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| Earlier this spring my pond became over run with some type of plant. I believe that it may be duckweed, but I am not certain. I went out to my pond one morning. The water was clear and the pond surface was free from debris. Went I went back later that same afternoon, the water was still clear however the surface of the pond was covered in what looked like green pollen. I thought that it was pollen and that after the blooming season this green debris would go away however it hasn't.
That pattern repeats itself almost every day, in the morning the water is clear and the surface of the pond is free from debris. In the afternoon the water is still clear however the surface of the pond is covered in the green debris.
My plan is to take the fish out, drain the pond and let the sun bake it for a couple of days. My concern is that when I reintroduce the fish into the pond, I don’t want to reintroduce the plant that was causing the problem. Any suggestions on how to reintroduce the fish while minimizing the reintroduction of the plant? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by sharon_9_fl z9 FL (My Page) on Mon, Sep 13, 10 at 12:54
| If it is duckweed, your fish are probably cleaning it up overnight when growth slows. It's a very good fish food. I want some so bad, and can't find any locally either in the stores or in the water. |
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- Posted by shoestringponder (My Page) on Mon, Sep 13, 10 at 21:52
| If you have Goldfish in your pond, they eat it. I believe Koi do also. DH and I made 2 trips to private lagoons this past spring to bring home 5 gallon buckets of duckweed for our Goldfish. They ate the first "harvest" so we made another trip to another pond to get more. We still have some duckweed in our pond, but the Goldfish do not seem to care for it any more. They are munching on the new growth roots of the Water Lettuce though. If you don't want so much in your pond, rake it or skim it out, leaving some for the fish to eat, of course. :) CyndiMO |
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- Posted by pondmaninal 7b (My Page) on Mon, Sep 13, 10 at 21:58
| There in the afternoon and gone in the morning? Sounds like the start of pond scum to me. Duckweed doesn't just appear over night. |
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| If you tried rolling it between your fingers and it felt like green Cream of Wheat, it was probably Wolffia, the smallest type of duckweed. It does make great fertilizer, food for certain types of fish, fowl, etc... and if you are into producing biogas, it's a great source of nitrogen. It multiplies rapidly when temps and nutrient loads are within its broad range. I'd rake it out next spring and apply it directly to your garden as a free green mulch. Instead of thinking of it as a negative, be encouraged by duckweed's brilliant capacity for pulling excess waste nutrients out of your water and giving you a free source of feed and fertilizer. |
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