Are leeches good for garden ponds?

I gave my pond a shake up on Saturday and tried shifting the plantage over to one side more, worked for a day but now theyÆve shifted back again, all IÆve done is disturbed a live frog and broken a couple of plants in the process. Also found a large stone at the bottom of my pond, dunno what that was doing there. Scary putting my hand in to get it out.

IÆve lived in my house coming up to 3 years now and the woman before me put in the pond and she was there 3 years. IÆm only metres from the lake so the frogs have just hopped over from there I presume, I doubt she kidnapped any.

IÆve seen a washing-up bowl inset into the ground too. I thought about doing the same in my back garden then decided against it cos I havenÆt the room really.

IÆve got 3 potted plants (that the last owner left) and they sit on tree stumps submerged under the water.

Is lots of hornwort good? Cos I was thinking of de-clogging my pond a bit by not thinning it out but by creating more of an open space at one side. I.e. pushing the existing vegetation to one side/chopping a bit out and having it half clogged. Good idea?

You seen my dead frog pic from yesterday? It died. ItÆs the first death in my pond IÆve ever encountered before. Do you think thereÆs a chance all my other frogs are dead in my pond too? IÆve a whole family living in there all different ages. After the death in my pond I took my garden brush and put the handle end in the water to try and disturb the plantlife to see if any other dead frogs were underneath and would come up and found that the vegetation is really thick. I couldnÆt shake it around much cos it was so thick, deep and heavy, must be loads of plantlife in there, more than I thought. Do you think it was the gases from that that killed my frog or just the ice? I knocked a hole in the pond every few days, it kept icing over but I didnÆt let it go over 3 days without having a small hole in. Was the hole not big enough or does hole size not matter? Do you think it could have died of old age and my other frogs will be ok? If they are dead they could easily be trapped under the vegetation. Do hibernating frogs always go to the deepest part of ponds to hibernate or the sides? The dead frog appeared where IÆve never seen a frog before, down the side in the deep bit, I think it was in the middle at the deepest point then floated and moved and floated up to the top. From looking at my pic in the other thread how long do you reckonÆ itÆs been dead? It looked all slimey and horrible and like had a layer of slimy gunk around itÆs head.

I took this pic yesterday. The dead frog is at the side on the left about a foot from the frog fly swatter.  Hard to see cos my camera is cr*p.

PS. IÆm traumatised. If I am going to de-weed part of it I need an adult to do it for me cos I donÆt think IÆm going to be brave enough to put my little hands back in there, not if rotting slimy dead friends are floating around, they might touch me or I might grab one and yank it out thinking itÆs plant rootage. IÆm so scared about what lies beneath now, I donÆt wanna look.

This is what the frogs were sh*gging in last spring. The plantlife is a little more thinned out now but is it not good for frogs having it that overgrown?