Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

In reply to cineman ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Hi,
I have been warned by a long time fish keeper that sterlets and pond
liner don't mix, apparently their fins are very sharp and can cut
through pond liner.
Although they can become very tame when young and feed from the hand,
I havent kept any for that reason, but they are lovely fish.

As far as I know a sterlet is not a baby sturgeon, although it's the same
family of fish (IIRC). They won't cut a decent pond liner, I used the black
stuff you buy from garden centres for keeping weeds down, not the girly[1]
stuff that you normally use for pond liners. Also they swin mouth down to do
their hoovering, the sharper fins are the ones on the back (dorsal?). But
it's worth thinking about if you have a girly[1] pond liner.

[1] no offence to girls, "girly" is the best word I can think of this
morning ...

Who was that top-poster?

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

I don't think I went for the "girly" liner - its a butyl liner, I think
..75 mm thick, rather than the PVC cheaper stuff.

I'll see if I can find some of these Sterlets.

Thanks for the replies.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

In reply to MB ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

I don't think I went for the "girly" liner - its a butyl liner, I
think .75 mm thick, rather than the PVC cheaper stuff.

I'll see if I can find some of these Sterlets.

Thanks for the replies.

Best way to get lots of sterlets is to borrow a couple for a month or so :-)

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

MB wrote:
Ellie - do you not find by draining the pond each year to undertake the
dredging, that you end up with problems with algae growth, or is the
pond spring fed?

Yes, it's spring fed. Each year we remove a massive amount of
waterweed, leaving just a little clump, which grows back over the course
of then next year. No problems with algae etc.

The sterlets option is interesting, isn't it.

The suggestion of lowering our vents sounds good, but the trouble, I
think, is that they would become submerged in the accumulating sludge.
However, if you felt around in the muck for them and twisted the lids
off, what would immediately go through would be the thick sludge,
including its twigs and leaves and pine-cones and a blockage somewhere
underneath the pond and the point where the pipe exits further down the
hill would be disastrous!

Ellie.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

K wrote:
So if you have a blanket weed problem, green
tench are better. They're smooth and streamlined not knobbly and spiky.
You put them in when small, they disappear for a couple of years then
reappear 9 inches long and very fat, basking at the surface and making a
huge splash when disturbed.

K, how might green tench cope when flow into and out of a pond during
summer months stops and natural oxygenation is poor?

Ellie.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

MB wrote:

Yes, the herons are wretched. Which reminds me, having just cleaned out
our pond, we must replace the board under which the fish can hide. We
anchor and weight it in position and ensure there is about six inches
clear beneath it.

Ellie.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

In reply to Ellie Bentley ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

K wrote:
So if you have a blanket weed problem, green
tench are better. They're smooth and streamlined not knobbly and
spiky. You put them in when small, they disappear for a couple of
years then reappear 9 inches long and very fat, basking at the
surface and making a huge splash when disturbed.

K, how might green tench cope when flow into and out of a pond during
summer months stops and natural oxygenation is poor?

I never stopped the flow. The pump worked all year round, and the patent
bullrush filter did the job, water falling down the rocks aerated it. I wish
I'd taken pictures now, I moved from that house quite a few years back so my
memory is this :

Dim.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

In reply to Ellie Bentley ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

MB wrote:

Yes, the herons are wretched. Which reminds me, having just cleaned
out our pond, we must replace the board under which the fish can
hide. We anchor and weight it in position and ensure there is about
six inches clear beneath it.

Herons are seriously territorial. Even one of those cheap plastic herons
plonked in the ground by the pond will put off all but the most
determined/hungry heron.

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

Ellie Bentley writes
K wrote:
So if you have a blanket weed problem, green
tench are better. They're smooth and streamlined not knobbly and spiky.
You put them in when small, they disappear for a couple of years then
reappear 9 inches long and very fat, basking at the surface and making a
huge splash when disturbed.

K, how might green tench cope when flow into and out of a pond during
summer months stops and natural oxygenation is poor?

Don't know. It lives in canals, which aren't the best oxygenated
conditions, and it's fairly tolerant, but how that compares to your
conditions I'm not sure.
--
Kay

Pond Sludge - To clear or not to clear?
 

In reply to K ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Ellie Bentley writes
K wrote:
So if you have a blanket weed problem, green
tench are better. They're smooth and streamlined not knobbly and
spiky. You put them in when small, they disappear for a couple of
years then reappear 9 inches long and very fat, basking at the
surface and making a huge splash when disturbed.

K, how might green tench cope when flow into and out of a pond during
summer months stops and natural oxygenation is poor?

Don't know. It lives in canals, which aren't the best oxygenated
conditions, and it's fairly tolerant, but how that compares to your
conditions I'm not sure.

You know, canals are very well oxygenated, thanks to the good efforts of us
boaters!