can you help with a pond?

Question

ive had a few koi lost in the heat wave and its because blanket weed is letting off a gas which lowers the fish imune system and leaves them vunerable to parasites.the problem is under control but i hear that theres a device which introduces copper into the pool which iliminates blanket weed,is that the case?and does anyone know who stocks this hardware?

Answer 1

wish i could help dude

Answer 2

You are not the keeper of the pond or the fish, you are the keeper of the water.

First do a water test.

I have a 7500 ltr pond for over 30 years and I've never known blanket weed to give of a gas - I would like to know where you got this idea from - blanket weed does take oxygen out the water so does heat, this is more than likely the reason you lost a few Koi, you do not say if your using a filter system, a filter system is a must with Koi (because they are a very dirty fish), people have been fighting blanket weed for years, to fight blanket weed you need to understand that blanket weed needs sunlight, so any weed like duck weed which covers the pond stopping sunlight will cut down the blanket weed, (I hate duck weed myself), a UV light will not stop blanket weed (in fact if you have a UV light in your filter system you will get a lot more blanket weed), on my pond i have two filters and a UV light, the water goes from the pond into the first filter which has three different types of foam in it then it passes the UV light (this warms the water a little) then the water goes into second filter which is full of barley straw (i have no blanket weed) then the water goes down the waterfall into the pond.
Over the years i have heard of many devices which claim to get rid of blanket weed - funny I've never found anyone who has used one and said it worked.

Answer 3

I'd be very careful about introducing metal into the water, only use products that are safe for Koi.
There are 3 ways to deal with blanket weed, the first is a u.v. light box that sterilises the water and will also deal with fungal diseases. The second is to use a stick and twirl it in the water, the weed will collect on the stick and you can remove it manually.
The third is barley straw, and it works because as it rots down it uses up nitrogen that the fish excrete, and deprives the algae of its food supply. So if you can't get a barley straw mat, just remove the weed manually.
If you have small crustaceans in the water and you want to keep them as live food for your fish, put the weed at the side of the pond so the water can drain back in and the creatures can return to the water, some kind of wide netting bag is ideal for that, just suspend it over the water. 24 hours later you can dig the weed into your flower beds as green manure or add it to your wormery or compost heap.

Answer 4

The cause of this problem is the blanket weed which (you say gives of a gas ) this is not the case blanket weed takes oxygen out of the pond and your fish need this to survive just like we do I had blanket weed last year and did not lose any fish try a treatment called pond balance I've used it now for 2 years and although the blanket weed is still there it is almost gone
you can get this in most good koi shops
as to adding copper to your pond this will certainly kill your fish as it's poisonous to koi
please email me with your email and I will advise you better as to setup etc I have kept koi for many years and have a lot of friends who can help with most problems
ask we will help

Answer 5

Yep I had this challange also, and I fully agree with the guy about the barley straw, might be able to get it from a farm as well. Another thing to try is to have a large filter box with a Ultra violet light built inside the box, you can get these from most aquatic stores, as the water is filtered the U.V. rays kill the algae at the same time. Also worth trying to provide some kind of shade over the pond, apart from stopping the fish from boiling in the water, the algae will find it harder to grow with a lack of direct sunlight.
Hope this helps, I know it sounds crazy but the barley straw works a treat, personally I have a combination of all of the above. And I have not lost a single fish yet.
Good Luck.

Answer 6

Scoop the duck weep off the pond regularly with a net, there's nothing you can do to stop it because its produced with help from the sun have you noticed theres more in the summer?
But you could go to your local fish farm and ask advice on this their the experts and could help you to keep the duck weed down. A change in water conditions, like if you put copper into it could do more harm then good to the fish.

Answer 7

duck weed is not letting off a gas and does not lower immune system in koi, the heat makes the parasites breed faster in warm water, dip out some of the duck weed and treat your pond for parasites (Clout is excellent) freshen your pond water and do not put any copper in your pool ever!

Answer 8

Look for barley straw. It will control all algea naturally. You should be able to buy a ball or mat of it where you buy all other pond supplies

Answer 9

a bale of straw will help but your ponds got to be big enough so every thing else can swim or a u.v. filter.

Answer 10

TRY CONTACTING A CARP DOCTOR ON THE INTERNET MY BROTHER HAS A MATE WHO TREATS AND BREEDS COY CARP HE ALSO DOES ANNUAL SHOWS IN MARGAM PARK IN PORT TALBOT LIKE YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS AND STUFF ITS A KIND OF AGRICULTURAL SHOW. SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY SHOWS IN YOUR AREA AND IF THEY HAVE SPECIALISTS IN COY CARP THERE. OR TRY YOUR LOCAL SHOP/GARDEN CENTRE SEE IF ANY OF THE STAFF CAN HELP.

Answer 11

try a UV sterilizer, that should eliminate the algae and parasite problem