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Quick answer
Common causes of spawn failure are late frosts and a lack of
light.
Further
information
Spawn requires warmth and light to develop properly. It
can be extremely sensitive to frosts, particularly during long
spells of icy weather; though some of the spawn may survive a light
frost.
If your pond is too shaded (by overhanging vegetation or
overgrown aquatic plants) you might notice that spawn fails to
develop as there is not enough light or warmth reaching the
water.
Occasionally pond-owners notice a white filamentous fungi
covering dead spawn. This is not responsible for killing the
spawn, it is a natural decomposer of dead pond matter and has
grown after the spawn has died.
In some situations spawn continues to
fail year after year - the jelly coating breaks down before the
tadpoles are fully developed and ready to hatch. This may just
be a case of having been unlucky, with
different things affecting the spawn each year, but sometimes
it's unclear what the cause is and how best to help. Moving the
spawn to hatch in a bucket of rainwater can sometimes combat
this and will help confirm whether it is an issue with the pond
or a problem with the frogs laying the spawn.
Just
Add Water - all you need to know about creating and maintaining
a pond.
Protecting spawn from frost.
Amphibian disease.
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