Pond Algae Problems and other Fish Issues

I enjoy having a pond with goldfish and the birds love to have a spot to drink and bathe. Right now the water is crystal clear, but keeping the pond clear is a huge problem.

Once the hot weather hits, we have problems keeping the algae down. We do have a filter system, which circulates the water and also shoots some out in a spray at the centre of the pond which helps with aeration. But it sure seemed to fall down on the job last year! We had such a problem with black algae growth that we had to drain the pond partially and refill it with fresh water several times. Sometimes it helps to put a bag of barley straw near your water flow.  Plants in the pond are supposed to help replenish the oxygen in the water as well, since algae uses up a lot of the oxygen supply if it's present.

Last year we had a very hot summer and the algae bloom was extreme. Little did we know exactly HOW extreme until we came home after being away for a few days and found all of our large goldfish dead and floating on top of the water! The water was the color of coffee! We saw one small white fish come to the surface gasping for air and then disappear again!  We quickly found the net and scooped him out along with one other goldfish that still seemed to have a bit of life to it. That one didn't make it, so we lost a total of 15 large goldfish that day. Some we had had for a number of years already. They were between 5 and 10 inches long and they had had babies many times.  The lone survivor, strangely enough, was the runt of all the other fish.... 

It was very heartbreaking to say the least. I felt very negligent and felt responsible for their deaths.  We went through the whole process of draining the water out and cleaning the algae off the sides of the liner as well as we could. We filled the pond back up again, mainly because the birds use the pond for drinking water (and to bathe). We put the lone 4 inch survivor back in the pond by itself and after a few days I felt sorry for it and decided to buy a few buddies to keep it company.

I went into town looking for goldfish. I thought a few others the same size would be nice. Who knew that 4 to 5 inch goldfish cost $10 each! I was flabbergasted! What??? Are you kidding???

Now I felt even worse knowing we had lost $150 worth of goldfish!

And to add insult to injury, I felt somehow cheated that I should have to spend a lot of money to get replacements because each September when my goldfish had had babies, I would give them away FREE! I just put up an ad on the bulletin board at the post office in town each September and people would come out here for free goldfish!  

"Where's the justice?!" I thought.  Whatever happened to "We reap what we sow" and "What goes around, comes around" all of which I firmly believed. Well that certainly shook that theory!

So, no, I did NOT buy any $10 goldfish. I settled for three 4 inch goldfish the following week for $5 each and then 5 small feeder fish for about 60 cents each.  Two of the tiny ones didn't make it till the end of the fall but we had 7 healthy fish to over winter ... not our usual 20-something, but then I only had one aquarium going with one filter to clean instead of the usual 2 or 3.

If you have a heated garage you can put your goldfish in a large plastic garbage can or a rubbermaid container and over winter them that way. But I like to see my fish and to notice changes. Did you know that goldfish change color!???

The tiny babies all start out a grey color and as they mature, parts of them start to turn orange slowly. It is funny to watch, as one may have a dark grey fin or and orange 'moustache' for a while and then one day it's gone. Eventually they turn a solid gold color. But after turning gold, some fish then turn white after that and I don't know why. I could not find any information on the internet about that.

The 'survivor' goldfish was white. All the new fish were gold except for 2 that were still in the grey stages. The biggest orange fish one day, started turning white. I have no idea why... Now I can't tell it apart from the original white one anymore!

We recently discovered 2 things...
First we realized that the ultraviolet bulb casing inside our pond filter system was cracked and likely was interfering with the bulb doing its job of 'zapping' the algae. We tried to get a new part for it but have been unsuccessful....  more likely will have to get a new filter system altogether.

I recently discovered a product called "ponder" which is supposed to deal with the pond sludge and clear up the pond water in a natural way without harming the fish, plant life or natural environment. I put some in the pond today so I hope it works and doesn't cause a problem for the birds either. When I first added it it made the water darker! Horrors! I reread the container and it says it will take a few days to work... Will have to monitor this situation closely since right now the water looks like weak tea! 

I have an excellent book called Alberta Naturescaping written by Myrna Pearlman, the naturalist at the Ellis Bird farm.  It has a section on ponds and it mentions putting an air bubbler in the pond to add oxygen which algae may deplete. It also says that the surface of your pond should be 50 to 60% covered with floating plants which provide extra oxygen and also shade the pond from the hot sun thus cutting down on algae growth, not to mention giving the fish some places to hide.  Guess I will have to try and get some floating plants and see if that makes a difference....

Sigh! I completely understand why some people give up on their ponds and fill the darn things in!
(That would make a great spot for a new flower bed!!! )
Just kidding!   LOL!  :)