I saw two newts Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis aka Central Newt in the pool today.
Cool. 
They might get better 
Seriously - pretty neat.
Brian
How great! Isn’t it cool to see such things when you don’t expect it?
So, do you think they are there to stay?
Every so often I see some salamanders in my garden here in Philly. I’m not sure what kind they are, they are black with red bellies and a red stripe down the back.
I always feel so good when I spot one under the rocks.
[Buzz Lightyear] Two amphibians - in a pond! [/Buzz Lightyear]
I see them periodically. I bought several Eastern newts a pet store fifteen years ago and released them into the pool. I couldn’t get close enough to count spots, so I don’t know if they are new arrivals or related to the ones a added.
Usually they just come quickly to the surface to get a breath, and unless you are looking right at them you can’t be sure they aren’t bullfrog tadpoles. One was sitting on a water lily pot, the other did a dive up and back from the same pot.
Wow, how interesting! I would love to have a pool, though living in rentals has made it less of an option. I could have, but I am still holding out hope that I will be building one someday that I will not have to either move (can’t imagine that, exactly) or abandon.
So you have had this going for some time apparently. Is it a natural or man made pond? About how big is it to support all the newts, bullfrogs etc?
My dad has a “water feature” or sorts, not a pond but a raised container in the garden. Piled rocks and such hide the pump. He had a couple goldfish for years and just last summer a bullfrog showed up. It is a fairly small container, though and he said the goldfish were picking on the frog, so I am not sure if he will be back this year. Maybe though!
I’d like to build a pond for him, or help him actually. He talked about it a couple years ago. He has had a few water plants that did well in his small container, and he loved his fish, so perhaps it is time to graduate to a serious pond. You make me want to try and convince him tomorrow to start digging up his yard!
I’ll have to tell him about your newts, I bet that would excite him.
I have two. I dug the first one, mixed and poured the concrete. 8’ x 8’ x 4’ 1900 gallons. It was on a raised area. The second I gave up on at two feet and hired a guy at work; he gave up at 3.5 feet. 8 x 8 x 3.5 1680 gallons. It has a vinyl liner. I dress out at 125, an couldn’t pick up the rolled up liner. 
Comets make the best fish. Some descendants of the shubunkins are around. Masses of tadpoles, including bullfrogs. Adult bull frogs don’t hang around. There is a creek close by. Raccoons are a problem if you keep the potted water plants near the edge. They will wade but don’t like to swim and use the pots as stepping stones.
Unwanted creatures include a hawks, herons, snakes and one year and alligator snapping turtle. I poked at him with a piece of PVC pipe, and he came after me. I left.
Hoping not to direct this thread too far away from the newts, carnivorousplant, but Dad had a question about your pond.
I asked him if he were still interested in building a pond, and the answer was yes! I told him about yours, the sizes, liner, concrete, volume, etc, as well as what you had living there. He asked if you had a filtration system, or if it was simply aerated. I think he had researched these options in the past a bit, I only know about aquarium fish-keeping. I told him I would inquire.
Also, (if you were to be so kind and had them handy), are there any sites that you would recommend about “pond-keeping” or building that you could pass on to us? Or, perhaps there are past threads here that you have talked about your pond? I figure that you must have some pretty good knowledge, having free-range newts and all residing in yours! Let alone the snapping turtle!! My dad would have done the same thing, no doubt! I know that there are some snappers near the airport on the opposite side of the city, there is a wetlands/bird sanctuary near there. I am pretty sure that they don’t live in his hood, though we would occasionally find box turtles near the creek when we were little. Maybe they would come and hang. Build it and they will come, perhaps!?
Thanks! big blue
I have a biological filter that I didn’t run last year. Water is pumped into a plastic tub with iris and sweet flag growing in gravel. It empties through a hose concealed in rocks to create a waterfall. I have a very light fish load.
There is a pond group in Yahoogroups that I have belonged to for a short time. Most of my information comes from books. ONe of them is by Frances Perry and I noticed today that it is fifty years old. I bought plants and liner from a guy here in Arkansas, THe Pond Doctor, but he is no longer in business. Perry’s is pretty good.
My email address is in my profile if he would like.
Thanks,
Wayne