Angie,

I would think that there must be a time frame when the dragonflies are
hatching; after that, however, you might be able to remove some of the
leaves without interrupting the dragonflies' schedule?

That didn't come out quite right -- what I meant is that I don't think
dragonflies hatch year 'round, although it probably depends on where you
are.

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC



"AngrieWoman" wrote in message
thlink.net...
This post is partly to share my joy - you've all been here.

I built a pond last year. All my information came via this group btw, so
this little pond is partly yours.

This year, I put in a veggie filter. My original plan didn't work so well,
but I finally got a solution that seems to be working because my water is
really clear now. Woo hoo!

This little pond is under a wild cherry tree that drops leaves pretty
regularly. It is also dropping fruit right now.
In the fall I tented it last year and it was no big deal. This season I have
been pretty diligent about scooping the leaves out. However, now that the
water is clear I see some that I missed.

In the leaves and muck, I found lots and lots of cool things! No
mosquitoes - young frogs, snails, and dragonfly larvae. Here's my issue: I
can't clean out the pond without jeopardizing the dragonflies, but I wanted
to put fish in my pond. I know from reading here that the leaves decomposing
is a bad thing for fish.

Do I have to choose between dragonflies and fishies? There's not a whole
thick layer of leaves in the bottom, just "some" scattered around the
bottom. Will that be an instant death for my fishies?

--
Angie Thornton