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Thu, Feb 25, 10 at 1:59
| I have not been to this forum in quite a few years but back then when I needed some help, people were very kind and informative. At that time my liner developed a leak and I had to winter my fish in a kiddie pool in my basement. Here's the deal. When we moved here 26 years ago to this old farmhouse, the owner said there was a small pond they covered over because they had kids. It was built in the 1920's and is a rectangular 4 by 6 , I'd guess. We filled it and put three koi in. Of course being stupid , didn't know how big koi get. Five years ago we built a bigger pond with a waterfall for them. My prize white koi was killed the first warm day by a heron but the other two mated and had babies. My "babies" are enormous too now, almost the size of mom. My pond stays very healthy and crystal clear w/ no chemicals most of the year. A very deep limestone well is on this property(served as the town's water supply in 1850), and I top off the pond almost every day. The water fall runs as well as a fountain and a filter. That was all shut down in December and the well is unusable till spring. We've had enormous snows here and could not even get to the pond for a week. There is a bubbler going and a heater as well. When we finally saw it , there was a huge algae bloom. In February!!!The water was dyed green and there were two struggling koi. They both died and we pumped out about 1/10th of the pond each of four or five times and added tap water. The pond is completely free of ice and now the water isn't very green. There is algae on the rocks and kinda like foam spots floating on the water. Fish are down near the bottom as they should be and are moving around very slowly. ..Question. I guess you thought I'd never get to it..Can the koi hold out for a few weeks till the pond can get up and running in summer mode. How often should we pump out and how much ? Every other day?I'd appreciate any help and yes I know, I need to get rid of some fish. I have way too many inches of fish since many are a foot long and there are at least 14.They are like pets, very tame and sweet. Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by nancym1956 (My Page) on Thu, Feb 25, 10 at 9:23
| If it's clinging to the rocks, it sounds like string algae, which is normal for this time of year. I have it as well. I use a toilet scrubber to snag the long strands and pull it out. Check too and see if there are any rotting leaves or other vegetation on the bottom that could be contributing to the nutrient rich environment. If there are, net them out. Other than that, you might want to test the water for ammonia. |
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