Mike’s Fish Tank – Pond Advice

Here are some hints for a beautiful pond. Do not put it in direct sun if at all possible, or you will be fighting algae all the time.
Algae is a plant and in strong light, it will flourish. They do make algicides that will control your algae, but it might also kill your live plants.
If you want to get rid of algae the natural way, use a UV STERILIZER. It is a tube with a UV light bulb inside it.
The water from your pond is pumped thru this tube and the UV bulb then kills the algae, and the water goes back into your pond algae free.
The sterilizers are expensive but work great and they will not harm any of your live plants. If it’s a new pond then go easy on fish the first month. Just like an aquarium, a beneficial bacteria has to grow in your pond.
This bacteria will eat the fish urine that is produced. Too many fish, no bacteria equals a cloudy smelly pond.
When your bacteria is there, your water will smell fresh. If you have a lot of fish and it stinks, you are smelling the fish urine.
This means your pond probably does not have enough good bacteria yet, and that is why that ammonia smell.
When you put your new fish in the pond, be sure to only float the bag of fish 5 minutes. This will equalize the temperature.
If you float longer than that, you are risking fish problems or death. Some people just float the bag too long and it can kill the fish.
It doesn’t take a small amount of water very long to equalize. 5 minutes does the trick.
Feed your fish a variety of pond foods. We carry pond flakes, pellets and stix. You can also feed koi food to your goldfish and goldfish food to your koi. Variety is a good thing.
Whether you have a small pond or a large pond, filtration is the key to clear water. Adding a bubbler or a small waterfall will help keep your pond water clearer. Standing water can get murky, but if you get your water moving, oxygenating it, it will be clearer.
Don’t overfeed. Too much food on the bottom of your pond will decay and cause cloudy, smelly water. Feed carefully.
It is better to feed small amounts 5 times a day then to feed too much once a day.
Also remember,there are quite a few things that do good in a pond, koi, comets, sarrassa comets, shibunkins, small frogs,
even channel cats do well in a pond. They tend to like cold water. If you are going to put turtles in your pond then remember to have a fence around it. The turtle won’t stay put. He will wander away.
One last thing, if you have a pond in the country and you are missing fish, it could be a blue heron. They can wipe out a pond overnight. If it’s a city pond and fish are missing, it might be raccoons. I have had many people tell me the herons and raccoons
ate all their fish.

Pets A Plenty is located in the Blockbuster Video Plaza, Rte 281 Cortland, 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

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