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Frogs spawn |
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Suzi
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1025 |
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Posted: 09 Nov 2021 at 11:36am |
Did I read once that tadpoles can secrete a substance that causes others to not develop, as a kind of self preservation thing? I think the overcrowding is a factor and can be connected to this survival of the strongest. My tadpoles, when I have any in a pond, seem to be split between some developing at the seasonal rate and some overwintering. However ones raised in containers in dense concentrations seem to benefit from the warmer shallower water and feeding (lettuce), but even so some develop much quicker than others.
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Suz
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chubsta
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2013 Location: Folkestone,Kent Status: Offline Points: 430 |
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I know very little about this sort of thing but could it be the population density causing them to not develop at the normal rate - I am basing this on my experience of fish where they can become stunted if there are too many of them regardless of the amount of food available - this is clear in many small ponds containing huge numbers of small Roach and Rudd due to a lack of predators.
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lalchitri
Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 Status: Offline Points: 160 |
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Reformed Teetotaller
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chubsta
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2013 Location: Folkestone,Kent Status: Offline Points: 430 |
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our small pond still has a large number of tadpoles swimming about - there is plenty for them to eat in there and the pond looks healthy with lots of daphnia, snails and weed, but for some reason they just haven't developed as normal. The tadpoles in the other pond all seem to have gone, although no doubt there are a few hidden away somewhere as it is very overgrown.
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lalchitri
Senior Member Joined: 06 Jun 2006 Status: Offline Points: 160 |
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Been quite a late year for development this year. Still have about 2/3 of the tadpoles left that I keep separate from the main pond in a tub. Don't know if they'll survive winter if they do complete their development now.
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Reformed Teetotaller
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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Several clumps of my spawn are now at the comma stage, as against the full stop stage. I can't say it's warm weather that has spurred it on, as it's single figures most of the time recently. I guess these things are factored into spawn development.
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Suz
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chubsta
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2013 Location: Folkestone,Kent Status: Offline Points: 430 |
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a couple of new clumps seem to appear each day now, the biggest problem is that the pond is so overgrown that there isn't a huge amount of space and it will soon run out
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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Good that you've now got spawn. I guess thrashing frogs acted like ice breakers.
We've had some cold nights here (down below minus 5 the other night). All seems OK with the spawn though.
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Suz
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chubsta
Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2013 Location: Folkestone,Kent Status: Offline Points: 430 |
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Very strange sight last night - it was cold here (-2) and half the pond froze but the other part was a seething mass of frogs and woke up this morning to 6 clumps!
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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Well yes Chubsta I worry every night that my spawn is going to get frosted and spoilt. I guess it can take a bit of frost, but how much?
100 frogs - WOW! Your pond will be like soup when they do lay.
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Suz
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