Xref: kermit rec.ponds:120809

I have a small pond and with a separate barrel pond that flows into it (then
gets pumped back into the barrel). Anyways, I don't have any fish in the
barrel, just plants. In the main pond I have some gold fish, tadpoles and
snails. Today I noticed something in the barrel. It (or they) is skinny
and about 3/8" or 1/2" long and appears to almost jump through the water,
very fast. Does this sounds like mosquito larvae? I know someone posted
some pictures on here recently that another identified as larvae, but I
couldn't find that post again.

Whether or not they are larvae, should I have at least a couple fish in the
barrel too?

Thanks, Scott

P.S. I started my pond about 6 weeks ago or so. A couple weeks later, my
water got real green and murky with algae! I kept putting the plants in as
I had planned and about 2 weeks later my water went from not being able to
see through at all to crystal clear! Like everyone says, PATIENCE! But it
is hard!

Do the critters hang out at the top of the water until they are disturbed? Is
your water 'slow' enough for the critters to stay in one place?

Mosquito larvae breathe at the surface and it is the quickest way to tell what
they are.
I've seen damselfly nymphs, some worms and other critters flip around.

Try these two websites, hope they are working...

http://www.mp.usbr.gov/geospat/olymp...e/macroid.html

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/con...s-general.html

If your barrel is on the smallish side you can try two rosie red minnows, sold
as feeder fish in many pet stores to eat up any critters.


k30a

No, they stay submerged, resting on my plant pot or something else. I did
not seem them surface at all.

I am guessing the barrel is around 20 gallons or so.

Scott

"K30a" wrote in message
...

Do the critters hang out at the top of the water until they are disturbed?
Is
your water 'slow' enough for the critters to stay in one place?

Mosquito larvae breathe at the surface and it is the quickest way to tell
what
they are.
I've seen damselfly nymphs, some worms and other critters flip around.

Try these two websites, hope they are working...

http://www.mp.usbr.gov/geospat/olymp...e/macroid.html

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/con...s-general.html

If your barrel is on the smallish side you can try two rosie red minnows,
sold
as feeder fish in many pet stores to eat up any critters.


k30a

Okay ~~~
Hanging out on plant stalks is a good clue. Look at their hind ends. Do they
have what looks like two to three feathery attachments?
If they do they are probably damselfly nymphs and you don't want anyone in
there to eat them, you want them to hatch into damselflies and chomp down on
any mosquitoes that dare to enter your yard.
And if they aren't damselflies they are some other kind of critter and most all
of them are benefical to one degree or another.
5,000 species of insects spend some or all of their lives in water.


k30a

I looked up a picture of a damselfly nymph on hte internet and I don't think
that is it either. Their bodies seem are narrow, widen a little, then
narrow again. When I seem them (actually, it might only be 1 as I only see
1 at a time), it is usally resting on the gravel in the potted lilly. When
I approach it with anything, it bolts extremely fast to the other side.
They are deep enough that I can see them, but not very clearly.

Oh well.

Scott


"K30a" wrote in message
...

Okay ~~~
Hanging out on plant stalks is a good clue. Look at their hind ends. Do
they
have what looks like two to three feathery attachments?
If they do they are probably damselfly nymphs and you don't want anyone in
there to eat them, you want them to hatch into damselflies and chomp down
on
any mosquitoes that dare to enter your yard.
And if they aren't damselflies they are some other kind of critter and
most all
of them are benefical to one degree or another.
5,000 species of insects spend some or all of their lives in water.


k30a

If you get obsessed, like I *sometimes* do you can get a hold of the best book
I have found for identifying odds and sods in your pond is titled POND LIFE by
George K. Reid, Ph.D.
It is out of print but can be found for under $10 from Barnes and Noble lists
of used book dealers


k30a