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  • Results 1 to 11 of 11

    Thread: Questions about a mud pond....

    1. #1
      Zefrik is offline Junior Member
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      Questions about a mud pond....

      I live in a gated community that has 3 large semi natural ponds. I am guessing the bottom of the pond is clay/dirt/gravel/sand mix. The ponds have all have one large fountain in the center of them. The ponds all had some goldfish in them last year until a water main broke and flooded the ponds killing most if not all of the fish. I was able to save some of them and keep them in an indoor pond over the winter. After talking with the community manager who takes care of the grounds and ponds they said I was free to choose a pond to release the fish into.

      Looking on Google Earth the pond is about 150ft x 50ft with the deepest area being about 4-5 feet.


      Here are the questions...

      - The pond is packed with bullfrogs, they are everywhere. There are literally thousands of tadpoles too. Do some of these frogs need to be exterminated/removed?

      - The bottom of the pond has a lot of leaves and other debris in it. Should some of this stuff be netted out?

      - These ponds are in low areas and they are where all the rain water from the streets drain to. Could this become a problem in the future?

      - Would any sludge reducing chemicals be of any help with the pond? I ask this because after the water main break the ponds went dormant for a while and became murky, sludgy and foul smelling.

      Thanks in advance for the replies. Any help will be much appreciated!

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    2. #2
      Zefrik is offline Junior Member
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      Here is a image of the pond from Google Earth.
      Attached Images Attached Images  

    3. #3
      inazuma28 is offline Senior Member
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      First off. Awesome job on the fish rescue!!

      #1) Bullfrogs will eat ANYTHING they can fit in their mouths, so goldfish are on the menue
      #2) I dont believe the water being stagnant for a long period of time is too much of a concern as long as it is airated now and can stay that way
      #3) which is the biggest issue is that the pond collects road runnoff and pollutants released from the water main break. All of these things could potencially be lethal to fish depending on the concentration.
      The good new is, that you can judge the health of the ecosystem by what biologists refer to as indicator species. Bull frogs may seem hardy, but they are far from it. Amphibians partially resperate through their skin as well as exchange fluids from their surroundings and they would be one of the first species to be wiped out if there was a toxic amount of any substance in the water. It is not an ideal home for fish, but as long as the airation is kept up with and the stocking density stays on the low side, it could provide a nice home for the fish who grow large enough to stay off the menue.

      p.s. Im sure 99% of the people on this forum are green with envy that you have access to a mud pond of that size. I know i would take advantage of it for growing koi as long as i was sure they could not escape into the natural ecosystem.

    4. #4
      inazuma28 is offline Senior Member
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      Also, I do not believe there is any way to 'remove' the frogs. They will be there and be constantly reproducing. Removing them one at a time would probably not affect the population all that much and the other option is to introduce a toxin which is environmentally irresponsable and would defeat the purpose of making a safe home for fish. The debris on the bottom of a pond of that size will not be an issue. Infact, it will be used as shelter from predators for the fish.

    5. #5
      Zefrik is offline Junior Member
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      Thanks inazuma! This has helped relieve some of my worries. Sadly I don't have any ownership over the pond and everything that I do to the pond has to be brought up with the manager and needs to get an okay from the community, which probably means I won't be able to do to much with the pond without people thinking I am abusing the privilege of being able to work with the pond. Maybe if I can show the community that I can get the pond fixed up I can get some more flexibility on what I can do with the pond.

    6. #6
      Zefrik is offline Junior Member
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      Tried to mark where the water run off is on the picture...
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    7. #7
      mat4644 is offline Senior Member
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      Ponds like this need a lot of aeration to stay healthy. One fountain in the end of a 150 foot pond is probably not enough. Ponds like these are usually gov required in housing developments to stabilize the flow of rain water off of the properties, looks are a secondary concern. There will be a lot of yard nutrients washed into the ponds. Bubblers made for ponds are more efficient than fountains.

    8. #8
      jimc2142003 is offline Supporting Member
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      I drove past a development not long ago that had a pond like this. I noticed fishing string woven across the pond in an irregular pattern. I saw a kid about 14 by the pond and stopped to talk to him. He had koi in the pond and was about to feed them. They were pretty low grade fish. He had always wanted a gold fish pond and his parents would not let him have one. I guess he founds his own. I don't know if he had permision or not. But is was actually pretty funny listening to him tell his pond story. He told me how his father busted his chops about not knowing how to fish, based on all his snags in the trees. His father had no clue the line was there to keep Herons from getting his fish.

    9. #9
      Joey S's Avatar
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      That's not a fish mud pond, it's a retention pond. The sole purpose of a retention pond is to collect the excess rain water. It will collect everything else including fertilizer run off. Not a good place for fish.
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    10. #10
      mat4644 is offline Senior Member
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      These are retention ponds mainly constructed to regulate water coming off of housing developments. While it is true that a fish kill might happen when the right conditions of runoff and applications on lawns it is still important to maintain some type of fish population for mosquito and other insect control. This type of pond also needs a lot of aeration to keep them looking good. Bubblers are more efficient energy wise compared to fountains. Often a fountain is installed for looks and additional bubblers as needed.

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    11. #11
      Victoria is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Zefrik View Post
      .....

      - The pond is packed with bullfrogs, they are everywhere. There are literally thousands of tadpoles too. Do some of these frogs need to be exterminated/removed?

      - The bottom of the pond has a lot of leaves and other debris in it. Should some of this stuff be netted out?

      - These ponds are in low areas and they are where all the rain water from the streets drain to. Could this become a problem in the future?

      - Would any sludge reducing chemicals be of any help with the pond? I ask this because after the water main break the ponds went dormant for a while and became murky, sludgy and foul smelling.
      -The bullfrogs will eat a lot of goldfish if available, but goldfish are great at reproducing and need some thinning anyway. (Bullfrogs also eat lots and lots of smaller bullfrogs so there won't be quite the population explosion suggested by the tadpole density.)
      -It would be good to net out some of the debris if practical
      -The effluent from the streets will probably be about as much of a problem in the future as it has been in the past. Since the fish did OK there before, they should do OK again if restocked
      -As far as I know, the sludge busters are ... well, kinda like snake oil.

      Just my 2 cents.
      -Victoria

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