Pond inherited- help!

[Sarahbee123]

My parents recently bought a house with a fish pond. There are five small fish living in it. We would like to keep it, but know nothing about pond keeping. I guess to start, I would like to know if all of this algae is normal and if it is alive or dead. How to control it, remove it, etc. would be very helpful. This area of the house gets a lot of sun. It seems like the pond needs a lot of tlc.

thanks in advance!

 

[TheFishGuy]

My parents recently bought a house with a fish pond. There are five small fish living in it. We would like to keep it, but know nothing about pond keeping. I guess to start, I would like to know if all of this algae is normal and if it is alive or dead. How to control it, remove it, etc. would be very helpful. This area of the house gets a lot of sun. It seems like the pond needs a lot of tlc.

thanks in advance!

Welcome to the forum!

The algae is perfectly normal, and your pond really doesn't have to much of it, I am mostly seeing sediment on the bottom of your pond. The main algae we all try to avoid is micro algae, which makes your water green and unpleasant.

There are quite a few things about your pond that could be improved, such as adding filtration ( I don't see any right now but correct me if i am wrong ) and possibly making the pond a little larger and deeper to support the fish, however it isnt a bad starting point!

 

[Sarahbee123]

Thanks so much for the reply! There is something that is laying in the middle of the pond that looks like it is sucking in the water and then coming out in a small waterfall. You’ll see it laying in the middle with the hose attached. We are not even familiar with the inner workings and pieces of pond so any help is great!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

If there is writing on the pump see what it says. When the water spits back into the pond does it got through anything else?

 

[j.w]

@Sarahbee123
Adding some plants to the pond would be nice for you and the fish. Makes it look more natural and gives the fish a place to hide and helps the water keep clean by sucking up excess nutrients.

 

[Sarahbee123]

Welcome to the forum!

If there is writing on the pump see what it says. When the water spits back into the pond does it got through anything else?

I will check. The pump is covered with a net bag or something I think. I will have to pull it out to see. I’ll also check to see if it goes through anything else but doesn’t seem to. Thanks!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome!

Where are you located? Can you estimate how big the pond is (length, width and depth)?

 

[JamieB]

From the picture, it looks like you’ve got common goldfish, maybe comets, my phone isn’t letting me get a good look at the tails. If your parents can, see if the previous owners can/ will give them information on the pond set up. The pond could definitely use some plants. It will help with reducing the labor needed that goes into a pond. If you and or your parents are interested in keeping the pond, read through various articles on here. You’ll see us talking about what goes into pond keeping, various things we do and do not suggest, and our best bits of advice.
1) don’t add chemicals! Except dechlorinater, if you’re on town/ city water. Avoid that area if you spray the yard with pesticides, fertilizer, weed killers, and so on.
2) those 5 fish will multiply. Good filtration and not feeding too much will help keep numbers manageable.

 

[GBBUDD]

What ever changes you make i would make them slowly. Like was mentioned above the algae is doing well , your pond looks like a pond. This does not mean it is a healthy environment for the fish but is says it's doing pretty well at the same time.
Most on this site are fans of a biological bog . Thats where mother nature is given a home an area to grow and thrive. All your rocks are like a individual farm . The bacteria is growing all over those rocks and believe it or not is probably one of the main reasons your pond water is so clear. So if you have 50 farms in the pond washing off the unattractive fuzz on the rocks could be very much like slicing the wrists of the pond . Thats why i said what ever you do do it slowly . That peach fuzz on the rocks may have taken years to grow and could actually be a gold mine for your set up. Do you need to keep it like that ..no .. Thats where most here give the bacteria a place to grow in a bog and hope to have nice clear water with minimal peach fuzz on the rocks and avoid algae blooms both in the water and over growing everything.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

welcome sarahbee and thanks for caring for the fish!