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Keeping/breeding Green treefrogs in backyard?

Louie

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Hello
Couple of weeks ago I set up a 120 gallon prefabricated plastic pond in my yard . I added dwarf cattails, Floating liles,few other plants.

I had planned to add some zebra danios (Miami , Florida) . Last 3 nights I have seen green treefrogs in the pond (they are becoming "rare "in Miami due to wild habitat loss) . They havent called but 'hang out" in the pond and the planted bamboos around the pond.
I would like them to breed and use the pond all yr long.

My questions are
If I run a pump with UV in other words running water will that hinder their breeding?
If I add zebra danios will that hinder their breeding?


Its nice to see them as havent seen green trees in yrs and would like them to stay

thanks
 

Daym

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danios are very agressive fish and would eat the green tree frog eggs
 

keechoo

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I raised backyard tree frogs for the past 2 summers (Rhode Island). They laid in my inground pool when the chemicals were practically nonexistant. With the pump and filter on the eggs were being pulled into the system and lost. So, I decided to save the rest.

The first year, only two survived. Last summer, hundreds lived. What I did was use a pot to gather the egg masses with the water they were laid in along with the insects found in the masses and put them into a plastic pail (only thing I had at the time). Once I retreived as many as I could, I left them in a mostly shaded spot outside. Within 3 days mostly all of them were tiny tadpoles. I left them there until they became larger and then divided them up into different containers. When I changed the water, I continued to use the pool water since it still wasn't fixed. When they started to climb the sides, I moved them to another container with a lid that was half water and half land. Once they started eating live insects, I let them go at night by the pool where all the others hung out.

I can't tell you how many made it to adult hood since they really aren't out around here yet but I can say that even though I was worried about them all the time my kids and I had tons of fun watching them morph and watching them hop away into the night. (is that a run-on sentence?)

Just so you know, I left the insects with the masses after reading articles abou them in the wild. Apparently, since the parents could care less once the eggs are laid, the mother leaves insects for the tadpoles to eat once they hatch and are ready for solids.

Hope I helped!
 

gbhil

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UV sterilization will kill off most of what the newly hatched tads need to eat.
Using a fish with an upturned mouth to control mosquito larvae will keep predation and attacks on your tadpoles to a minimum.

The biggest concern in your situation (IMO) will be neighborhood cats and birds.
 

Lasher

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Using a fish with an upturned mouth to control mosquito larvae will keep predation and attacks on your tadpoles to a minimum.

I have a friend in the US who breeds frogs(unsure what kind) in his pond and uses wild type bettas to this end. I couldnt comment on how the frog/fish would interact as I havent seen it - but I'm told they do a great job of keep mosquito's away and dragonfly's wont go near them either.
I would have thought they'd eat the tadpoles/eggs, though. I cant think of a fish that wouldnt given the opportunity.
 

gbhil

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Bubblenesting bettas are a wonderful example. A close look at their eyes and mouth in relation to their head and it's easy to imagine how they can have much trouble eating anything below them in the water column, let alone any bottom dwellers. But woe to any larvae that need to surface to breathe, as they are very efficient micro-predators. Surely they will also grab a few of the newly hatched tads, but IMO it's natural culling and only helps the remaining tadpoles. And once the tadpoles are more active they are too large to be swallowed by a betta.

Depending on the frog species in question, the male betta might have a very hard time keeping his fry away from hungry tadpoles though.
 

fishkeeper

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Just for future reference...stay away from Gambusia affinis(the eastern mosquitofish) if you want to keep your tadpoles safe.

Bettas seem reasonable. An even better choice in your area would be the pygmy livebearer or least killifish(Heterandria formosa). Too small to pose a threat to most tadpoles.
 
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