"Šave" wrote in message
news
I have a pond that measures about 5 feet by 3 feet, is there a way of
keeping leaves out of the pond whilst letting wildlife in and out? At the
moment I have a net over it weighed down my bricks, stones & plants with
one corner in the most sheltered area raised by a couple of stones... is
there a better method as leaves still find their way in. Also, if I add
some water snails is there a certain number I should aim to keep their
population below to keep the toxins down from their waste?
Same size as my pond, which is situated under a loquat tree so it's quite
shaded. I do tend to get a lot of other leaves as well in the autumn so I
sometimes put a net over it in the winter, held down with rocks.
I've had fish for over 25 years (some of them the originals) and now have a
population of something like 15. Only a few frogs (over 200 in the late
80's) and toads, but lots of newts. My frogs have declined drastically
because we live on an island surrounded by roads, however I still have a few
frogs and had some tadpoles this spring.
I wouldn't worry too much about leaves. If you have a lot of trees around,
you can just put a net over your pond in the autumn.
Re pond snails, they increase and decrease, depending on the ecology of your
pond, and are not really a cause for worry, since they will eat a lot of
rubbish in your pond. Then their excreta can feed the plants you have.
Whilst out walking a year ago I found some plant growing in a stream on the
local golf course and snagged a bit of it, and my god does it keep the water
sweet. It grows like mad, but the water is so fresh, so I suppose it eats
up all the detritus left by the snails, fish, newts and frogs.
I have another smaller pond nearby dedicated to water lilies, and when I was
cleaning it out I discovered it was full of dragonfly larvae. I was only
cleaning it out because it was full of leaves :-)
Enjoy your pond, it will have a life of its own anyway.
someone