POND VISITS OF A DIFFERENT KIND!

[pollygog]

Back in Feb. I posted an article on frogs in my Nexus filter, a sequel to this is after the frogs had successfully mated and produced spawn I have for the first time had a mass invasion of toads in my wildlife pond which is fed by overflow from my koi pond.
They also have mated and produced long thin strings of spawn which have hatched into small black tadpoles (if you dont know difference, frog tadpoles are spotted).
This is a first for me as every year I have had frogs and subsequently hundreds of frog tadpoles in my wildlife pond and also had newts successfully breed in my pond.
Last year was the first time I saw the very rare Great Crested Newts breeding in my pond, I feel very priveledged as I now have all three types breeding here, apparently where I live is a local hotspot for them. The newts appeared around the end of March and are now busy eating the tadpoles amongst other things and preparing to breed.
Dave W if you are reading this your advice on frogs etc carrying trichodina is sound, they do carry trich. so the answer is not to take them for a long ride as you suggested but to treat the water with malachite green\formalin when the frogs toads and newts are in it, they will go in it anyway no matter how you try to keep them out so my approach is, live with them .
It must surely make the amphibians life more bearable also to be rid of this itchy parasite!.
Phil.

[site admin]

Phil,
The treatment for Trichodina is Potassium Permanganate not MG&F!!
But with all the wildlife you have in the pond and plants, maybe PP is not the way to go, but I doubt if MG&F will touch them.
Have you done a scrape to check that you have Trich?

Dave

[pollygog]

Dave
Thanks for the advice on PP but I already dosed my pond back in Feb with Potassium Permanganate at the recommended rate of 1.5 grams per 220 gallons of pond water.
This was done as a pre-emptive strike to clean pond and contents before veg filter and lillies started up their new seasons growth..
A very important caveat here for anyone else reading this post is to observe that there is a decimal point between the one and the five grams above as by not observing and accidentaly dosing your pond with 15 grams you will rapidly precipitate your precious koi charges to that Great Fishy Paradise in the sky.
Early Spring is also I find a good time to treat your pond with salt, I use 250 to 300 grams per 100 litres, this helps guard against nitrite toxicity which can rapidly increase at this time of year.
Phil.

[MitchR]

Hi Phil, you need to be careful using salt as it prohibits the use of most chemicals used in the treatment of bacterial outbreaks etc. However you may shift it during your normal weekly water changes. best regards, Mitch.