Freshwater louse - good or bad?
 

Hi, I hope this is the correct newsgroup to ask this.

I constructed a pond in our garden last year and it seems to be coming along
nicely, various wildlife has taken up residence, such as frogs, dragonfly
nymphs, beetles, snails etc, and we have put in lots of aquatic plants as
well. A friend of mine has offered me a water lilly for the pond and when I
got it home I noticed there were quite a few crawlies in the basket with it.
I have managed to identify these as freshwater louse, which apparently feed
on rotting organic matter and seem to be normally associated with slightly
dirtier water, but are quite common. The question is should I worry about
introducing these to the pond or not - currently there are none and I
wouldn't want to put in a pest that might upset the pond as it is now,
however if they eat rotting matter then I guess they are a good thing and
are probably food for dragonflies and frogs?

Martin

Freshwater louse - good or bad?
 

Good. They will eat decaying vegetation, complete nutrient cycles and
provide food for other creatures in the pond.

Mike.
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Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net