Pond problems

[Terra]

Dear Abby,

I'm fighting with my adolescent pond lately. A few weeks ago she started wearing dark green and attitude was murky. She said she is just trying to find herself and balance her life out but I want her to become a productive member of society. She has some green string algae friends hanging around and I'm afraid they are taking her down the wrong path. I tried introducing some good bacteria friends and it seemed to clear her up a bit but she is now lashing out saying she doesn't have room to breath. Got her a second pump to push her in the right direction but now she is covering herself with foam and being sullen. Every time you try to help her she tells you to back off and let her do her own thing. Should I keep trying to help or sit back and see how she lets her life unfold? She has probably too many fishy friends but many have sadly left over the course of a week. I've been making sure she doesn't fill herself up with junk and she was almost clear for a while and now slightly murky. Any advice? My biggest concern is this foamy clothing she is taking on lately. Also I think her fishy friends might be introducing her to the birds and bees right now too. Maybe that's why she is covering herself up lately?



lol I know this is crazy but this pond reminds me of a teenage girl! Sorry for the silliness!


Sincerly,
Pondering ponder

 

[DeepWater]

Any chance that heavy rains could cause the horse pasture run-off to wash down into the pond?

She looks to be fairly shallow, but I'm sure the more you get to know her, the deeper she'll be portrayed.

PS If you say something about her and she's not there to hear you, are you still wrong?

 

[Terra]

Any chance that heavy rains could cause the horse pasture run-off to wash down into the pond?

She looks to be fairly shallow, but I'm sure the more you get to know her, the deeper she'll be portrayed.

PS If you say something about her and she's not there to hear you, are you still wrong?

She is a little over 2 and 1/2 feet deep and I haven't had run off problems yet.... lol she is still here It was very windy the past few days and of course she got filthy with me. I skimmed her butt pretty good but you know how that goes.

 

[Waterbug]

Foam is from water containing very tiny bits of organic matter. Water changes can fix that in the short term. Longer term the tiny bits will decompose more, get smaller, and stop acting like soap...unless of course more decomposing matter comes along. But often foam can go away after a few weeks. Fountains are the best way to make foam and they do very little to add O2 so you could toss that. You will get more O2 by just pumping water to create a current inside the pond.

Murky is always hard to describe and understand in text. Given you have some string algae and the foam I assume vacuuming the pond would set you on the road to clear. My web page on vacuums: http://www.waterbugdesign.com/pond/vac.html

 

[Terra]

I did a 10% water change and stirred up and used abbey to get out debris at the bottom and it seemed to help a lot. Holding it will stay this way! Will a pond vacuum suck up my fish?

 

[cas]

This could just be a spring algae bloom. Here is my pond last year - during algae bloom and after. I did nothing but wait it out.

 

[Terra]

So my two friends and I put our feet in the pond and all my little fish came up and not bled our feet and legs. By the time looked up every bit of foam was gone and my pond started to settle and got visibly clearer! So weird! She just wanted some girl time I guess

 

[Terra]

My pond now

 

[Waterbug]

I did a 10% water change and stirred up and used abbey to get out debris at the bottom and it seemed to help a lot. Holding it will stay this way! Will a pond vacuum suck up my fish?

I often had a goldfish get into a Muck Mop but no harm. I's a pretty gentle ride and the bag is large enough for them to survive. I think they get interested in bugs being stirred up. Other vacuums like shop vacuums, Silt Vac are rather violent but haven't sucked one up yet.

 

[Terra]

I often had a goldfish get into a Muck Mop but no harm. I's a pretty gentle ride and the bag is large enough for them to survive. I think they get interested in bugs being stirred up. Other vacuums like shop vacuums, Silt Vac are rather violent but haven't sucked one up yet.

Ok cool! I'll look into it! I definitely think it would be beneficial for me! I have a turushuki catfish but it will be a while till he is big enough to make a difference. That dang fish was expensive! That's why I'm trying so hard to balance this pond. If he dies I'm out $100 and I won't be able to get another one easily. He was the only one available in 11 surrounding states. And the place I got him from only gets 5 a year since they are wild caught and aren't successfully bred in captivity

 

[Terra]

So my two friends and I put our feet in the pond and all my little fish came up and not bled our feet and legs. By the time looked up every bit of foam was gone and my pond started to settle and got visibly clearer! So weird! She just wanted some girl time I guess

Nibbled! Not *not bled lol

 

[budgenator]

By the time looked up every bit of foam was gone and my pond started to settle and got visibly clearer! So weird! She just wanted some girl time I guess

Yes I've heard that story several times, they like to create some unnecessary drama to make sure you still care; then they settle down to normal.

 

[Terra]

Lol yea it seems that way hahahahahah.

 

[Terra]

I got a testing kit for my pond and this was the result. What do you guys think?

 

[Terra]

Happy to say my pond has figured herself out. I switched to a lava rock system in my whiskey barrel fountains with some plants. More plants are on the way as well! It looks very scarce right now because I'm in the process of redoing the edges of my liner and adding alot of plants to hide some things but my water looks great and is testing great too! It just looks green because of the algae growing on the liner. Thank you everyone for your help!

Oh and I'm in Phoenix (west valley/ Waddell) Arizona. My pond is in full sun next to a horse turnout. I seriously cannot believe how clear it is! I'm adding ALOT of plants to shade my water and koi since I'm a bit concerned with the water temps but so far all of my fish seem happy and healthy with no gulping for air or odd behavior!