[MWG] Today's Pond Q&A
------------------------------- Today's Pond Q&A In this issue: - WORMS IN THE FILTER - HOW DO I KILL THEM? - WINTER INDOORS? - BUT WHEN AND HOW DO I DO IT? ----------------------------- Question> Hi Carolyn! I was cleaning out my pond filters yesterday and noticed for the first time small red worms in the filters. They are about the size of a fingernail clipping. Do you know what they might be and how I should treat the water to kill them? I put pond salt in the water so hope that will do the trick but if I should do something else, please let me know. Thanks - Barb ========== @SK Carolyn ============= Have a pond question? Just send it in to: Carolyn@macarthurwatergardens.com and our own in-house pond expert will try and answer it for you! Write "POND" in the subject line for immediate attention! ==================================== Answer> Hi, Barb, They aren't any harm to your pond. These are the small bloodworms you would buy in the pet shop if you were looking for live food for tropical fish! If you try to kill them you might just upset the balance of nature in your pond, so I would leave them alone. We all have them. It's not a nice thing to look at but they are harmless and normal to be there. - Carolyn == Question> Hi again Carolyn. A few weeks ago you advised me to take my fish in this winter because my pond is so shallow and the winters here in northeastern Ohio are pretty cold. I still have a few questions to ask you. The first is, how cool should the pond water be till I have to bring them in? Also, should I use pond water to fill the aquarium inside or can I use tap water or a combination? Also, should we keep the same feeding habits as if the fish were still outside? I think that's all for now unless you can think of something I may have missed as you obviously know alot more about this than I do. Thank you again for all the knowledge you bring with your pond q&a's. I appreciate it and I know my fish do as well as it helps me in keeping them alive. Pondfully, - Mike Malcuit == Answer> Well, Mike- I think the fish will do best if you don't shock them with 100% new water, for starters. A 50/50 mix should work. The temperature should be the same, or within two degrees in both places when you transfer them, and make the move slowly, as you would from a pet shop, gradually allowing them to acclimate to the new water. The chemicals and minerals are different in the new water. I would not wait until the water is too cold before bringing them inside. It is still warm now, but whenever your area weather starts to cool off at night is when the transfer should take place. Remember, in a shallow pond the temperature fluctuates rapidly, creating more stress for the fish from day to night. As for the feeding, that depends entirely upon the indoor temperatures and environment. Do you have a good filter system in there to process and nitrify the ammonia produced by feeding? Will you have easy access for water changes? If not there could be a nitrate or phosphate build-up which is not healthy for them. If the temperature is around 72-76 like most homes, I think they are going to be metabolizing and needing fuel. Hope this helps. - Carolyn == Happy Pondkeeping! Brett Fogle MacArthur Water Gardens www.macarthurwatergardens.com © MacArthur Water Gardens 1698 SW 16th ST Boca Raton, FL 33486 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This email is never sent without permission. You (or someone using your email address) bought something from MacArthur Water Gardens, or signed up for our newsletter, affiliate program, mini-course or requested a fr^e report.. The information we have on file is Your name: Friend Your email: If you wish to be removed from this list, simply click once on the link below.
Message Added: October 4th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
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