The deicer on the koi pond failed so I put a new one in last night. When I went to check on the pond the new heater had cleared the ice but now there is foam on the water. The water has become just a little bit more cloudy with the filter off but not really bad, just kind of hazy looking. I have been keeping an eye out for dead fish or frogs and did pull out a couple of small frogs the other day. The fish are doing well and there is a lot of algea growth on the sides of the pond but that is nothing new. Temps have been up and down this winter. We had below zero and a few days later it got up to 70 and then went back down for a few days to below freezing and now is below freezing at night but in the 30s and 40s during the day. I do not have any way to tell what the water temp is but is cold to the touch and even had a film of ice in places yesterday. Surely the fish cannot have spawned could they??
What is that foam on the water?
Nothing would surprise me after my major medical koi summer. However, I think you should wait until someone like snapple responds. She and many others have way more experience than me!
Is there a fishy smell at all?
BTW: Where and how did you find the baby frogs dead in the pond-where should I look in mine?
Did not detect an oder of any kind, but the wind has been blowing pretty steadily the last few days.
I found one frog upside down on the bottom and one kind of caught in the algea on the sides of the pond. There are several that are still swimming around in there. I fear they will not make it through the winter. Always thought that they had to hibernate in the cold weather.
They do hibernate, but the way this weather has been they are probably confused.
Also the temp outside could be much warmer than the temp in the pond. So the frog may go into the cold water and slow down to where he doesn't have the oomph to get out!?
That would be my guess.
I don't know about the foam thing though.
So what do you think caused the foaming?
Just caught this post. I've got foam too, all around the deicer. It's caused by decomposing organic compounds. The heat in the water right around the deicer generates the decompositon in that area so it collects there. For some reason I have way more this year than I've ever seen. If it gets windy it scatters and blows around the surface of the water. Weird looking. It disappears for a while when it rains, then comes right back. Let's see. Twenty-one days left in January. Twenty-eight days to go in February. March 24th is my average pond start up date (from old garden journals/notes). So, seventy three days until I can start up the pond. I'm countin' 'em down, folks, countin' 'em down.
ohhh, thanks Snapple for mentally getting me on a date for the pond party. I wonder who will survive (hopefully everybody. )