Content
- Algae eaters provide clear water in the pond
- Snails, the algae police
- Shells and crabs
- Are there any algae-free fish?
- Tips
Snails are algae eaters
Algae eaters provide clear water in the pond
A hot summer and well-fed fish can spoil the enjoyment of the crystal-clear water of the garden pond due to excessive algae growth. In the worst case, the biotope may topple up, appear dirty green and the surface of the water is covered by an unsightly algae carpet. However, there are pond dwellers with algae at the top of their diet that can help you effectively fight this plague.
These can:
Snails, the algae police
Unlike in the garden, where snails are more likely to be pests, these mollusks in the garden pond are extremely useful. With their mouthparts, they not only graze algae off the ground but also filter out dormant air from the water, such as the sump lid screw. The mollusks even eat carrion and thus very effectively prevent the water from tipping over.
If the pond is deep enough, the gill-breathing marsh cap slug easily survives the winter months in the frost-free zone at the bottom of the small body of water. She is a child giving birth and is very prolific, so that there is always care for offspring in the cleaning crew.
Also very helpful in the fight against algae in the pond is the Spitzschlammschnecke, which can be up to seven inches tall. This snail comes to the water surface to breathe and therefore survives even in garden ponds, in which the oxygen content in the summer months by the natural warming drops sharply. The beautifully colored post-horn snail and the small mud snail are also very effective algae eaters that help to maintain the biological balance.
Shells and crabs
While snails predominantly graze on the ground and on leaves algae, mussels and crabs have specialized in levitation. The pond mussels filter around 1,000 liters of water daily through their gills and feed on the blue and gravel algae they contain. Up to twenty centimeters in size, she is visually very attractive to look at.
The juveniles of the European freshwater shrimp are also very hungry for dormant birds and thus provide clear pond water. In addition, the aquatic animals that are willing to reproduce can easily hibernate in the pond if it is sufficiently deep.
Are there any algae-free fish?
Fish bring in many nutrients through their excretions and thereby promote algae growth. However, there are some species that also feed mainly on algae. Not used too high, they help to maintain the biological balance.
The rudd is well suited for smaller bodies of water, since this pretty-to-look fish grows to only about twenty to thirty centimeters in size. The commonly recommended silver carp, however, reach a size of over one meter and are therefore only something for generous garden ponds.
Tips
Algae in the pond are promoted by two factors: a high nutrient content and continuous solar radiation, which heats the water. For this reason, at least temporarily ensure that you are shaded, do not use too many animals and do not overfeed them. Strong water plants in sufficient numbers deprive the algae of important nutrients and thus ensure that the green plague does not overreach.