Underwater plants

[haver79]

Just wondering, do a lot of you have underwater plants like hornsworth or ancharis? I have been thinking of adding something but not sure what. Just put the pond in this summer and I am still working on the edges and such. I have put in a few marginals. and have several lilies in the pond. Also some WH in a very small floating ring.
Pond is in full sun all day. Approx 3000 gal 3 1/2' deep. Very shallow shelves. Mainly for rocks to help hide the liner. (still work in progress) Have 10 fish now in the pond. Goldies and 2 shubbies. No koi. I can see to the bottom but water is a little murkey.

 

[Mmathis]

Yes to both of the plants you mentioned.

 

[SouthernCross]

I have both but more anacharis than anything. I have heard that goldfish can feed off of anacharis so make sure you get plenty. It is also good for keeping algae at bay since it will help get rid of nutrients in the water.

 

[slakker]

Hornwort is what I've got lots of! Some parrot feathers too...

 

[haver79]

Maybe I will get some of both. I think my goldies have been doing a little spawning. Lots of chasing going on and I have nothing in the pond for any babies to hide in except the WH roots.

Do both of these plants survive the winter in the bottom of the pond?

 

[bfull1478]

I have always had anacharis on the bottom of my pond. They have definitely help my water quality. I just bunch them together in in plastic baskets with pea gravel holding them down. I have never had any luck overwintering them in my pond though. I always leave them there to give the fish a place to hide and a food source to nibble on during the winter. Every time I try to clean out my pond in the spring or move them around they just break apart into tiny pieces which makes a mess. When I put them in my hand they literally disintegrate. Maybe if I left them alone until late spring they might come back. I live in northern Indiana so we do have long winters with ice covering the surface. Although my pond I about 3 feet deep where the plants are so the water never totally freezes around them. I use a slightly heated bubbler and a surface deicer so I never get move than 3-5 inches of frozen water at the surface. I am also curious if anyone with similar climate has had any success. I just buy new ones every year.

 

[addy1]

I tossed anacharis into my small fishless ponds and have some in the deck pond with just two shubunkins, they are not more than 2 feet deep, get pretty frozen over the winter. The anacharis comes back great. I don't mess with it at all, so not sure if it would break up in the spring, right now healthy long strands. I toss some into the big pond every now and then, the fish eat it right up and quickly.

Last winter the ice was 7 inches deep on a stock tank that was fishless at the time, the ponds with the anacharis no clue on how deep the ice went.

 

[hdavid44]

Having solved my water clarity problem with an in-line UV light between the large pond and the bog, I am now turning my attention to reducing the work of cleaning out the fish waste from the bog (failed to include a bottom drain in the bog!!).

I am wondering what would be the best water plants -- submerged or floating -- that the fish can eat and which are low maintenance? Buy them once and forget?

Water hyacinths have to be renewed each year. My pond freezes down to about one foot each winter.

I have considered anachris, hornwort, and parrots feathers. Any comments on which absorbs the most fish waste and will be eaten by koi and comets?

On a separate point, I have failed dismally to cultivate lotus -- even when potted by the vendor!!

Harry

 

[haver79]

Thanks for the replys at this stage of the summer I may just wait until next spring. I do believe I want to try some hornsworth and anacharis both.