Parablennius
Member
Afternoon all
New member here posted in the intro section and was asked for details of pond, so!
Pond measures 12’ by 8’ with an 18” margin, the most important bit, on 3 sides and is 18” deep ‘Twas set up in response to most of my childhood ponds having disappeared for reasons various, usually new housing, and was aimed at conservation of native amphibians. A large part of the garden, raised beds etc are hollow in the sense that newly metamorphosed juveniles can find deep, effective, permanent refuge without running the gauntlet of cats, cars, grids etc. I also included log piles, piles of smashed bricks and so on in areas that never get walked on. Common frogs were already present in the garden when we moved here in 1986. Smooth newts were introduced following “ rescues” from local doomed ponds in building sites etc. Palmate newts were introduced from a derelict industrial site and Great crested newts were introduced, as eggs for 3 years ( via the then required English Nature licenses) from a fellow enthusiast. All are now self-supporting via annual recruitment, although every few years I remove some frog spawn and rear the larvae in plasterers baths, otherwise the newts will put paid to much frog recruitment as they will happily eat all the larvae, even sucking the unhatched egg out from the protective jelly. So keen are they that I occasionally find a drowned newt, so far into the mass of spawn that it could not escape.
The pics below are from a few summers ago, plants being
Caltha palustris v.polypetala
Calla palustris
Iris pseudacorus
Filipendula ulmaria
Lythrum silicaria
Potamogetan crispus as a Newt spawning medium
Elodea densa as a Newt spawning medium
Stratiodes aloides Since removed
Also shown is a Triturus cristatus larvae shortly before metamorphosis. You can see that the left side gill is reducing and its legs will thicken as its fin reduces.
Aside from the 3 native newt species I’ve also reared from eggs (but not free to roam) Triturus alpestris, Triturus marmoratus ( truly beautiful creature) and Triturus vittatus and the fire salamander Salamandra.
Hope you like the pics
Cheers
New member here posted in the intro section and was asked for details of pond, so!
Pond measures 12’ by 8’ with an 18” margin, the most important bit, on 3 sides and is 18” deep ‘Twas set up in response to most of my childhood ponds having disappeared for reasons various, usually new housing, and was aimed at conservation of native amphibians. A large part of the garden, raised beds etc are hollow in the sense that newly metamorphosed juveniles can find deep, effective, permanent refuge without running the gauntlet of cats, cars, grids etc. I also included log piles, piles of smashed bricks and so on in areas that never get walked on. Common frogs were already present in the garden when we moved here in 1986. Smooth newts were introduced following “ rescues” from local doomed ponds in building sites etc. Palmate newts were introduced from a derelict industrial site and Great crested newts were introduced, as eggs for 3 years ( via the then required English Nature licenses) from a fellow enthusiast. All are now self-supporting via annual recruitment, although every few years I remove some frog spawn and rear the larvae in plasterers baths, otherwise the newts will put paid to much frog recruitment as they will happily eat all the larvae, even sucking the unhatched egg out from the protective jelly. So keen are they that I occasionally find a drowned newt, so far into the mass of spawn that it could not escape.
The pics below are from a few summers ago, plants being
Caltha palustris v.polypetala
Calla palustris
Iris pseudacorus
Filipendula ulmaria
Lythrum silicaria
Potamogetan crispus as a Newt spawning medium
Elodea densa as a Newt spawning medium
Stratiodes aloides Since removed
Also shown is a Triturus cristatus larvae shortly before metamorphosis. You can see that the left side gill is reducing and its legs will thicken as its fin reduces.
Aside from the 3 native newt species I’ve also reared from eggs (but not free to roam) Triturus alpestris, Triturus marmoratus ( truly beautiful creature) and Triturus vittatus and the fire salamander Salamandra.
Hope you like the pics
Cheers
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And to have newts is the icing on the cake congratulations 
