I have a very large bullfrog living in my pond, and lately he has taken to swimming into the filter in the evening and singing... I think he likes the acoustics!! It is very cool, as the sound is very amplified :) BUT his obvious presence makes me ask:

What is he eating?
Are my smaller fish in danger?
Could I end up with a pond FULL of huge frogs???

Lori

PS-the two toads that live in the filter have already asked that he be relocated!!! :lol:

If he is swimming in the pod and singing he is probably calling for lady frogs to come visit his lovely home.

that is just what happened here with tree frog. We still have some tadpoles that haven't quite finished growing into frogs yet. :lol:

I have seen photo's of Bull Frogs in the process of eating a bird. Mind you this was a huge Frog now. But they are no different than your fish eat what ever fits in their mouth even if it is another of their own species. Bull frog tad poles usually take two years to mature into frogs so I don't think you will be overrun in the near future if he finds a mate. Most likely the fish will eat the eggs before they hatch. Frogs don't usually eat your fish cause they can't catch them.
I'm surprised the toads stay in the filter usually they only stay in water to lay eggs. Have you checked? :blink:

Fm3

The toads come and go... I see them (or sometimes just one) in the filter 3 to 4 times a week. I have "toad houses" all over the place, so I am not really sure if they are the same toads - They sit on the ledge between the leaf basket and pump chamber. I have never seen eggs :(

The bullfrog is BIG, maybe 4" to 5" in length. I expect he could eat a Goldfinch - and they are always at the pond! He has been in the pond since around late February. He is very shy and spends alot of time on the bottom of the pond - He tries to hide in the algae, but is a little big for that. There are probably 12 or so smaller bullfrogs (2" to 3" in length) I have never had tadpoles in my pond, but see them in the creek across the road... Would they leave a great creek for my pond? It is quite a distance!

I also have Yellow Legged frogs (too many to count) that just magically appeared! Frogs just amaze me. "Frish", my avatar frog, used to swim with the fish when they were small, to dine on flakes. When I switched to sticks, he stopped this behavior.

I also have millions ( :rolleyes: well, maybe not millions) of Pacific treefrogs. They are literally everywhere!

...I will be on the lookout for eggs in my filter!

Lori

Oh that is too cute Lori! I laughed out loud when I read that! I still haven't seen a frog yet this year!

The better question would be "what isn't he eating!" Bullfrogs will eat anything that moves that they can fit in to their mouths. He's probably mostly eating insects like flies, butterflies, moths, etc. and maybe some earthworms. Bullfrogs do eat fish sometimes but it depends on the individual frog.

If you've added a lot of bullfrog tadpoles (or they bred a lot more), then you could have more bullfrogs. Fish and other animals will eat a lot of the eggs and tadpoles and young frogs. The adult males are pretty territorial and will run off other adult male bullfrogs (or eat them!). Your bullfrog at 4 or 5 inches is a good size but not huge for bullfrogs who can grow to 7 or 8 inches! Frogs will travel, mostly after a rain to explore other ponds, streams, etc.

Someone sent me this photo of a bullfrog eating a bird:



And how about this hungry fella?

Poor fishie :(

UGH! That is amazing but gross at the same time. Do bullfrogs have those weird boney hump thingy's on their backs?

Oh Robyn, after seeing the frog/fish photo I'm thinkin' the toads are right... Bullfrog should probably relocate :o

All of the frogs in my pond are crashers - not a one was invited!!!

Lori

The "humpy things" are their hips (top of the legs). When they sit in the position that the second bullfrog is in, you can see the bumps. Otherwise, you don't see them.

I have had four large bullfrogs residing in my pond for the past couple years. I think they're great. But they will eat anything. Although I have never witnessed mine eat a bird. I have seen them eat other smaller bullfrogs, tree frogs, fish, tadpoles, snakes, and I even saw one eat a mouse. So they aren't all bad. I've never seen them bother the toads that come to the water. Maybe they know that they are toxic.