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By Brett Fogle
Summer is over, but for many of us - the heat remains.
Here a couple of things to do to keep your fish healthy
and your pond clear going into winter. First, remember
to keep your pond well aerated. This is very important
to your fish because the pond water actually holds less
oxygen at higher pond temperatures. So if it's still
hot in your part of the country, keep those waterfalls
and fountains running! This will keep your pond water
full of oxygen, and reduce stress on your fish.
If you see your goldfish or KOI gasping at the surface,
it's a good sign that you don't have enough dissolved
oxygen in the water, and this can be dangerous.
Especially if you have a lot of green water algae in
the pond. This algae can absorb much of the oxygen in
the pond water at night and cause very low dissolved
oxygen levels during the day - which can be deadly to
fish!
Koi Photo by Kimberly Vetrano
One thing we recommend this time of year, is to do a
partial water change. Drain off 10 - 25% of your total
pond volume, and replace it with fresh, new
dechlorinated water. If possible, vacuum or drain
decaying organic matter and debris off the bottom to
reduce the ponds bio-load.
Your fish will usually be vibrant and playful after a
water change. It's like giving them a 'breath of fresh
air' and invigorates them. Again, we only recommend a
10 - 25% water change right now - but feel free to
experiment with whatever works best for your pond.
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Remember to re-add your pond salt whenever you drain
and add new water. Having a salt water test kit is also
helpful, or a digital salinity meter, to determine
optimum salt levels.
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Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several
other pond-related websites including
MacArthurWatergardens.com
and Pond-Filters-Online.com. He
also publishes a free monthly
newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over
9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE
'New Pond Owners Guide' visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!
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More articles on creating and maintaining beautiful garden ponds
See Also...
Setting Up A Goldfish Pond
An article guiding you in how to setup a Garden pond with goldfish.
Hand Feeding your Koi
Here's how to hand feed your koi fish. In no time, you can be feeding your pond fish by hand. It's easy, once you know how!
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