Fish attacking water clovers.

[FountainMan]

I added fish several weeks ago but recently added additional plants including water clovers and the fish seem to be singling them out and attacking them. My water clovers (that I spent 12$ on!) aren't looking half as good as they did when I bought them. I feed my fish as much as I can but still finding my clovers getting eaten. I'm a getting annoyed. I moved my clovers to a separate pool I set up in hopes of rehabbing them but they're not looking good. Oddly my fish don't seem interested in anything else. Should I just keep the clovers in the separate pool or get rid of the fish? This is so frustrating!

 

[GBBUDD]

try and fence off the clover in an area let it get established. once it takes root you'll wish you let them devour it the only other plants that grow faster are lettuce and hyacinth

 

[Lisak1]

Are you sure that's from your fish? It doesn't look like fish damage to me. Maybe snails? Or water quality?

 

[Tara]

Perhaps get something tastier for the fish, like duck weed. You can keep it separate, and feed them some each day.

 

[poconojoe]

My koi were eating the roots of my floating plants, stunting their growth. I bought floating nets that prevent them from eating the roots. They come in different sizes. Once the plants are well established and have multiplied, I will take some of them out of the nets.

 

[sissy]

yep I had it and it took over .A fellow ponder here gave me some and it was coming back every year even stronger .I had to rebuild the pond and it did not come back .I guess it self seeds ,like my water hyacinth does

 

[Mmathis]

When you say, “attacking them,” what exactly are you talking about? I have the same water clover, and when it gets nicely filled in, I think I see a couple possible scenarios with my fish — which also seem to pay it extra attention.

1. The fish are going after a concentration of bugs
2. Or there is spawning taking place and it’s that and maybe a flurry to snack on the eggs.

 

[FountainMan]

Are you sure that's from your fish? It doesn't look like fish damage to me. Maybe snails? Or water quality?

I've caught them red handed. We also have snails in the pond so they might be doing their part too. I'm planning on adding some waterfall boxes on the other end. The waterfall boxes are big enough to accommodate the clovers.

BTW, how do I mitigate the snail problem?

 

[Lisak1]

I think it's the snails that are the culprit. And by "water quality" I didn't mean your water quality was bad - I just meant they may not be happy with the pH where it's at.

In a pond your size, I would just pick them out by hand if I could see them. They've been after the lily pads in my patio pond too - I'm just letting them have at it. Lazy ponder this year!

 

[Mmathis]

Oh my, @FountainMan, I didn’t realize you were thinking that the fish were responsible for the discolored leaves! I thought you actually saw them physically attacking the clover, and thought that........ My bad! Yes, if it’s snails, I just pick them off manually. And as @Lisak1 suggested, it could be that they favor a different water type or climate than what you have. Mine are doing great (too great, in fact — want some?), and my fish love to play around and hide in them. I guess they feel secure. But no brown leaves.