I have two ponds, one has fish and one has frogs.

I was thinking I might like to introduce fish into the frog pond. Will there be any problems between the fish and the frogs?

Somebody recently asked me why I don't have turtles - I dunno. Turtles sound like they might be fun for the kids. Any ups and downs with turtles?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), March 15, 2001

Answers

some fish eat frogs,, and frog eggs,, some turtles eat fish and frogs, IM surprised you dont have them in both anyways, they will find a balance,

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 15, 2001.

Paul,

Snapping turtles are not very nice. I think if you've managed to get by so far with frogs and fish minus the snappers, I'd start feeding those fish, and making sure to introduce some bullfrogs to the frog pond for a little easy aquatic food gardening. (Although I suppose you could it the turtles!) I would suppose that the frog pond is not as deep, which may suggest it is prone to drying up from time to time and killing the fish off. Surely some perch (aka sunfish) have made it into every possible deep mudhole!

-- Marty (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), March 15, 2001.

I agree with Stan, am surprised you don't have frogs in both ponds. As far as turtles go, it depends on the type of fish you have. I made the mistake of purchasing a *small* turtle for my koi pond and he went back to the pet store the next day. He chewed up/killed some koi...that was an expensive mistake!

Also, do some research on introducing plant life. I love cat tails but they can be invasive and so can elephant ear (? type) plants.

I thoroughly enjoy the serenity of my pond, the dragonflies, bees buzzing around the blooming water plants, and all the various other bugs that go with it. Reached down to pick up a branch out of the water last week only to discover it was a snake. but he wasn't poisonous so he can enjoy the pond too.

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), March 15, 2001.

Generally, Fish eat frog eggs and tadpoles, Turtles eat every thing if you get turtles you will end up with only turtles. Your ponds have naturally balanced already. Only in a large habitat, do these animals co-exsist, some being food for the others.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), March 15, 2001.

Bullfrogs can be quite a problem too, and depending on your interpretation of 'fish' (koi? catfish? trout? There's a lot differences). Bullfrogs are quite the eating machines as well, and unless you fancy frog legs a whole lot, I'd wait for whatever native frog population you have to discover the ponds and move in....my preferences are for green frogs, woods frogs, all kinds of tree frogs, and spring peepers. IF you go the route of buying tadpoles, they will most likely be bullfrogs, and all the little native frogs will be lunch for them as they grow. Not a very ecologically balanced system. They'll love eating your young fish as well.

I don't know where you're located, or what species you are talking about. There may be a very good reason that the fish are in one and the frogs in the other. What kind of turtles are you talking about as well? Many of them are very filthy and pollute your water, not the best for keeping fish alive. Also be aware that some turtles harbor salmonella without any harm to themselves, but a lot of harm to children that handle them, then put their hands in their mouths, or handle food (or even put the turtle in their mouth -- why? WHO knows! But kids do.). It is very complicated to ensure that the turtles you get are salmonella free (and costly), or that they will remain that way. If you do include turtles, you may want them to have their own pond/enclosure as well, and make sure that the kids view them, rather than try and handle them. You'll also need to do some looking into how to feed them...they'll be happy to munch up your fish and frogs.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 16, 2001.

I really enjoy my ponds. We have fish---bass and bluegills--- and one western painted turtle in one pond. We're gradually planting around the pond to attract insects and to provide some cover for frogs. Before the fish were introduced to the pond there were alot of frogs, now there are none. The bass make short work of the frogs. We occassionaly have a migrant snapper come to visit too but I'm thinking this year I'm gonna evict him and take him to the river.

-- john (natlivent@pcpros.net), March 16, 2001.

I'm up north in eastern Washington state.

My fish are rainbow trout and brook trout.

I have no idea what variety of frogs I have.

I guess turtles are a bad idea. I was guessing that since they're so slow, they can't catch anything, but I can see now how they might eat up the frog eggs.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), March 17, 2001.

Hey, pond people -- how do you keep your dogs out of the pond? I want to put in a pond, but I can't think how I would keep my doggies out of it, short of fencing it off. While I don't mind them taking a dip now and then, I fear they will be mudbuckets every day. Any ideas?

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), March 17, 2001.

Hi, I wouldn't go with turtles. They can cary salmonella. They eat frogs, frog eggs, fish, and some plants. If the pond is at least 2 ft. deep go with comets (goldfish). If it's 4 ft. or more and you want something bigger than 8" you could use koi that get over 24" long. Or, you could use stock fish like bass, bluegill, or catfish if you want to go fishing. If you decide on koi, do yourself a favor and don't get the ugly koi you find at most pet shops. They look just like regular carp. Instead, find koi that have a good round body shape and bright colors. The ones imported from Japan are beautiful, but are also expensive. Too much of an investment if you just want something to spark a little interest in a pond. That's why I only have one imported butterfly koi that I got a good deal on. Bye for now. Indiana Gardener

-- Indiana Gardener (greenthumbs777@yahoo.com), March 17, 2001.

P.S. I've never cought any of my Comets or Koi even so much as chasing frogs, tadpoles, or eating their eggs. However, I do have to protect my plants. They uproot them when they root around in the dirt like little pigs.

-- Indiana Gardener (greenthumbs777@yahoo.com), March 17, 2001.

Let's see, we have two decorative ponds, the large one is about 3 feet deep and the small one is only about a foot deep. We have goldfish in both ponds (a mix of shubunkins, fantails, black moors, orandas and el-cheepo koi). We planted cattails, blue flag, mexican (?) papyrus, elephant ears, parrots feather, and water hyacinth... We have wood and grey's tree frogs that nest in the ponds come spring, and that usually amounts to somewhere around 20-30,000 frog eggs. The goldfish eat them down to a managable number.

So far no turtles. Tho, the local Sandhill crane population enjoy visiting for an afternoon of fishing (we've since installed "hideouts" for the fish). We also have has SMALL flocks of migrating ducks take a dip...but only until the dogs spot them in the pond. The dogs tho, don't seem to bother with the cranes.

As for the dogs..... good luck!!!!!!!! We have 6, and 5 of them think that the ponds are the greatest thing in the world...and luckily, they don't chase after the fish. Our ponds are lined with heavy mil pond liner (purchased from a local koi dealership).

The dogs, well....let's just say that we could hold a "Belly-flop" competition between the five of them......

-- Sarah Wilde (gilded_lily_1@yahoo.com), March 20, 2001.

My dogs don't like the water much, except for wading in to cool their feet off, so I'm lucky in that. If you have a water breed though, or a dog that just plain likes the water, well, I guess you're out of luck!

Paul, if your trout are spawning in the pond you have, it is very possible that large frogs (like bullfrogs esp) will eat small fry. Anything they can get in their mouths is fair game, even smaller siblings. And I suspect that if you have some small native frog species that the trout will be eating any frog eggs in their pond, I seem to recall that we sold a lot of fish eggs as bait to trout fishermen. I don't think that the trout would bother adult frogs, but there may be a reduction in the number of frogs if you decide to put the trout into the other pond as well. A guy here in our small town has two trout ponds, and I rarely see any frogs around his ponds at all.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 20, 2001.