I just purchased 5 bullfrog tadpoles which are now in a container pond. I am putting in a buried 50 gal pond soon but from reading your website am now concerned it is way too small for them and that they will leave and go on to decimate some unsuspecting frog population elsewhere if they dont eat each other first. They are at different levels of theyre growth: one very small, one big with no legs, 2 with small legs, and one with fully formed back legs that is a slightly diferent shape. I also noticed that the larger ones don't seem to eat nearly as much as the small ones and arent as active... is this normal? I feed them goldfish flakes and tadpole pellets. Their pond mates are a few rosy red minnows, two tiny pearlscale goldfish, and two trapdoor snails. I had no idea bullfrogs were so territorial, but they were the only ones for sale and I have always wanted to set up a frog pond. Any suggestions for making them stick around, or if not what i should do so they wont destroy any current frog populations?

Bullfrogs do grow large and will eventually not tolerate a lot of each other in a small pond and also possibly eat smaller animals. But, it takes time for them to grow. So, you don't have to worry for a few years. Things may change by then. Perhaps you'll have a bigger pond by then! Bullfrogs (big ones) certainly can eat smaller frogs but a few of them aren't going to decimate the local frogs unless there haven't been bullfrogs in your area and these eventually breed. Even then, the effects would take years. You can force the frogs to stay in your pond by fencing around the pond. Otherwise, they're going to wander. I have a 1800 gallon pond, and the frogs still wander away from our land and some come back.

If the larger tadpoles are less active and eating less, it could be because they are getting ready to change to adults. Otherwise, it may mean nothing. Hopefully it doesn't indicate they're not feeling well. I've noticed that larger tadpoles are a bit more still but will dart fast if disturbed while the little ones tend to move around and nibble a bit more.

Thats exactly what they are doing. The big ones will kind of hang out at the bottom and nibble at the algae at the sides every so often, while the little ones are always swimming around and eating.

By the way, I found out bullfrogs are native to my area (LI, NY) so I guess they wont be such a problem. I hope I can have a bigger pond soon! Your site is wonderful... I have learned so much.