Tadpoles in my outdoor pond

[Mgreene317]

Hey everyone, first year setting up an outdoor pond and I had a quick question. I just found a ton of tadpoles in my 110 gallon pond. Should I be concerned or will they not be an issue for my guppies and bristlenose plecos?

[Zenzo]

On 5/17/2022 at 5:04 PM, Mgreene317 said:

Hey everyone, first year setting up an outdoor pond and I had a quick question. I just found a ton of tadpoles in my 110 gallon pond. Should I be concerned or will they not be an issue for my guppies and bristlenose plecos?

Depending on the type of frog (size), the tadpoles may get large enough to eat the guppies and fry (guppy fry and pleco fry). There is also the issue of more waste. If you are not concerned with them eating your smaller fish, it should be fine.

 

[Torrey]

On 5/17/2022 at 6:04 PM, Mgreene317 said:

Hey everyone, first year setting up an outdoor pond and I had a quick question. I just found a ton of tadpoles in my 110 gallon pond. Should I be concerned or will they not be an issue for my guppies and bristlenose plecos?

I get in touch with my county extension agent, and verify they are native species.

 

If they're native, they get to stay. If they're invasive, they get caught and I follow the state's invasive species guidelines. The kids used to make the invasives be pets😁

[Mgreene317]

I live in south Florida, everything is invasive at this point lol. I saw the culprit last, they are Cuban tree frog tadpoles.

[Biotope Biologist]

They eat algae should be fine. Although as @Zenzo pointed out they do produce a ton of waste, nearly constantly, so hopefully your filtration system can handle the extra waste for a few months. 

 

I used to raise tadpoles in outdoor tubs as a kid, tons of fun to watch them change. 

[Tihshho]

The biggest concern I run into with tadpoles are figuring out what the parents were. Being that they are tree frogs (not too familiar with the Cuban's) I don't think you'll run into too many issues, but someone can correct me that knows more about this species.

The issues I've run into with tads in the past were if they were bullfrog tads or cane toad tads. IME both of those species as adult frogs and toads will predate on fish, so relocating them would be ideal as well as finding a way to keep the parents away from your tub. 

[Zenzo]

On 5/18/2022 at 3:51 AM, Mgreene317 said:

I live in south Florida, everything is invasive at this point lol. I saw the culprit last, they are Cuban tree frog tadpoles.

Cuban Tree Frogs are invasive and will predate on native species. As @Torrey suggested, I would remove them. 

Regarding the diet of tadpoles, yes, they predominately eat algae, but will also eat other tadpoles, as well as small fish.

[Torrey]

On 5/18/2022 at 4:51 AM, Mgreene317 said:

I live in south Florida, everything is invasive at this point lol. I saw the culprit last, they are Cuban tree frog tadpoles.

"Because Cuban treefrogs can be difficult to distinguish from native treefrogs, get help identifying treefrogs from UF/IFAS Wildlife or your local UF/IFAS Extension office."

My sister said contact your local office, because there are two Native species being displaced. If you have the natives, the IFAS will want to register them. If you have Cubans, they need to be anesthetized. The UF/IFAS office will be your best resource, either way.

[Mgreene317]

Just in case I will remove them. Thanks everyone