fish question

[stacig]

is there any fish that i can add to the pond that eats alot of algea?besides a pascostomos(sorry bout my spelling).thanks

[Reedman]

Almost none of us live in a zone warm enough year round to add fish like plecostamus.

If you're talking about the short fuzzy algae growing on the liner/pots/etc., that's the good stuff.  You want to keep that.

If you're talking about the long string hair-like algae, that's the bad stuff.  Commercial barley straw bales are available - releases a chemical that prevents growth.

[Esther]

You are dreaming, aren't you? We'd all be putting them like crazy in our ponds if the fish could control the algae.

[PondmaninAL]

There is one that I have bought down here but I'm not sure if it will live in a pond in a zone cooler than zone 9. Tilapia are vegetarian until they run out of greens to eat. Then they will eat small critters.

Happy ponding,
Scott

[stacig]

scott thanks ther pacosmos dont seem to do the trick

[Shep]

We have a Plecos in our pond. We're located in Southeast Ga, I think its Zone 8b (no memory) and our Plecos has made it the last two winters. He gets very sluggish the colder it gets but is growing like a weed..... I wouldn't say he controls the algae but of course he helps..........

btw I don't know if it was an attempted suicide but he hopped in the small in pond skimmer a month ago and almost bit the big algae bullet.

[stacig]

i have 2 in mine that i have had for 5 years.i just wanted to see if there was something that does a better job at it.

[frloplady]

don't feed the fish as much? 

I love the carpet algae.  Right now the pond is almost bare of it as the fish have obviously munched on it over the winter.

Had only a little bit of string algae.  I'd need a really BIG pleco for the pond 

[stacig]

how ofton should i feed them then?

[Rocmon]

My goldies are constantly munching the algae, but they haven't been fed since they left the pet store... though they love me when I toss them an occasional worm.