After now having found three dead adult frogs (though I saw no anchor worms on them), I’ve decided to wait and see how long the tadpoles last.
I know many will die of natural causes, but if a fair number survive to adulthood, I’ll think about getting a couple of fish.
When I do I shall, of course, get a net to cover the pond, as our local herons know all about our pond.
As for the water, well, when we moved in here over ten years ago, the water in the pond was like a green soup. No water pump, no filter, no UV, etc, yet there were fish living there quite happily, even though we could hardly see them! At least it is now as clear as a bell.
Hey, that’s good news that the taddies survived! I thought you’d lost them all!
I mentioned about the other pond in our Close with the fish in it in an earlier post. It was always green like pea soup. Never saw it clear in all the years I’ve been here. The fish survived and multiplied, well 'cept if the heron got them.
Maybe the water doesn’t have to be clear for life to survive in there.
If you are keeping fish , you are really keeping the water, fish can live in murky green water, as long as it’s oxygenated, we only try to clear the water in a pond to see the fish, especially koi, look at some of our rivers, ( freshwater) a lot are green and you cannot see the bottom, but fish still live there
That’s encouraging, as my pond water does tend to become slightly more murky on a hot sunny day.
I suppose the important thing is to have a pond fountain fed from a filter with UV lamp. I keep mine running 24/7, so hopefully the pond water will be sufficiently oxygenated.
World of Water (next to a garden centre)? Not been in there yet, but driven past it a few times between tuitions. Any good?
Friend of mine had a visitation from a heron about 3 weeks ago!! Little bugger. Not sure about you, but I can’t bring myself to drape a net across my pond.
Have planted some watercress in a floating pot which has spread over about 75% of the surface and protected my fish over the winter months. Will cut back soon (and give some to my friend). Not sure if it’s worth using it for salads or to make a soup:!: Might be an idea if you decide to re-stock - am sure it gives the fish something to nibble on over the colder months as well as the usual oxygenator/hiding place benefits
Only cost a quid for the seeds and had spare pond soil to get it going.
I used to grow and eat mint from my last pond. It could be frozen in ice cubes too. The water wasn’t absolutely clear but the leaves were outside anyway.
I still struggle with water clarity. I have a pre-filter (home-made) a UV clarifier and a filter which is running constantly but the only time the water has been clear was when I first filled it. The fish are happy though. I bought ten fish two years ago - 3" who are now about 8". They have also had babies who in turn have had babies. I tried counting the other day and I counted at least 30 but I suspect there are a lot more.
I am looking to upgrade my filter and in particular the UV to improve clarity. My UV is only 12watt but the garden gets a lot of sunlight so I’m intending to buy a 55watt one to really zap the algae.
I believe they only last effectively for about six months.
I suppose their effectiveness might also depend on the flow rate of the water and also whether the pond has any shading.
Talking of which, I had thought about putting up a screen of some sort to reduce the sun’s rays, but Marge wouldn’t stand for it. (Er, no, I didn’t mean I’d ask her to stand there holding it all day.)
Managed to transfer lots from the first container with the net, then realised it must have been traumatic as a few were getting stuck in the mesh. So I used a large mug in the end and carefully transferred them. They didn’t seem to mind that
Surprisingly, there’s still more spawn. Hopefully those wrigglies are still sleeping (rather than dead) and waiting to wake up. Wonder if there will be enough room for them.
The day of pond removal drawing near … come Monday - that’s it. I’ll miss it, watching the wildlife and the birds having a bath in it - but needs must.
I thought you’d lost them all!
The water wasn’t absolutely clear but the leaves were outside anyway.
