE,

My coworker is on vacation. When he returns I'll ask him for details about exactly what chemical was sprayed where and post it in the koi section.

My waterway system is entirely concrete so claws from turtles, birds and beagles doesn't bother. My only concern is that any large turtle might get caught, stuck or trapped within the concrete of the canal. Of course, the turtle wouldn't be able to climb up to the aqueduct unless I made a ramp (which I'm going to do for walking over the aqueduct eventually).

Of course, frogs seem to have no problem jumping up, especially the tree frogs.

A trick I learned about 7. If you have a weed growing amongs plants you don't want killed, you can spray some 7 on a rubber glove and rub the weed. This keeps spray off plants you don't want killed. These days I'm just removing weeds by hand and not relying on 7.

 

[addy1]

sevin (7) is more for bug control, but neat idea about the rubber glove. I will try that with the round up I use to control the out of control weeds.

 

[jagan314]

SE... when I was a kid, I use to catch dragon fly's and put them on a string and wave them in front of the frog.. or "fly" them in front of the frog. Frogs and toads are "motion hunters" they'll lunge at what moves.

Currently, I have a 2 season bullfrog tadpole that didn't turn last season/year, so it got HUGE... Its gonna turn this year.. Already has 4 legs. I may catch him and grow him bigger in a large aquarium before I set him loose in the backyard pond. My big koi would definitely eat him or try to, at this stage.

 

[SE18]

cool story, jagan. Fish tries to eat tadpole. Tadpole escapes to grow into monster frog, returning to eat same fish. Could be a horror movie or something like that

Addy1, I guess I was in a mental fugue. I actually used this technique with Round Up, not 7. Doing it with dry weather is best bet.

 

[addy1]

lol se, sort of figured you meant roundup..................

 

[Sheetmetalman]

Not sure, but I think the first frog you have a picture of may be a leopard frog judging from the way the skin looks on his legs. I cant be sure since he's not as spoted as most leopard frogs Ive seen here in Illinois. I live the next town over from you (Vandalia) and my pond is about 1 month old--I havnt had trouble with green water but String algae is growing all over the pond rocks and on my plant roots like yours-- I wonder if all the constant huge amounts of rainwater weve got lately could be screwing up the pond water chemistry and causing or contributing to the algae problem. (we got 4 and1/4 inches of rain in 1 night here at the lake)

 

[CometKeith]

Country, just wondering how much of your pond is covered with plants. I saw a cool picture you posted the other day with your copper rocks next to it and it didn't look like you had many plants. I keep about half of my pond covered and never have a problem with algae. I know Koi will eat plants, but maybe it is getting too much full sun and you need to try something else.

 

[CountryEscape]

Sheetmetalman, welcome! Glad to know someone close is on this forum. ComeKeith, I keep adding more plants, but was having problems with the hyacinths. I added 6 more lillies, and they are just starting to peek above the water. Have 2 others, one is blooming now! Not sure what else to get to have floating to cover the pond. Water "current" sends all floaters to the skimmer, so put the hyacinths in the ring. They are doing much better now. I'd love suggestions for more plants. Going to expand the bog this weekend (need to get going on that now!), and then work on the waterfall and try to get it done this week.
My pond is 19.5' long, and I have shelves on the north half to put potted plants on, but other than that and the bog, rest would have to be floaters. I will get more plants earlier next year, so they have time to multiply. And, my pond is on the east side of the house, no shade until about 5 or so these days. And, Sheetmetalman, the reason I had/have green water is because I tried the theory that letting the pond "go green" would help get the plantlife boosted, and bacteria up and going, before I added fish. But, now I'm struggling to get rid of it, although I can see the shelves (2') and now I can see the fish when they are on the bottom, so it's getting there!
Here's a pic of my lilly,
View attachment 7145
and my resident, Mr. Daddy Bullfrog.
View attachment 7146
And, a picture taken yesterday of the pond with new plants between pond and deck.
View attachment 7147
Yep, WAYYY too much open water. Suggestions???

 

[koiguy1969]

some lattice and some pt.lumber or anything for a shade structure would help.

 

[CountryEscape]

Koiguy, yes, that is true. What is "pt" lumber? Pre-treated I assume? And, if I built a pergolo (sp?) over the pond, I would want flowering vines. Assume that might get messy ... Also, I live "on the prairie", so anything built over the pond would have to be extremely sturdy (i.e., posts buried at least 3' with concrete, etc.). Probably won't get to that this year, but have seen some nice ones on other's posts so will think about it.

 

[addy1]

country my pond is in full sun, from the time it comes up until it sinks. I think mine does fine is the plants and the bog. If you don't want to shade it just get more plants growing.