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Finding Frogspawn
28 Jan 2026
For the last few years I’ve had mature frogs that were obviously male (croaking) and female (fat, full of eggs) but I never got frogspawn or tadpoles. I couldn’t understand why, especially as I sometimes even saw them in the mating clutch (amplexus) where the male holds tightly to the female until she releases the eggs, and then he fertilises them.
Then last summer I got a plant from another pond, which also included a small amount of pond weed (pictured, but I’m not sure what it’s called). The pond weed started to grow and covered a bit of the pond.
Around Christmas last year, after hearing lots of croaking and seeing at least one pair of frogs in amplexus, I was (happily) surprised to discover frogspawn one day! It was quite obvious what it was, with hundreds or thousands of little eggs scattered across the weed.
I scooped as much of it out as I could and put it in a tub. After a day or two the frogspawn sunk and then after about 5 – 7 days the tiny tadpoles started wriggling around.
This summer I’ve had a larger area of the pond covered in the weed and also had it growing in a half-wine barrel pond, and it’s made a huge difference. There has been two spawning batches in the main pond and at least two in the wine barrel – so lots and lots of tadpoles! I didn’t have any fish in the wine barrel so I didn’t have to scoop it out – the tadpoles hatched out and grew as expected.
I’ve realised that in previous years my frogs probably did spawn but it may have been underwater and not visible. Then it would have sunk and my goldfish would have eaten all the eggs. Or, if any did manage to hatch they would have eaten the tadpoles, without me ever knowing they existed.
So if you want tadpoles, ensure you have the conditions and plants in your pond to encourage the frogs to spawn near the surface, and don’t let it get eaten by goldfish. The photos show pond weed that floats in my pond, but there are probably other types of pond plants that are suitable also.
Do you know what my pond weed is called? Do you have photos of frogspawn in your ponds to share in the comments? Where and how do you find frogspawn? Add a comment below.
Creating the Perfect Frog Habitat
Dreaming of frogs in your backyard? It's easier than you think! From choosing the right plants to creating a safe water source, I'll guide you through the essentials of designing a frog-friendly habitat. Stick around and learn how you can create a thriving ecosystem right outside your back door. Don't forget to tell me about your own backyard frog adventures in the comments below!
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Back to Basics #1 - The Pond
The pond - the most fundamental and crucial element for keeping frogs in your back yard!
Your pond doesn't need to be big, fancy or elaborate. Just a decent sized water source for your froggy friends to swim around in, congregate with each other, bask in the sun and eventually if you're lucky, spawn in.
I have one main pond and two half-wine barrel ponds in my back yard. I also have a bird bath dish placed on the ground, which the froglets and baby frogs seem to love.
You can dig a hole in the ground and line it to create a pond, or you can buy a pre-formed pond from a pet store or garden centre. Water troughs are also popular and effective.
Water quality - frogs and tadpoles don't mind if your pond water is murky, green, dirty or crystal clear. They'll thrive either way. However YOU will get more enjoyment if the water is clean and clear. I'll cover that in another blog.
What kind of pond do you have?
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Frogs, Fish and Tadpoles:
Together or apart?
One of the things I get asked the most when I'm selling tadpoles is, can they live with goldfish, or will the goldfish eat them?
The short answer is - frogs and froglets can live happily with goldfish, but tadpoles can't.
Frogspawn and small tadpoles are delicious live food for goldfish!
If you have too many (tadpoles or frogspawn), goldfish provide a really effective way to reduce your numbers.
But if you want your tadpoles to grow into beautiful frogs, raise them to froglet stage before releasing them into the pond with your goldfish. Once they're froglets, the goldfish won't eat them.
I grow my tadpoles in a large tub or half-wine barrel pond to keep them safe until they're big enough to release.
Adult frogs and goldfish will share a pond and thrive together, as you can see from the photos below and on the right.
Planting Around Your Pond
Frogs don't live in ponds - they swim in them, spawn in them and bask in the sun on lily pads or other pond plants.
Frogs actually live in the greenery surrounding your pond. So, planting around your pond is one of the most critical elements to creating your frog-friendly back yard habitat.
But which plants are good for frogs?
Frogs like to hide and be able to escape from sight easily. So the more plants the better, and dense planting will provide plenty of opportunity.
You can try out different plants and just go with what you like, and what you find attractive. On the edges of your pond you might include 'marginal' plants - these are plants that grow on the edges of ponds. They like water but they're not fully submerged, or not deeply submerged. These plants provide a nice transition between your pond plants and your ground plants. You might include papyrus, pickerel, lotus, water iris or many others.
Outside of the pond, plant a variety - I have fruit trees, lilies, bromeliads, various flowers and other shrubbery. I also have a lot of weeds and grass!
If you don't have sufficient planting around your pond, the frogs will leave and not come back. If you're starting out, get some structural elements in first (shrubs, trees, large flowers plants etc, and then fill in the gaps with fast growing flowers, bulbs or other plants.
Feeding Tadpoles
I often get asked, or I see the question on frog forums, what do you feed tadpoles?
When frogs spawn in wild or free range ponds, the tadpoles eat whatever they can find: algae, pond plants and decaying plant matter, moving on to insects and other proteins as they grow.
In back yard ponds or in a tank, tadpoles need more deliberate and regular feeding. When frogspawn develops, for the first week or so they don't need feeding. They'll live off their egg mass. Once they start wriggling around but they're still tiny, I feed them very fine baby fish food for the first few weeks, along with sliced cucumber.
As they grow bigger, I continue with the cucumber but move on to fish flakes. If you don't want to buy baby fish food, you can just crush the fish flakes and feed that from the start. Fish food granules are not as easy for tadpoles to eat, but they can eat it if nothing else is available.
Tadpoles will eat dead tadpoles or goldfish, or any other small dead insect or fish in their environment, especially as they grow bigger.
Many people report that tadpoles enjoy boiled lettuce and spinach, although mine have never liked these options. I've also seen people feed tadpoles broccoli.
I feed my tadpoles morning and night. If you feed too little they'll be starving, but if you feed too much the water will become dirty more quickly and require more regular cleaning.
If you have tadpoles, try different options and see what they like. The photos show the products I use and how my tadpoles look when eating.
More froggy posts coming!
Keep an eye out for more tips and tricks to get your back yard frog journey underway...
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