Pond is foaming

[Bob_A]

For some reason I'm getting foam forming beneath my waterfall. I've had that happen before for maybe one day after using algaefix, but I haven't used anything like that. It's been foaming for three or four days. Thoughts?

[dperry]

Do you have fish?  Have they been actively chasing one another?  Mine were spawning this last week.  Fish milt (seminal fluid) is sprayed over the eggs that the female expels (external fertilization).  High in protein, it causes the water to foam. The foam will dissipate as the protein decomposes.

[Bob_A]

Yes, plenty of fish. Haven't noticed them spawning yet. I figured that the foam was related to a protein buildup. I'll have to see what happens.

[landey1230]

Post pics if you have little babies!

[Bob_A]

I have little babies every year, it's hard enough to see them, it would be very difficult to photograph them.

[dperry]

Some years ago, my wife wanted to see the baby fish from the spawning of our pond goldfish.  I have a separate, above ground lily pool/settling tank that takes its water from the bottom of the pond.  When the fish spawn, eggs get sucked up by the bottom drain and end up in that pool, where they are easy to spot attached to strands of algae.  I put some of the eggs in a plastic peanut butter jar, took them inside and, in a few days they hatched.  This video is taken with a regular video camera right through the plastic wall of the jar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJiQEfIXuc4

[Bob_A]

Cool video, I usually spot them when they're about 3/8 of an inch long.

[SueSTx]

I call the new goldies "eye lashes", I first thought they were mosquito larvae.  Now I pray the big fish eat all the eggs.

[Bob_A]

It turns out that pond foam can be caused by too many fish and/or too much fish poop.
Seems that it can also be caused by only running one of your two pumps, which is what I was doing.
Started up my second pump and within 24 hours the foam was gone.

[matherfish]

Glad you found the cause of your problem. Post pics when you can.