Is mud good for my pond?

[Kaniff]

If I dig up some bulrush from a near by pond and want to put it in my 2500 gallon koi pond, is the all mud and dirt that came with the roots good for my pond or should I try and get most of it off first? I am thinking the mud might have a bunch of micro nutrients in it...or a bunch of parasites.

 

[HARO]

Yes, it probably has both, but I've always believed that SOME parasites are needed to allow the fish to build up a resistance to them. I know some of the folks on this forum go to great lengths to sterilize their plants before they put them in the pond, but I've never had a problem with a bit of dirt on the roots.
John

 

[Tula]

@sissy , has a good method of cleaning plants, before she puts them in her ponds. I would follow her advice, prior to placing them in your koi pond

 

[sissy]

Kio seem to be more prone to disease and not sure I would ever risk my koi to dirt that could carry whatever in with it .When you carry something in with the plant and have to spend a lot of money getting rid of it and loosing fish and they saying to yourself was it all worth that .Sorry but I love my fish to much for that and I have seen people do it and the result of it

 

[Lisak1]

I would be very careful about putting bulrushes in my pond - not because of the dirt but because they have the potential to push roots through your liner. I've seen cat tails go through cement. Stick to the dwarf varieties sold for ponds, is my advice.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If I dig up some bulrush from a near by pond and want to put it in my 2500 gallon koi pond, is the all mud and dirt that came with the roots good for my pond or should I try and get most of it off first? I am thinking the mud might have a bunch of micro nutrients in it...or a bunch of parasites.

Some level of parasitic organisms are ubiquitous to all aquatic habitats. Whether introduced with plants or from bird droppings or from frogs or other means, every pond has them. If your fish are healthy, the parasites will not bother them. It is only when fish become weakened are parasites and other pathogens able to negatively affect them.

 

[Smaug]

^^^^;;
Word