07-27-2010, 12:59 PM
We have a good-sized pond full of lots of koi, swordtails and mosquito fish, and everyone gets along fine. We keep it 70% covered with hyacinths, which are in bloom right now and are lovely. When we pull these out (easy with a carefully-manipulated rake; read: don't touch the liner), we put them at the base of trees, etc., to feed the plants. I would suggest you keep some areas of the pond not too deep -- we got some waterlilies to add to the mix, and the pond is too steep and too deep for them - no place to put the pot. We managed to save one from doom by moving it to the shallow "stream" that feeds the pond (water is pumped from the pond underground back up to the top of the stream and mini waterfall) and the lily has gone NUTS there.
Peter, any advice on keeping what algae we DO get down? It's the stringy type and right now it seems to be on the rise. I tell my husband to just let the hyacinths cover the whole pond, but he says the koi want some light. Who's right?
Peter, any advice on keeping what algae we DO get down? It's the stringy type and right now it seems to be on the rise. I tell my husband to just let the hyacinths cover the whole pond, but he says the koi want some light. Who's right?