How much plant coverage?

[cheshirekat]

I bought 5 small floating hyacinths in the spring & now they have completely spread to cover my entire pond. I’m assuming this is too much coverage. Before I start tossing out plants, what is the appropriate coverage for a backyard pond in the heat of summer?

 

[addy1]

Totally up to you. The plants hide the fish, clean the water, cool the water.

 

[brokensword]

the number I've seen and adhere to is 60%. You want enough to do their job but you still want to see the fish, so...(or maybe you don't?? ). Don't worry about throwing out too many--as you've found out, they'll be more. Sort of like frogs; built it, and they will come. My water lettuce is just now getting to the 'curse' point (as in, I curse that I can't see the fish as well anymore!).

And unless you have a lot of water agitation via waterfall or spillway, it's not good to completely cover the surface as THAT is where oxygenation takes place so you need wind and water surface to mix.

 

[cheshirekat]

Totally up to you. The plants hide the fish, clean the water, cool the water.

We came home after a week away to one of our fish dead, floating so it makes me worry that it’s too many plants hogging up the O2!

 

[cheshirekat]

the number I've seen and adhere to is 60%. You want enough to do their job but you still want to see the fish, so...(or maybe you don't?? ). Don't worry about throwing out too many--as you've found out, they'll be more. Sort of like frogs; built it, and they will come. My water lettuce is just now getting to the 'curse' point (as in, I curse that I can't see the fish as well anymore!).

And unless you have a lot of water agitation via waterfall or spillway, it's not good to completely cover the surface as THAT is where oxygenation takes place so you need wind and water surface to mix.

This is what I thought, as I had a dead, floating fish when I came home from a week away.