and how many lilys should i leave on it? I'm taking over looking after a pond that is very over grown with weeds and lilys with loads of silt in the bottom, It needs a good clean out but i'm not 100% sure what needs cold water fish have as i've only ever had tropical fish in the past. please help
2007-07-10 16:06:19 · 6 answers · asked by TheRuntOfTheLitter 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Fish eat and their waste, plus decaying leaves, etc., combine to make ammonia, which is bad for fish. Mother Nature has a bacteria that converts the ammonia to nitrite - also bad for fish. There is another bacteria that converts the nitrite into nitrate, which plants love (it is basically fertilizer) and fish are OK with in small quantities. The plants "scrub" this nitrate out of the water, making the water clean for the fish again. Plants also put oxygen back into the water, which is good for the fish. It all works together in a big, continuous cycle. Therefore, some plants are ESSENTIAL to the overall health and wellbeing of the pond and the fish.
In general, you should have plant material equal to about 60% of your pond's surface area, but not all of the plant material has to be surface plants. A good combination of oxygenators like anacharis, heavy feeders like lillies or water iris, and some "floaters" like water hyacinth and water lettuce ought to do it. You could use some of the duck weed (this IS the kind of weed you're talking about, right?) for your floaters but that stuff multiplies like crazy - you'll be spooning it out forever unless you get some big fish (like koi) that will eat it. Warning: koi also like anacharis leaves, and will nibble those, too, so put maybe half your plants in anacharis and split the other half between lillies and floaters...
Hope this helps.
2007-07-10 16:49:13 · answer #1 · answered by Poopy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say keep it stocked just like you would an aquarium. If the pond gets a lot of sun, you will want to have have cover with the lily pads. Which reduces too much heat in the pond for the fish and gives them adequate cover.
2007-07-10 16:47:21 · answer #2 · answered by jdizine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About a dime bag... oh wait... wrong area lol
Remove all the weeds you can but leave all the lillies you can as well. Only if there are too many lillies for the surface of the water should you remove any of them at all.
MM
2007-07-10 16:24:20 · answer #3 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
A pound of weed should last them at least a week. Anymore than that and those fish would be greedy little buggers indeed.
2007-07-10 16:21:23 · answer #4 · answered by dolly 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Never leave weed in a pond, it'll get wet and you'll never be able to light it - SORRY, couldn't resist, I tried.......honest.
2007-07-10 16:37:17 · answer #5 · answered by Daz E 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
as much as you want..but don't put so much in that there is no light coming in..leave the lillies
2007-07-10 20:42:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋