I've been in the pond hobby for 31 years and we have learned so much along the way that we are able to help others with their ponds, Koi & Goldfish troubles. So, you can imagine my surprise when I started getting phone calls and e-mails from our pond club Members and others in our area about their Goldfish losses. It seems that Goldfish are dying in peoples ponds and there is no explanation why.
So you can imagine my surprise when Kathy & Rick (Members of the Forest City Koi & Pond Club) called to say that they had been losing Goldfish and they seemed to be the white ones which were around 4 to 5 inches long. The biggest surprise for me was that no Koi had been lost. Kathy also said that a bull frog had moved into their pond and she was wondering if this could be the problem. Kathy said that the fish looked perfectly healthy, they had no scratches or bites on their bodies and their gills were nice and red.
Well, long story short, I did some research and found an article dealing with this topic and here is what I found. It seems that bull frogs can strangle Goldfish by wrapping their arms around their bodies and squeezing them, I also suspect that the strangle hold of the bull frog can be around the gills, causing the fish to suffocate.
I wondered why the Goldfish were the only targets, why the Koi hadn't been bothered and I think that if the frog was only targeting the full bellied 4 to 5 inch Goldfish, Koi at that age can be more slender and maybe the bull frog couldn't get a good hold on them.
I would like to hear from others who may have been going through these troubles. Thank you.
Your's Koily, Lorraine, President, Editor of the Forest City Koi & Pond Club. koilady@execulink.com