algae eating fish?

[x-Adam-x]

The pond I am building is unfortunately gonna be in direct sunlight so i understand that this will help algae grow even more. would some algae eating fish or crawfish be good for a pond? or would they just cause a different set of complications

 

[DrCase]

Plants will be your best friend

 

[x-Adam-x]

you mean like floater rigs? or lily pads?

 

[BennyLava]

If you are going to have any kind of fish in there, you don't want crawfish. Even if the fish are bigger than the crawdad they grab the fish's fins when they go by and they hang on. This tears up the fins.

And your typical algae eating fish will die in the wintertime, unless you live in an area where it doesn't get cold. A nice, thin layer of algae clinging to the surfaces below your water level will be helpful to you. But to kill the floating algae that actually clouds the water, you only need to buy an Ultraviolet Clarifier. This will kill all floating algae and clear up the water.

 

[PS3]

get plants floating plants and a uv light and some oxy plants

 

[ana venturi]

Try floating plants like water lilies which will control your pond’s exposure to sunlight. Or barley straw which is also effective since it kills planktonic and filamentous algae. The more fish you put in, the more algae you’ll have, so I don’t think you should consider it.
Maybe you’d want more tips? This article insert link is really helpful.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum ana

That is a great article on controlling algae.

here is part of the article for those that don't like to follow links

"Prevention is the best medicine.

In essence, prevention means starve the algae. Here are some ways to make life difficult for them:

1. As a general rule, allow 100 gallons of water for every 6 inch fish to control nitrogen from fish waste. Algae love nitrogen – yum yum. The most common element to tip the scale in water gardens is too many fish per volume of water in the pond.
2. Keep leaves and other organic material out of the pond – manually and with the help of skimmers, vacuums and filtration systems (cleaned regularly). Supply some beneficial bacteria to help with this chore. They are natural maintenance workers, eating organic matter as a full time job. Organic matter also supplies food for algae. Once algae reproduce, they provide themselves with food – they consume their dead and it’s a vicious cycle!
3. Dig the pond to a minimum depth of 24” to reduce sunlight infiltration. Algae depend on sunlight for photosynthesis and cannot live without it. They also thrive in warmer waters, so shallow water is their favorite – warm and sunny.
4. Keep a variety of plants in the pond. They compete for nutrients and block sunlight (especially water lilies), much to the dismay of sun-loving algae. Also, Natural dyes can be added to the water reduce sunlight penetration.
5. Add Barley Straw Extract or 1 Barley Straw Bundle per 1000 gallons of water. Barley straw naturally adds beneficial enzymes, lowers the pH and creates peroxide which can kill both filamentous and planktonic algae.
6. Aerate, filter and circulate the water. Make sure the pump and filter system is large enough – bigger is better. This reduces warm pockets, accelerates filtration (clean filter regularly) and adds oxygen (decomposing debris depletes oxygen).
7. Provide a place for beneficial bacteria to grow, such as a bio-filter, rocks, plants, filter media.

When prevention is not enough …

Fossils indicate that algae have inhabited earth for around 3 billion years, so prevention is not always going to do the trick. Algae bloom is a natural occurrence, common in spring, when the water warms, nutrients from over-winter debris is available, and competing plants lag behind. Methods to help re-gain balance are as follows:

* Begin cleanup by manual removal of as much algae as possible. If any remains attached, scrub surfaces with a soft brush.
* Clean filters at least once per day until under control.
* Add aquatic plants – enough to cover 50%-70% of the water surface. Water lilies, Anacharis, and Water Hyacinth will shade the surface of the pond and compete for nutrients.
* Add sludge eating bacteria at the recommended rate.

After the cleanup, being diligent about preventive maintenance comes naturally."

 

[j.w]

I'm glad you re-posted that info Addy as I don't like having to copy and paste a link
Very good info Ana

 

[Shdwdrgn]

"100 gallons of water for every 6 inch fish"? So I should have 1300 gallons for my 10 largest fish... the ones that are in the 165-gallon pond? Hmmm I think I'm a bit short.

Honestly I think my biofilter and a good supply of hyacinth has been the best weapon against algae for my pond (and with a 55-gal filter currently cycling 250-gallons of pond, algae doesn't have a chance).

I also plan on trying a new fish this year ... weather loaches. They're supposed to be great bottom-feeders, making a meal of organic waste, and hopefully make a meal of the algae as well. I'm having trouble finding the right ones, though. All the local fish stores have the golden dojo's, but none of the regular one.

 

[addy1]

Do the weather loaches survive the cold winters? One site says good in canada ponds, one says 50-70 degrees. Also says they love the eat snails!

Right now I have around 9000 gallons and 10 inches of fish lol.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Yeah there's a huge amount of conflicting information about the tolerance of weather loaches, but my guess is that the confusion comes from the similarity in appearance between the original weather loach and the spotted variety.

- From what I can tell, the spotted definitely cannot survive the cold.
- The golds *may* be able to survive down to 40F.
- The true weather loaches seem to be just fine down to 35F, similar to koi, as long as they have dirt or loose gravel to bury into over the Winter (which they love digging into during warm weather as well).

Considering that I keep my pond heated just warm enough to generally keep the ice from covering it (which is probably going to be a LOT harder with the new larger pond), I thought it would be worth giving them a try. They are such fun critters in a tank, so I'm really hopeful that they will do well in my pond.

 

[addy1]

Thanks for the information, my pond stayed around 32 or so, covered in ice, all winter, so they would be a no go here.