Pond scuds

[addy1]

There is always a balance, might take a while to get to that balance.

 

[Dave 54]

Hi
I posted a few weeks back as I was cleaning out my pond for the first time since I bought this property. It is a above ground cement about 30" deep by 9ft x 6ft. after I drained it I removed about 12 to 15" of muck and came to a layer of soil, so there is about 12" of soil to the bottom of the pond. I chose to not remove the soil and refilled the water I re potted some lilies that I had and place them in the pond along with several hundred mosquito fish that I had removed before draining. There used to be lots of different kinds of fish before but something happened this summer and everything died. Any ways the water was cloudy for a few days and one night I came home and everything was a mess the water was total mud my plants were a ripped up and I discovered a few toads had jumped in to lays eggs. well after a few days I removed them and their eggs and things calmed down the water cleared and my plant remnants started throwing some new shoots I fertilized them and the next days all my new leaves were ripped up and I could see thousands of scuds on everything. I know that scuds are usually present and perhaps this new pond eco system just has to find it's balance but I think the scuds are going to make it hard for my plants. I went to the pet store and bought some comets as they had helped with scuds in some of my other barrel ponds any recommendation for this or should I just wait.
Thanks Bill

Hi Bill I simply cannt understand why you didnt clear out the bottom 12"- 15" of the pond because the discribed dirt bottom is something weve never heard of on this forum did you at least dig down to see if there is at least a solid bottom to the pond , if so you can safely remove the soil , as to your sudden die off can you tell me if you had warm weather at the time along with summer thunder storms ?
If so this may be what happened in your pond :-


Catastrophic Oxygen Depletion and How to Avoid It
The Indiana ADDL is located on the Purdue Campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.
by: Tim Muench, DVM, MS
Edited by: Randy White,DVM, PhD
During the warm spring and summer months, we receive an increased number of phone calls regarding sudden fish kills in ponds. The typical history includes observing a very large number of fish dead in an otherwise normal pond following a rainstorm or summer thunderstorm. Usually the owner is very concerned that the fish may have died due to "run-off" of farm chemicals into the pond. Most of the time, these fish kills are a result of a phenomenon known as "pond stratification." Pond stratification is somewhat of a misnomer, since the stratification can also occur in lakes, creeks and some rivers. The stratification leads to a catastrophic depletion of oxygen which almost always results in a very high mortality of aquatic animal life within 24-48 hours following the "de-stratification."
The scientific reasoning behind this phenomenon of pond stratification relates to the temperature of the pond. In the early spring, while the temperature of the pond is still relatively low, the dissolved oxygen is uniformly distributed throughout the pond. As the atmospheric temperature increases, the pond begins to stratify, that is, become layered, with the surface water becoming warmer and lighter while the cooler and denser water forms a layer underneath. Circulation of the colder bottom water is prevented because of the difference in densities between the two layers of water. Dissolved oxygen levels decrease in the bottom layer since photosynthesis and contact with the air is reduced. The already low oxygen levels are further reduced through the decomposition of waste products, which settle to the pond bottom. After a rain, or any other event which disrupts the two layers, a "de-stratification" or "turn-over" of the pond occurs. This has the effect of releasing all of the dissolved oxygen from the upper layer of the pond into the atmosphere, hence, a catastrophic oxygen depletion.
Once stratification of a pond occurs, there is nothing that can be done to alleviate the situation. However, pond stratification can be very easily prevented by the use of supplemental aeration. Aerators come in all sizes and shapes as well as different power sources, i.e., tractor p-t-o, electrical, mechanical, etc. It is important to aerate the pond properly, i.e. match the size of the aerator to the pond, since over-aeration is wasted and may even lead to oxygen supersaturation, known as "gas-bubble" disease and under-aeration will not prevent stratification.
In those cases where we suspect catastrophic oxygen depletion, all other possible pathogens including bacterial, viral, parasitic agents are eleminated from the differential diagnosis list. However, the history of several days to weeks of warm weather followed by a sudden rainstorm are highly suggestive of this condition. If you suspect that you are dealing with a pond turn-over situation following pond stratification, it is imperative to have the pond owner take a water sample and have the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration evaluated immediately. This water sample should be collected in a clean glass jar or bottle with a screw-top lid and should be completely filled by completely submersing the sample and container and placing the lid on the container while it is still under water.
By: Tim Muench, DVM, MS
Edited by: Randy White,DVM, PhD

Hope this helps you solve your problem and think if there is a solid bottom to your pond youve gain an extra 12"- 15" of pond depth which makes all the difference when it comes to winter survival of fish

Dave

 

[pikaki]

Hi Dave
The reason I did not remove the dirt, and I may be wrong time will tell was this property was a Lao Buddhist temple and home for the monks they had lotus growing in it and I am assuming that because the drain for the pond was located at the soil level and not at the bottom of the pond is that they were harvesting the lotus root for eating. I am in Hawaii and of course we have a very constant temp thru out the year. Like I said in a earlier post the leaf and collected debris in the above soil area had collected to about 12 to 15" because I had not been maintaining for the four years I had owned this property. I did notice a algae bloom a few months before I finally cleaned it. any way I will see how my present plan works to see if it will find a good balance over the next few months. If not it will just be another project to drain and remove the soil. I did notice that the lotus root is still in the soil level so perhaps they will come back also.
Thanks for your reply

 

[pikaki]

As a side note when I came home from work yesterday the thousand of scuds I saw over the weekend were gone and only few hundred were visible,

 

[pikaki]

I guess this is why they call it the newbie topic heading
A up date on my scud problem, when I first noticed them I thought they were scuds having seen them before in my small ponds, although I thought it strange that they were so black. My last post told that the next day they were mostly gone but the following day was I surprised they were tadpoles and had grown so much in two days that they were recognizable and again now there were thousands. I had thought when I removed the toads I found in the pond and all the egg strands that I might get a few but was I wrong. any ways thanks for all your comments. I will were my glasses next time I visit the pond
Bill

 

[addy1]

laughing! I leave the tads alone, thousands hatch, somehow nature takes over and balances out, never end up with thousands of frogs or toads.