Forums36
Topics40,964
Posts558,011
Members18,506
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
15 members (Theo Gallus, Jason D, Sunil, Shorthose, rjackson, Bobbss, John Folchetti, Lake8, JoshMI, LeighAnn, FishinRod, canyoncreek, Drago, Boondoggle, highflyer),
1,281
guests, and
182
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20 |
My wife and I dangle a minnow trap off of our pier to catch bait fish for trot lines. We noticed a small glob of some sort of eggs inside the trap and went back in a month or so and the whole thing is covered in the same kind of eggs.
How can we identify them? Frog, turtle, fish???
R. Chandler
I am a subscriber!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365
Lunker
|
Lunker
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365 |
Hi Chandler,
Definitely not turtle. They look like miniature hen's eggs, and are laid on land.
Not likely frog's eggs, because I have never observed frogs getting their seasons mixed up.
Not likely fish, becuse they seldom attach their eggs to objects in groups.
Could be minnows of some sort. Fatheads guard their eggs fiercely. Check to see if they are hanging close by the eggs.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491 |
Can you get a picture of the eggs. Approximately what size is each egg; 1mm, 2mm, larger?
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267 |
Chandler : Are you sure they are eggs ? Do they look like this link. http://www.millermicro.com/bryozoa.html
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20 |
Thanks. Yes, that looks a lot like what I have in my pond. I will take a photo later and post it so that it can be confirmed.
We are some 13 inches below average rainfall for the year and the article with the photo you supplied had similar situations to what we have experienced.
I have mixed emotions about what to do with the mass. Anyone have recommendations as to I should just leave it alone or dispose of it?
R. Chandler
I am a subscriber!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365
Lunker
|
Lunker
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365 |
They're harmless critters, and some even say they clear up the pond water somewhat. Sort of ugly though.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267 |
Fish (BG) eat the stuff so I would leave them alone other than to get them off of your trap. ewest
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 20 |
Here's the photo I took of the mass I was talking about. What do you think it is? Thanks for the reply. Click for Photo Discussed
R. Chandler
I am a subscriber!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491 |
Those are a real healthy, prolific, expanding colony of bryozoans. These are not eggs and are actually a form of an animal (animal kingdom, Phylum Bryozoa). Certain genera (Pectinatella) live in a jelly like colony that can be large similar to those you have. They are indicators of unpolluted waters. Many are shaped like brains. Yours are similar to that type. If you take a clump of the material and place it submerged in pond water in a large clear glass jar you may be able to see the small "feather like" animals extend from the jelly mass. Let us know if it works. For more info on them look them up on a Google search.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 296
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,751 Likes: 296 |
Mother Nature is great and all, but that thing is just nasty.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,975 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
|
Moderator Lunker
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,975 Likes: 277 |
It does look like something Steve McQueen and the gang from the Malt Shop should be fighting, doesn't it?
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267 |
We have bryozoans in 2 of our ponds and I know a little about them. That is why I sent Chandler to the site on them . I have encountered that same question " what is that, a big blob of fish eggs ?" many times. They can be found in many waters . Here is a link to a better pic. (underwater) from the Conn. River. By the way BG and RES will feed on them esp. in the winter. ewest http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/bryozoa.html
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|