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| Four years or so ago, I was desperate to give the fishies something to hide, play and possibly spawn in that they would not eat or uproot in a few days. I went to the local Hobby Lobby as they were having a sale and got a lot of shrub like plants that I could redesign to look like they were water plants other than water lilies. I fastened them thickly to a plastic coated shelf grid and tossed it in. It worked. The plants floated, the fishies had a soft cushion to prevent spawning injuries, the fry could hide and even the larger fish could retreat under the 8 inch high grid if they felt threatened. The benefits I hadn't expected:turbulence from the waterfall could be reduced or redirected by positioning of the grid, there was no more bullying or at least much less and debris and mulm could go from the shallow end all the way to the deep end to be collected. I made another and tossed it in. They are easy to keep clean. Algae grows on the tiny leaves and the fishies snack on it. If the algae gets too bad, I just move it closer to the water fall.
Sometimes the fish push the grids to another part of the pond. I don't know why. Maybe they are redecorating. It is easy for them to push the grids because the buoyancy of the plants causes the grids to slide with just a nudge. If I want the grid to stay in one place I put a couple of bricks on it. People who notice the plants usually think they are real. My DH, who seldom looks at the pond even mentioned that the fish are enjoying the plants on the bottom and they seemed to be growing nicely. He was surprised to be told they are plastic. I still have lots of living plants. After all I am a gardener. I will just have to live without waterlillies. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by nancym1956 (My Page) on Fri, Jun 11, 10 at 15:57
| I'd love to see it. Do you have any pictures? |
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- Posted by sleeplessinftwayne z4-5 IND (My Page) on Sat, Jun 12, 10 at 13:57
| Nancy, one of these days I will post pictures. I have been promising such things for years and don't really know why I am resisting the idea so much. After all, I made myself spring for a digital camera to make the pictures and I figured out how to transfer them to the computer so you would think it would be no big deal. One of the reasons I gave into plastic is the pond is in a lot of shade. |
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