Newbie question......what kind of frogs for my area???

Hi Pond Mavens!

I have a very small pond (actually a Rubbermaid horse trough....3' x 4' x 3' deep....sunk into the ground so that only about 4" is above the soil) and 3 small Koi (6-7" each). There is a Japanese Maple and an Oklahoma Redbud that shade the pond all day but let in enough sun for plants (which I also need to get... so input on that would be greatly appreciated too!) I had water lettuce last year, which our black lab loved to pull from the pond and play with.

I would like a frog or 2 but am wondering what kind. I live in the California Central Valley about 2 hours south of Sacramanto. Our summer temps rise to 105 or so, but usually only for a couple weeks. Winters are foggy and clammy with lows to about 20 degrees, but again, not for long. Tree frogs? Leopard frogs? I'm afraid a Bull Frog would eat my koi, so I won't be getting one of them. A nearby bed has a large hydrangea, ferns and Coral bells to hide under and between the sprinklers and the leaky hose bib these planters are moist all day. Somewhere in the backyard lives an old Toad, unless he's had as many years as he gets and won't be back. Any opinions???

Thanks for peeking in! :~)

Karen

Karen, to me, I think tadpoles are essential parts of ponds....I'd go with anything that is in your normal enviroment and is NOT a bullfrog. Bullfrogs truly eat everything in sight, even your other frogs....(and yes, your koi)
In time, you may end up with a problem concerning the size of your koi....they will get huge (over 24") and there won't be enough room for them. As time goes on, you can replace them with shubunkin (large calico colored goldfish) and sarassa's (Bright red and white goldfish) It will look like you have koi, without running into the size problems. They are also more tolerant of water conditions and temperature fluctuations.
I have been known to round up a few toads here and there, and putting them around my pond. Once more than one arrives, they begin singing in the evenings, and draw many more. Tree frogs are also excellent, because they fill you pond with tadpoles, but climb back up in the leaves of your plants during the day, eating bugs instead of fish.

Thank you Mary. Our local pet store has Leopard Frog tads, I think I will get some of them. Perhaps DD and I should take a bucket and a net and go visit our local canals.....see what's indigenous here! If I find some local-grown tads, how do I "clean" them to make sure they don't bring something nasty into my small environment?

K

Bring them home in a bucket of their natural water....then move them to half their water/half your pond water the next day...then a bucket of full pond water.....by then, they are ready to put in your pond (scoop them out, don't dump the water in)
They have a natural amphibious slime coat that keeps their skin clean, so it doesnt take long for them to be A-ok for your pond. I WISH a pet store around here had leopard tadpoles! I've been looking everywhere for some. Last year, a lady in NC sent me a ziploc bag full of green treefrog tadpoles from her pond, it was wonderful!

Thank you for the cleaning lesson, that is easy, even I can do that! Now I want tree frogs too. LOL. Just about everything I tune into here at Dave's becomes a new adventure!

Karen

I find once you provide a pond the frogs will arrive by themselves, then you can be sure you are getting something native and suited to the conditions. I didn't have to introduce anything to mine - the wildlife just found its way. The frogs are excellent for keeping the slugs at bay! Good luck!

I live in the California Central Valley and I'm not close to any natural waterways or rivers. The irrigation canals here are concreted and are not filled all year. Any frogs that could show up in my yard would have to come from a neighbor's pond. Hopefully, my 3 new Leopard frog taddies will love my yard and want to stay. I even got a HUGE moss rock with a natural dish in it for the planter across the walk from my pond. This rock will be placed under some small shade trees and fixed with a "spitting frog" who is hooked up to the drip irrigation so when the irrigation clock turns on, the rock dish will fill. I have more plants to install and some other things to finish before they are "hopping" in hopes that it is such a lovely place they want to make themselves a home here!

K

Even without many water ways...you should be able to attract toads, if you have shady spots here and there for them to hide in. Many times they will sink down in a potted plant that has moist soil and protective leaves.....
Once they start singing, others will come....they have normal water tadpoles just like frogs, even though they live on land.

I had a big 'ol lumpy toad for many years. He used to live in the old gopher tunnels under the fruit trees but I think he finally kicked the bucket. Perhaps once the Leopards start makin' noise others will show up....."if you build it they will come...." LOL

K