SPRING POND TIPS
by Ray Jordan
It
is hard to believe that spring is almost here. Soon our pond’s water
temperature will be staying above 60 and our fish will become more active.
Let’s all hope that the mild winter will help our fishy friends have a happy
and healthy 2000. Here are some suggestions that will hopefully help you get
your pond off to a trouble free start this spring:
1.
Start with a clean pond: Remove leaves and any sludge that might have
accumulated this winter. Never stir
up the muck in your pond with fish still in the same water. Use a holding tank.
It is especially import to remove any acorns that might have fallen into your
pond as they can be toxic in large quantities. After cleaning if possible cover
your pond with netting to prevent our native live oak trees spring leaf drop
from adding more junk back into your pond.
2.
Continue to do regular water testing and water
changes: Remember your ponds biological filtration will
lag behind your feeding schedule. Also ammonia fixing bacteria develop faster
than the nitrite fixing bacteria. Test your water for both ammonia and nitrites.
Make water changes as often as necessary to keep tests within normal levels. It
is better to feed smaller amounts of food several times a day than one large
feeding.
3. Watch your pond water temperature. You can increase the number and amount of fish feedings as the water temperature rises. A suggestion would be to increase the amount of food very slowly watching your water testing and feed small amounts several times a day until the temperature stays above 75 degrees. Try to feed between 9:00am & 5:00pm so the fish have a better chance to digest the food before the pond temperature drops at night. If there is a significant cold front that greatly lowers the water temperature reduce or stop your feeding temporarily.
4. You should be feeding a lower protein food such as wheat germ: It is also a very good idea to add extra Vitamin C to your fish food. Buy Vitamin C powder at a health food store and dissolve a teaspoon in a small amount of warm water for every one to two pounds of food. Stir into food until absorbed spread out on something until dry then keep in a cool dry air tight container.
5.
Watch your fish carefully: for any that do not swim or eat with the other
fish or start flashing (Rub themselves against the sides of the pond). On very
cold days they will be very slow or inactive but they should act similar. Watch
for cuts or sores that might develop. These will not heal well in water below 75
degrees and when we get a few days of warmer temperatures the bad bugs can wake
up and cause big problems. You should disinfect any significant scratches with
iodine or mercurochrome. If your fish start flashing excessively find out what
is happening and treat it. If high ammonia or nitrites do a water change and
reduce or stop feeding. If parasites are the problem use appropriate
treatment. Use a microscope to identify exactly what you are dealing with and
also to confirm after treatment that the nasty’s have been eradicated.
6. Move sick or injured fish to heated/salted hospital tank: Remember a fishes immune system is temperature dependent. After they recover you can put them back in the pond.
7.
Salt Treatment:
I highly recommend a salt treatment for your fish/pond each spring. Especially,
if you had any problems with ulcers or fin rot the previous year. You will have
to remove any plants to a separate container for 3-4 weeks. Add 5 lbs. of non
idodized salt per 100 gallons of water. Split the treatment into three
parts and add over three days. For example if you had a 1,000 gallon pond you
would need to add 50# of salt. You would add it at a rate of approximately
16-17# per day for three days. You would maintain this salt concentration for
two weeks which means you would need to add salt with every water change. For
example if you did a 100 gallon water change you would need to add back 5# of
salt. Do not put this salty water on your garden or yard if it has been very dry
unless you dilute it with additional tap water. After the two weeks you can
increase your water changes to 20-30% per day. After one to two more weeks the
level of salt will be almost nothing and you can reintroduce your plants. Total
time from start to finish is 3-4 weeks. It is best to do this right now as salt
slows down the maturing of your biological filter and if you start feeding a lot
you will need to do bigger water changes and replace more salt.