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Hello,
I'm new to this site and to ponds. I have a stream that I
dammed up to create a pond, maybe 500 - 1000 gallons.
After a couple of weeks I added 60 "feeder" goldfish and 3
crawfish. I can hardly see any of the fish, I know it's winter
(we're getting a "Noreaster" today), and the pet store said
they'd be still, also on the banks of the old stream was grass,
now submerged, and I think they are hanging out in there until
it warms up. Is this true?
Secondly, I'm seeing alot of algae, both the floating kind
and the string kind now. When there is a big rain the water
goes over the dam and helps clean the surface some. But it's
not even summer yet and I'm afraid the algae will get worse,
the water does flow under my dam a bit. My friend said the
fish would eat the algae, is this true? Do I have enough fish?
Are they just hibernating? Am I even on the right page :)
!?!
The pond is approx 2' deep in the stream bed x 6'w x 10'L
depending on the water depth, which fluctuates approx 6"-8".
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Jimi
Phoenixville, PA
Dear Jimi,
Help me a little here. Tell me you added the goldfish this
past summer! Please tell me this, because if you just bought
them in the middle of winter from a pet shop and dumped them
into the pond with a constant feed of supercooled spring water,
you have no fish left at this point.
While goldfish are tough little buggers (especially the classic
long-bodied types), most pet shop fish tend to be heavily
infested with parasites and in generally poor condition due
to overcrowding and poor water quality. The shock of sudden
change in temperature as they enter winter water would be
enough to kill them outright. If they were introduced in summer
or fall, when the water was warmer, the losses would be less
from stress and disease, but possibly greater from predation.
Your description of your pond suggests a semi-rural setting
(I know and love rural PA!) which unfortunately means rural
critters. Goldfish are brightly-colored and moderately slow
and stupid, as fish go, and kingfishers and raccoons consider
them to be delicious. Your pond is just about ideal depth
for a McRaccoon's.
Your hair algae (also known as blanket weed) is a natural
product of fresh water, low flow and sunlight. Your goldfish
are scavengers, not vegetarians. They will not eat the weed.
You will need to clear it out yourself with a toilet brush
mounted on the end of a long pole. Those of us with recirculating
ponds that allow the water to warm up to 70 degrees or better
in the summer will often introduce an armored catfish (Plecostemus)
into the pond to take care of some of the algae, but we have
to take it indoors for the winter. They are tropicals, and
can't tolerate winter temperatures.
As far as your remaining fish are concerned, you'll have to
wait for spring, clear out some of the algae, and see who's
left when you feed. Use a floating food and see what comes
up to eat. If you've got a natural above-ground stream source
and not a spring, you could also have piscine predators (bass,
perch, etc.). They also love goldfish. Yum, yum.
If your fish are dying, you'll never see it. Crawdads just
love dead fish!
If your pond is 6x10x0.5 feet, your gallonage is roughly 30
cu.ft.x 7.45 gal/cu.ft= about 315 gallons.
Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS
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