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After cleaning out my pond last weekend I thought I would keep a photo diary of the pond this year.
At present I have 4 goldfish and 1 green tench but will be buying more fish later on.
I actually have 2 ponds,one for goldfish and a small wildlife one.
In past years I have had a big problem with blanket weed and have tried a few different things,barley straw logs,barley straw extract and even in desperation used a chemical solution.Needless to say none worked to any great effect.
Last year I tried using floating plants to block out sunlight and so stop the blanket weed growing too much.
I used Azolla filiculoides which is a small floating fern and looks quite attractive (Google it!).
It was very sucessful in getting rid of the blanket weed but became such a problem in itself as it is so invasive! I could not see the fish and it killed several other plants in the pond as it just completely smothered them.
I am going to have to continue removing the Azolla by hand as it can be persistant!
So this year I am trying another product (natural and harmless to pondlife etc) called 'Blanket Answer'.
Since I have no blanket weed at present (thanks to the Azolla) I hope to start from a good point.
This is the pond before cleaning showing the Azolla on the surface,I would actually remove this by the bucketful!:-
Big pond before and after treatment (Day 1).The cloudiness is supposed to clear in a few days.
and the wildlife pond before and after treatment:-
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
might just have to keep pulling out the watercress as at least it does the work.
I like deadlines I particularly like the whooshing sounds as they fly by ( Douglas Adams)
Blanket Answer is not as far as I can see organic but it is
"A unique blend of minerals and enzymes . The special formula works where many bacteria cultures fail. It is 100% safe for all pond fish, plants, and biological filtration systems."
So no nasty chemicals.
It is still so cold and dull out that blanket weed would not be growing just yet.
Will see what happens when the weather warms up (if it ever does!!!).
Still not much going on with the pond.
It has a thin layer of ice most mornings.
Good news is that the frogspawn I have in buckets has started to hatch!
Just a note on barley straw bundles,the blanketweed in my pond used to grow all over them!!!
Sadly most of the tadpoles that hatched have died,not sure why,but have put the survivors in the wildlife pond.
Just been down to our aquatic suppliers and bought 2 x shubunkins,2 x sarassa comets and 3 x ordinary goldfish.
They are floating in pond to acclimatise to the temperature and will release them in 10 mins or so.
Fish all now safely in the pond,its nice to see them shoaling.
No blanketweed yet but the test will be when the weather warms up.
The water is now going green,the Blanket Answer does not stop this,but if I can get the balance right that should sort itself out.
The problem being in previous years the oxygenating plants being covered with blanketweed and last year the azolla completely covering the surface.
The tadpole survivors that I transfered to the small wildlife pond seem to be growing and doing fine.The warm weather seems to have helped.
The new fish in the larger pond are also doing well and are getting quite 'frisky' with the warm weather and a more choice selection of partners!.
I have a solitary green tench and just thinking about getting it a mate but it would be a 50/50 chance of getting the right sex!
The azolla that engulfed the pond last year is making a bit of a comeback but I am going out everyday to pick it out before it gets too much.
Water is green but still no blanketweed.
Have had to put some wire mesh over the plant baskets to stop the birds having a bath but will take it away when the plants are bigger.The birds have 2 baths of their own in the garden so don't need the pond!
Pond update:-I have lost at least 4 or more fish so far from the main fish pond,not sure why though.
The water is green and I have treated with Blagdon Green Away to try and sort out the problem but after 2 weeks it is still green and murky.
Usually after the water turns green it will naturally clear once the fish/plant/oxygen balance is right but the pond weed (Elodea densa) is just not getting going,and think it might have something to do with the cold weather?
I have planted a medium sized water lily to help shade the surface,only been in 2 weeks and the leaves have reached the surface and are beginning to spread out a bit.
On the plus side I have no blanket weed whatsoever!!!
I have just emptied out half the pond and topped up with fresh water in the hope I may get to see my fish.
I don't think I will get any more fish just yet,I'll wait to see if the pond clears and then add them in one or two at a time,my mistake may have been putting in 7 new fish all at once.
The wildlife pond however is crystal clear (I can see to the bottom!) and the tadpoles are all doing well and getting nice and big.
When I refilled the pond about an hour ago I gave it another dose of the Blagdon Green Away and already it is starting to do what it is supposed to and make the algae clump together so it can be skimmed off the surface.
I can actually see my fish now and can see 8 so have only lost the 4.
Losing fish is normal at this time of year (for me anyway!),strangely enough it seems all the 'fancy' fish (sarrassa comets,shubunkin) have gone and I am left with bog standard goldfish!
Pleased to say the pond is now very clear and can see right to the bottom.
Now that I can actually see the fish properly I find I do still have 1 shubunkin and 1 sarrassa comet,so that's good.
I don't know if I used the wrong dosage of the Blagdon Green Away the first 2 times or if changing half the water in the pond made it work better on the 3rd attempt.
I have skimmed off the clumped algae and hope that now the weed will grow as it can now get enough light.