Hello!

I am new to this site, AND to ponds. About 3 months ago, my husband and I dug a hole, lined it, added filters, plants, etc. and added some "feeder fish". What we have ended up with is a 2500 gallon pond and 5 surviving fish. The fish have already doubled in size, and two of them are actually attractive :)

We had an algae bloom, added barley (a miracle!) and have been enjoying a clear pond until about a week ago... Everything is murky again. I thought I read somewhere that "you get two blooms, regardless"... Can anyone verify this?

I am a big worrier - I worried when the fish were small, as we have two resident snakes, one about 3 feet! The fish are now bigger than snake snacks, but our 60+ frogs are now down to <6. I worry about the plants, the hardness of our water, high PH, etc. etc. I worry about power outages, hailstorms, extreme heat...

You get the idea! Anyhow, I love this site, and am looking forward to learning from everyone's experiences!!!

Lori

Welcome to the world of ponds!

It is normal for a pond to be green with suspended algae for at least the first warm season if not the second. Mine was that way for the first two years and has been clear almost every day since (10 years now). It takes time for plants, bacteria, and microorganisms to establish themselves and balance the pond.

My page on pond algae is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/algae2.htm and may include some ideas you haven't yet tried.

I too worry about my ponds! That doesn't go away. That just means you really like your ponds! I still have nightmares about my pond draining which actually happened twice (a dog diverted the water). I worry about power outages all the time, not just for my ponds but for my aquarium fish and tropical animals. We've had a few hail storms over the years that ripped holes in all the water lily pads which then rotted a week later making a mess.

Snakes can eat fish larger than you think. Do you know what species of snake you have? Were they in the water?

Did you find the fish and frogs that have died or did they vanish? If they vanished, maybe a predator ate them. Feeder fish are rarely healthy so if some of those died, it's not a surprise. All new pond fish should be quarantined if at all possible.

What is your pond pH? What is the hardness? My water is super soft so I'm not worried about that problem.

Good luck and Happy Ponding!

Welcome to the site! Well you are a worrier are you??? GREAT you will fit right in, I don't think you can have a pond and not be a worrier :-) Well thankfully we have Robyn to ease our worries!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About the snakes, the larger one (30"+) is a Valley Garter Snake - It shows up about every three weeks (I suppose when it has finished digesting its last meal) and hunts for a few days. I frequently see it swimming in the water. I think it prefers frogs! The smaller snake (14") is some sort of Racer. It looks very similar to the garter snake.

Our water (well) is very hard, the alkalinity high. Our PH runs 7.6 - 8.4 generally, but has gotten higher & I have added "stuff". Because we have a waterfall, and it is VERY hot here, I add water twice a day due to evaporation.

And here is something new... We had our first heavy rainfall of the season yesterday, and today, we have zillions of pond frogs! OK, maybe not zillions, but we went from maybe 6 to well over 50!! Where did they come from? The nearest natural pond is probably 1/2 mile away, the creek is dry, and other than the fish pond, there is no water source around right now. Strange!!

I love this site :) and have been spending time trying to figure out how everything works... It is a blessing having such a wonderful resource at hand!!

thanks!!
Lori

Eastern garter snakes that visit my pond tend to come for a day or two and then leave. They are better to have than true water snakes which will stay until they've eaten all the animals that they can.

A pH of 7.6 to 8.4 is ok for the pond but if it gets higher than that, then it's time to add some pH down or otherwise lower the pH. Was "pH down" the stuff that you added? It just has sulfuric acid (H3SO4).

The frogs are probably tree frogs. They live mostly in the trees and brush. They remain fairly quiet climbing around until it rains. Then, the males start calling like mad, and the frogs go to the ponds to lay eggs. It's a bit late in the year for frogs to spawn unless you're in Florida. Where do you live?

In the absence of your pond, the presumed tree frogs would use any puddle they could find. So, they are not really aquatic frogs like bullfrogs, green frogs, and pickerel frogs. Aquatic frogs need to be near water all the time. There are also other frogs that aren't tree frogs that sometimes only come to water to lay eggs such as leopard frogs.

Welcome to the board/group. :D Those 5 remaining feeder fish will probably give you alot of strong babies next year.

I used some kind of "PH down" to lower the PH... worked like a charm :)

The frogs are not tree frogs... Tree frogs I really DO have zillions of!! and they seem to stay away from the pond. These frogs are all olive green, with broad shoulders and skinny butts. They range in size fron 1 1/2 inches to 3 inches. I have never seen one outside of the pond. I also have toads (4" to 5") that poop in my pond from time to time.

I live in N. California. Still upper-80s / low 90s in the daytime, and lows in the 50s. Our summers are 105 to 115 and everything is dried up right now.

Speaking of the snake, It was in the skimmer, dining on frogs yesterday. I was pulling the filter to clean it when out popped the snake! Unfortunately, it is now close to four feet, and about 1 1/2 inches around the middle. My fish are only about 3 1/2 inches.

I am looking forward to healthy babies in the pond! My fish seem to spawn frequently, and I believe there are 3 males and two females. The males are orange (yawn) but the females are orange & white (and pretty!)

Isn't pond life wonderful? Everyday it is something different!!

Lori

I imagined the snake popping out of the skimmer like a jack in the box! Surprise!

Did you catch and move him?

Hi Lori,
Glad you found Robyn's site!!! I have gotten LOTS of info from Robyn and all of the other ponding friends here.
Ellen

Hi Lori, welcome to the site! It's a wonderful, helpful community.

Good grief, thankfully it was you rather than I that saw the four foot snake. I would have peed myself, at a minimum!!

Mary Anne

Hee hee Mary Anne! I am sure my neighbors heard my response to finding the snake! (and their house is 1/4 mile down the road :D )

Snake has now snacked on frogs and will be gone for about three weeks. Meanwhile, I have easily a dozen frogs chillin' in my skimmer.

I think you should catch up the snake and release it in a natural pond or bog. I don't know much about snakes because in my area in the Uk, the only snake which hunts fish, frogs and newts is the rather docile grass snake. Lucky my new pond is empty.