|
Mon, Aug 16, 10 at 17:07
| We got some polywogs & tiny dark snails in the water that we got our mosquito eating minnows in from the City. Will these snails live over winter (I assume they are not the common garden snails ... hate THEM!) or will the goldfish eat them? The polywogs have disappeared & not gone on to develop into frogs .. have they died & somewhere on the pond bottom? I had hoped they would survive & I'd have some frogs to keep me (& the neighbors!) awake but with 4 dogs I guess for the frogs sake it was best they didn't survive though?! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| vieja, the snails are probably still in the pond around the base of plants. Goldfish may suck them in and blow them back out again, just as they do with pea gravel but I have never witnessed a goldfish actually swallowing one. The tadpoles have more than likely been eaten by the fish, some however could be hiding in the folds of the liner (if you have a liner pond?) or behind plant pots, rocks etc,. With the larger type of snails, i.e. Japanese Trapdoor snails or Apple Snails,adult koi can suck them right out of their shells and devour them like candy. "Horton" |
|
| Thanks! I may still have the snails then; we don't have koi (yet!) & the goldfish are only about 7 in... mouth to end of flowing tail. The tadpole/polywags were the size of a big marble ... much too big for the goldfish mouth size that they have so I have doubts they were eaten but that was a month ago so shouldn't the tadpoles have grown into frogs by now? |
|
| vieja, depends on what kind of frog tadpoles they are, as they all change at different rates. Leopard frog tadpoles can change into frogs a few weeks. Others such as Green frogs or Bullfrogs can take two years or more to change over. It all depends on the pond conditions, temperature and food availability. Since you describe them being "the size of a big marble", it makes me think you may have either Green frog or Bullfrog tadpoles. |
|
- Posted by coastal_ponder (My Page) on Wed, Aug 18, 10 at 9:29
| regarding the garden variety of snails, i have an over abundance of those critters in my pond. now this will sound heartless to some i'm sure, but here is how i handle with thinning them out. while pulling dead lilly pads etc out i will pick up a few of the snails and crush them. drop them in the water and watch the goldfish go at it. its like candy to them. they will fight over them. i have actually watched my largest fish eat the snail and spit the remaining shell back out. i have never seen them just eat the snails that are there otherwise. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Ponds & Aquatic Plants Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.