Frogs?

[W]

I read that Frogs are some of the best pest killers around.  Would introducing frogs to an Aquaponic's setup be a bad idea?  The only fear I would have is salmonella bacteria which can be found on the skin of a frog.

[Chip Pilkington]

I wouldn't worry about salmonella. Frogs and toads hop around the dirt gardens all the time. You still wash the veggies before eating, right?

I think the challenge would be keeping them in the system. It would have to be a large, very "buggy" system to fully support them. They would also have to be the right kind of bugs and if they are present, your plants will be feeling the worst of it. You'd almost have to cage them in I would think.

You might experient with praying mantis and/or lady bugs if you want natural predators. I was thrilled to see some 1/4" long praying mantis residing in and around the systems. Sometimes they are there and sometimes not. I'm guessing the hunting isn't good enough to keep them around full time, but they do come back on occasion. 

The opposite side of predator bugs are ants. I read up on a few threads about the practice of aphid farming...sure enough I found an ant colony in one of the GB's, just below the surface of the rock. I probably had an 3/4" to an inch of dry rock and they called it home. As I followed their progress, they were definitely working aphids. I flooded the GB and washed away all the aphids and things have been good for a while...