Goldfish Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Pond Seasonal Maintenance’

Spring

In spring fish will turn much more active and will commence to rise to the surface. Spring is the season when you can start to feed your pond fish, nevertheless only feed floating food and modest amounts. Fish are quite frail at this time because of using raw reserves throughout wintertime. Take out any decomposing vegetation and remove any leaves from your pond.

Spring is a good time to perform a partial water change. Instead of removing and adding water, use a hose pipe and allow water to overspill out of your pond. This system will not effect the overall temperature of the water or cause stress to the fish. If the tap water in your neighbourhood contains chlorine or other additives, then you should add a pond water product when doing partial water changes.

Springtime is also the time to study the plants in your pond. Plants such as lilies that will hopefully be planted in baskets or containers ought to be lifted out and where development is too much they should either be divided or surplus growth removed. Remove any plant that is overgrowing the size of your pond. Where doable examine the pond structure, so examine lining, concrete or preformed shell for any sign of damage. Check pond wiring for any apparent damage, make sure to switch off all equipment first. Clean filters and tryout submerged lighting / underwater UV filters etc.

Summer

Summer is the time of year when you can really enjoy your water garden or fish pond. The pond life will have gained enough energy to be fully mobile and the aquatics are blossoming. It can be very restful this time of year watching your fish swim. Examine your plants and check that their growth is not too much. The summer season is when you should add any new pond plants.

Unfortunately with the increase in the temperature of the pond water, it is common for blanket weed to appear. I refer to this as a visitor as it could just appear even if you have in no way had it in your pond before. Blanket weed is thought to be spread by birds and frogs visiting your pond from an infected pond. The blanket weed falls off the visitor to your pond and then spreads very speedily in your pond. Endeavour to remove as much by hand as possible. It is crucial that you continually remove blanket weed.

The fish have become more active and possibly could require a supplement to their food if the insect life is not established, in no way overfeed fish. If you overfeed your fish the uneaten food will result in disturbing the quality of your pond water.

Summer is the time for fish to spawn, so you may be able to see small fry swimming around. If you plan to stock your pond with any new fish, insure that they are healthy. This time of year the water can vaporize quite quickly, so make sure you top up the water level frequently. In really hot spells there is a risk in modest ponds that the water temperature will get too warm resulting in a low oxygen level. One way to hold oxygen levels high is to have a fountain or waterfall as the water will contain oxygen when reverting back into the pond.

Autumn

Plants are looking slightly worn-out and straightaway is the time to reduce them back. This is the time to cut out dead and dying growth. If you don’t want plants to seed remove any seed heads. Get rid of any extra underwater growth from your pond plants. Doing this will ensure less chance of decomposing vegetation left in the pond that will effect water quality.

Throughout autumn’s warmer days, your fish may still be somewhat mobile. If your fish are still feeding then keep feeding. If the conditions are bad in autumn your pond might freeze. Even if your pond does freeze this should not be a problem as the gradual drop in water temperature will slow your fish down making them demand less oxygen. If autumn is especially cold and your pond freezes for a long time then you could need to makeup for for this by installing a pond heater. If the pond does freeze for loads of days or weeks do not break the ice as the fish will sense the shock wave and potential death can happen. If you are concerned about your fish and need to get some of the surface ice melted place boiling water in a metallic can and position on top of the frozen ice. If the weather remains cold then melt a little area and attempt to drain about a bucket full of water out of the pond. This will make a gap between the frozen and non-frozen water and keep oxygen in contact with the water.

Winter

Truthfully, there is not too much to do for your garden pond if you have followed and accomplished your autumn seasonal tasks. Adopt the manufacturers guiding principle and where compulsory remove and service your pond accessories. Keep watch over how long your pond is totally frozen. Comply with the method above of preventing ice covering the whole surface of the pond.