Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Hello-new member

Good morning,

New member here. Tom in Central Texas. I

I got my pond cleared out. And will be poking around for info on stocking with fish and plants.

I’m particularly interested in stocking with fish and plants that will be supportive of Houston Toad conservations efforts in the area. As opposed to game fish.

Looking forward to participating.

Having a little trouble with photos.

I doubt that you will find many here that know anything about toads.

But, it certainly sounds intriguing.

Welcome Bluedog!

There are lots of wildlife habitat projects that have been performed by Pond Boss members. However, I don't recall any "toad threads".

I do recall a member that built a number of ephemeral ponds in the woodlands adjacent to his main pond. He loved all of the critters that would utilize his little ponds.

I believe(?) that little ephemeral ponds are one part of the critical habitat for Houston Toads. Are there some natural depressions in your forest near your pond? Any place where the depressions follow a slope down some elevation?

If so, I would consider digging out some of these depressions to create small ponds. In wet years, these ponds should stay mostly full for the toads. In dry years, you could pump a little water from your big pond to provide habitat. If the ponds were down a slope, you could just pump to the first pond and after it fills water would spill to the second pond, etc.

You also might consider putting some Gambusia (mosquito fish) in your main pond. You can then catch some in a minnow trap and throw a handful in your ephemeral ponds every spring so you do NOT breed mosquitos.

Is the property away from your pond mostly undifferentiated forest? That is typically not the best habitat for wildlife. Most wildlife thrives in environments with a patch quilt of different habitats. For example, if you clear a little patch of forest and establish grass and forbs in that space, there will probably be a time of year with a big hatch of insects, worms, etc. in that space at a time when there is very little food in the forest. Your toads can hop over there and get a meal, and then go back to their burrow in the moist soil near your ephemeral ponds.

Finally, have you met the local NRCS agent for your county? Those people are experts in a lot of topics regarding land usage and management. If that person cannot give direct advice about toad habitat, they may know an expert or know of an on point publication from Texas A&M.

They may even know of a cost-share program with the state for habitat enhancement. Who knows, if you need to rent a mini-excavator to dig your ephemeral pools, they may have a program that will reimburse you 50% of your costs. It never hurts to ask!

Congratulations on your refurbished pond. I hope you greatly enjoy managing that plus any wildlife management efforts on your adjacent property!

Thanks for the welcome. I think mosquito fish and some shade plants are the first priority.

There are some programs I need to look into.

https://www.fws.gov/story/2026-05/b...ands-restoration-shows-promising-results

Good luck with your project and let us know what you do and how it works.

My creek had fewer game fish in it this spring due to the loss of most of my deep pools. I did observe a big crop of small fish last weekend, but when I looked closer, it was actually thousands of big bullfrog tadpoles. Apparently, without abundant fish predators my population of tadpoles exploded.

I thought I should probably google that to see what effects the bullfrog population. I was surprised to read that gambusia can be big consumers of eggs! There are lots of types of frog eggs that they find tasty. Many toad eggs are either unpalatable or even toxic. I like your idea of some toad habitat pools with gambusia, but I would check with one of the habitat restoration experts to confirm that the gambusia will not eat the Houston Toad eggs in your pond and pools.

There is a tutorial in the archives on how to post photos. You first have to have them on an online host. I use imgur.