Ok I am in some sort of weird pond nightmare that at times just doesn't seem real.
I will start with the weird but good news first, I have fish in my pond, little tiny fish, fish that I have NO CLUE where they came from! Fish, poof! I don't mind that these cute little fish are in there I just don't know HOW they got there!!! In addition to the little fish the wood frogs are turning which I have never seen before, they are getting legs and everything, so cool! I also have new tadpoles, they are small, tiny even, like the size of a pin head! Don't know where they came from either!!!
Now the bad, I also have some form of leeches in there and I think they just breed or hatched because now I have these clumps of what look like blood worms that we used to feed our inside fish. Pretty gross and would like them gone!!! The water is in horrible condition, it has turned brown and soured like I have never seen before, the popular blossom keep falling. I have been skimming and scooping them out but now with the fish and various sized tadpoles I have trouble! I don't know what to do. The pond was crystal clear, could see to the bottom now, you can't see past the first inch it is awful. So I need help and I turn to the wisdom here. I have had a pond for 5 years and I have NEVER had this happen, what am I to do???
Weird, Stinky, HELP!
Increasing the salt level to .02 will kill the leaches but that level is lethal to many plants. Leaches dont really cause any serious harm, at least I don't have any problems. I have them, but not in clumps. I see them occaisionally when I clean the filter or move a potted water plant. Is the bottom of the pond clean? Is there a sludge build up? The brown could be tannins and temporary if there has been a lot of rain mixing with the blossoms. This can happen quickly if the water is warm. Frogs are sensitive critters. They wont thrive if the water quality isn't there. By sour do you mean smell? If the water smells you do have a problem. Time to vacuum, throughly, clean the filter and do a partial water change. Do you test the water for ph, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite? If you have had inside fish you know what those tests are and what they mean. Call your local pond store and see if they have any information to offer about ponds in general in your area and their current condition. You might not be the only one. Five years is about right to get a significant sludge build up enough to cause problems, especially if you don't have a bottom drain. I made a huge mistake not putting one in my pond. I compensate by throughly vacuuming the bottom every year. I get in and give it a good going over followed by a partial water change. Have you checked the impeller on the pump to see if it is in good condition and pumping at capacity? They can slow over time and you might not be pushing as much water as when the pump was first installed. Have a cup of coffee, call the pond store, take a peak at the impeller, do some water testing and see what you've got going on. Isn't ponding wonderful? Soooo many unexpected ways to spend your spare time.
Well said Snapple! LOL! My only thought is that the fish came from new plants maybe added that had fish eggs on them. I have had fry show up after swaping out a plant during the spawning time.
Well, I've heard of it raining frogs. So why not raining fish? LOL
Well currently draining, scooping and all are out of the question as the ponds are full of tadpoles, tiny tadpoles and half frog/half tadpoles. I know that would seem to be the simple solution, but I am trying to save the ones that are now calling the ponds home. Yes by sour I mean the smell, it is that of those blasted blossoms! UGH!
Idy,
I had a temporary lawn man come in last summer at my old place. He mowed without using a catch bag and my pond had dead grass blades in the water. Winthin 24 hours, three fish were dead and the water smelled like cess pool.
I have to half empty the pond, net out all the dead plant matter and refill it. Luckily that was only a 65 gallon pond, so not much trouble.
Now I have a 300 gallon pond, no grass and no lawn man. We're safe now.
Molly