Too many goldfish in frog pond?

[George H.]

For years I had a single goldfish living in my frog pond. (About 10 feet in diameter and 3-4 feet deep. Natural runoff, no pumps.) That fish disappeared one year, (perhaps frozen due to silting in of the pond?) so I dug out the pond (with back hoe) and purchased ~$1 worth of feeder goldfish from the local pet store (Seven fish I think.) Those fish spawned and I've now got 7 big fish (~6") and ~40-50 small fish. (2-3") in the pond. This seems like way too many. Any good ideas on how to catch the fish? About 1/3 of the fish are a bland gray color and I'd like to remove those first. The pond is dug in a heavy clay soil. I'm also thinking of digging another little pond upstream from this one for the frogs... which are going to have a hard time reproducing in the (now) goldfish pond.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello George. To catch the fish you need to drain the pond by half and get the largest net you can find. That's what I do. As the weather gets warmer, the Goldfish will being the spawning process. The fry are always a grey color when they're born, at least mine are. Most will begin to change color as they age. Some, will just stay a drab grey.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[George H.]

Thanks. I don't want to drain the pond. But yeah a big net, and then confine the fish to a smaller volume. So what to use as a big net? Say 12' by 6'

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. I use a 10 inch X 8 inch net. There are all sizes on the internet. Amazon carries several different sizes. Rest Cloud and The Pond Guy are other sources for larger nets.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[George H.]

Hello again. I use a 10 inch X 8 inch net. There are all sizes on the internet. Amazon carries several different sizes. Rest Cloud and The Pond Guy are other sources for larger nets.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

Thanks again, I was thinking of trying a minnow trap. Lower it in and bait it, minimum disturbance to my muddy small pond.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I'm also thinking of digging another little pond upstream from this one for the frogs... which are going to have a hard time reproducing in the (now) goldfish pond.

While I'm sure the frogs will use and appreciate another little pond upstream, for what it's worth, I doubt the fish will stop the frogs from spawning. I have a similar amount of fish in a pond that's approximately 18 by 12 feet and 2-3 ft deep, and the frogs, toads and newts have no problem filling the pond with spawn every year, as they have every year for about almost four decades now.

 

[Colin_T]

Get a Bait Trap from fishing stores, Kmart or online. Try to find a brown or dark green coloured trap because they work better (dark brown being the best colour for freshwater). They have an opening at each end that is about 2 inches diameter and this will let you catch the smaller fish but the adults won't get into the net. To use these traps, add some dry fish pellets to the bait section and lower the net into the pond. Leave it for 30 minutes then lift it up and open it, and pour the contents into a bucket of pond water.

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/jarvis-walker-2in.-collapsible-bait-trap-rings-41661369/

Most baby goldfish start out bronze (brownish) in colour and some stay that way. others change colour after 3-6 months and some change colour after a year or more. If the young are more than 6 months old and still bronze, give / sell them to a pet shop.

You don't want the frogs coming into contact with the goldfish due to the diseases many goldfish carry. I would dig new ponds for the frogs and let them live in separate ponds with separate water. A lot of frogs prefer shallow water, especially for breeding so make sure there are shallow areas (less than 1 foot) as well as deeper areas (2-4 feet).