Dying plants... pond... no info.  – 08/01/07
Hello,
<Hi there>
I recently installed a 100 gallon pre-formed pond. Along with 4 relatively healthy fish - no koi, 2 comets, a shubunkin, and a fantail - I planted a water lily and a pickerel weed, and also installed some oxygenating plants - anacharis and something else. Before I put in the fish, however, I discovered tadpoles in the pond. Hooray! However, the plants are no longer producing leaves, in spite of one fertilizer tablet each. It seems, in fact, that they are dying. I did notice that the tadpoles seemed to be literally eating the leaves of the water lily.
<Mmmm>
Can anyone help me? I live in Central Texas. Thanks so much, Stephanie
<Much to ask... re how these were planted, your water quality, maintenance... Please read here first: http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/pdpltsovr.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Water Lilies, reading WWM    5/11/07
Good Morning: I have an outdoor pond in Orlando, Florida. For several years I have purchased a water lily and watched it flourish during the spring and   summer but die in the fall when the water gets colder.
<Likely tropical ones... cool color, emersed petioles/stems... odoriferous... as opposed to more temperate species...>
What species can I buy that will survive the fall/winter  temperatures?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Bill Bales
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/h2oliliesart.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Koi Attacking New Plants - 06/06/2006
We have a 3000 gal pond in the panhandle of Texas.  The fish are very healthy and seem to be doing well for over a year in this pond. We have moved some of the lilies from a previous and these plants and the fish seem to coexist without challenge.  However every time we introduce new plants from a local nursery, the fish attack the plants and the containers.  Usually in the first 24 hours, the plants are moved about the pond even when we put rocks in the container and many times the plants are pulled out of the containers.   The plants we are putting in are more lilies, cat tails, and iris.  Any suggestions on how to introduce plants without having a battle with the fish?   Do we need to change plants?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
<This is a little bit odd.  I would think that the fish are actually interested in tasty tidbits that are on the plants and in the soil of the pots....  maybe bug larvae, snail eggs, bugs, microorganisms....  I think I would try feeding the koi heavily for a few days before introducing the plants and see if that gets them less interested in the new plants.  I would probably also like to suggest that you have a large tub of pond water set aside just in case the fish do attack again, so you can at least remove the plants to keep them from being destroyed.>
Thanks  -Dennis Moses,  Amarillo, Texas
<I do hope this works for you!  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina Fullhart,  Santa Cruz, California> <<Actually, not atypical behavior... more so in the warming/reproductive months, but Koi/Nishikigoi/Carp often do this period... may need to be "fenced off", separated from the plants, planting containers. RMF>>

Re: Koi and Plants in the pond  - 06/07/2006
<<Actually, not atypical behavior... more so in the warming/reproductive months, but Koi/Nishikigoi/Carp often do this period... may need to be "fenced off", separated from the plants, planting containers. RMF>>
<<<Thanks for this, Bob - I've never had more than four koi in a very, very sizeable pond, and that was several years ago, in Kansas....  They never disturbed the plants in the pond, but it was as close to "natural" as could be while still having been man-made, just dug into our clay soil and loaded with flora.  Or, perhaps they *did* disturb the plants, but the plants were so plentiful that it never showed.  Anyhoo, thanks!  -SCF>>>
<Some, sometimes do... others... leave the plants alone... tis a mystery for shore. BobF>

Pond Plants.. 8/7/05
My floating pond plants are dying and I've noticed that my one Lily is starting to turn red, I have a small pond 1000 Gal and a UV system, I have two Painted Turtles and 10 fish.( They were feeder fish but the Turts leave   them alone and they've grown over the summer) I live in Maryland and I just can't figure out why they are turning colors and looking so bad.
Thanks in Advance for any advice.
Dawna Hubble
<Mmm, the major sorts of factors that result in pond plant loss as you describe come down to mainly a lack of nutrient, incompatible water quality, and/or failure to compete with other life... Do you have test kits for nitrate, phosphate? Perhaps a pond-store nearby that can test these for you? Have you re-potted and re-fertilized the lily this year? Do you have a slimy bluish-black algae growing on the pond basin surface? Have you read our Pond subweb? Here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/Pond%20Sub%20Web.htm
Scroll down to the "Plants" section and read. Bob Fenner>

Free Pond Plants in S. California 6/05
A neighbor, Rick has just come on by with an offer of free Hyacinths, Papyrus, Water Pickerel, Cat tails, Egeria/Anacharis, Duckweed... and mosquito fish... You can contact him... in San Diego, CA.
Piecon@mindspring.com>

Pond plants, turtle fodder
Hello,
<Hi there>
Could you please offer some advice about how to get plant life to grow in a pond and get ahead of the turtle population? In an effort to commune with nature, it appears we need an all out battle.
<Mmm, I do have a plan... to discourage those rambunctious turtles rather than deter them from eating, breaking your plants, I encourage you to consider putting up a short (temporary) fence around the water feature... after a few weeks (to months...) they will "learn" there is no pond there... go elsewhere>
We apparently need fast growing plants, but want to be careful of noxious weed which will take over our pond and the surrounding creeks.
<Yes!>
(Our pond connects with a large creek; care to not create an environmental nightmare is a concern also).
<A HUGE one>
We have a man made pond of almost an acre. The outside edge is walled (cement) and in the center is an island of trees (junk trees mostly, the beavers have taken the good ones). The water ranges from 3 feet at the wall to 9 feet then up to the island. We know there are turtles - red bellies, occasional snapper and whatever - along with various fish. Oh, there are muskrats too. We use a fountain for aeration. There is little if any vegetation currently except for some grass and weeds on the island. The island is primarily tree roots at this point. (We can't figure out what the turtles live on now).
<... such a large, natural system... is a "horse of a different hue"...>
I tried to put lilies into the pond (tropical). Started with 5. We caged them best we could (irregular bottom) hoping to deter turtles and fish until they could get growing. First day - one entire lily was gone. By the third day, doubling up on the wire leaves two lilies left. They too are doomed as we can't keep them caged forever.
<Yes... mmm, the cooler water varieties are tougher here... but still almost irresistible to the animals you list...>
Is there a way to get ahead of the turtles? It would be nice to build a habitat that is conducive for them and frogs. But, it appears they don't want to give us a chance.
Can you help with ideas and/or advice?
<Am fresh out on this matter... but do know where I would look for info. next... your State "Fish and Game", then next, the local colleges if they have Ag. and Zoology departments>
Desperate in NJ,
Thyra
<Ah, my in-laws live in Belmar, Garfield, Kennelon... Bob Fenner>

Over-wintering water hyacinth
I live in New England (cold winters!).   I have two ponds that I filter with bogs, in which I use a lot of water hyacinth every year.  Every fall I discard the water hyacinth and buy a fresh batch the following spring.  Is it possible to  keep the water hyacinth alive over the winter in an indoor tank?  What kind of artificial lighting would I need to do that, and what would I feed them during this time?
<Can be (must be if they're to survive) kept indoors... something "bright" (intense), either fluorescent or even incandescent, suspended over the top (on a support that can be raised/lowered best) on a timer (maybe ten hours a day of light). I would not chemically feed the Hyacinth, but have some fishes in the tank that you feed instead. Bob Fenner>
Thanks
Jeffrey M. Zegas

Re: wintering water hyacinth
do you think it would work with natural light?...placing the tank right next
to two windows in a "sun room" with all windows on three walls?
<Possibly. The hyacinths will likely "die back" quite a bit (shrink in size, turn less green, lose all inflorescence, but survive to the next "outdoor" season. Bob Fenner>

Re: Pond Fish and plants
Hey guys ... nice web site.
<Thanks>
Question: I put in a pond a couple of years ago and while building the pond
I bought a bunch of feeder gold fish and put in the pond to keep the
mosquitoes down fully expecting them to die from all the mortar I dropped in
the pond. Well they did not and are now large and a very pretty assortment
of fish. I also have plants and wanted to put a couple of koi in but I've
been told that koi will eat all the plants. Should I just stay with gold
fish or can koi be added?
<There are ways (potting, separated areas) to have both koi and aquatic plants... and even plants that nishikigoi don't particularly care for. I would not be deterred in trying some of both in the same system. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Bob R.

Re: Leeches
I found the phrase that I was looking for....it helps to actually read the whole article. In this case it was referring to cleaning/sterilization of new plants to be introduced to a pond, by use of an alum dip.
But do you know of any techniques for leech control/eradication in an existing pond ? Natural predators ? Thanks for your help.
<the use of salt is inhibiting but also harms plants. You may need to run the pond fallow for more than a month without fishes>
Mark
<kindly, Anthony>

Re: More commerce input from Perry in SG
Bob
Talking about plants. I recently went thru some figures published by the Financial Times on the 10 most popular potted plants sold thru the Flower market in Amsterdam. The Hyancinth was one of them. Are these similar to the ones that choke up much of South East Asia's waterways and reservoirs?
<Eichhornia crassipes... the same pest and ornamental species the world over... originally moved from its native Brazil near the turn of the century last for part of a World's Fair in the U.S.A. reportedly>
Man, there is big money to be made from a pest!!
Perry
<Have made my living by being one for decades! Bob Fenner>