observations in changes in the pond(s)

This year I lost all my koi and many goldfish due to a power outage, 19 below
temperatures and a combination of lost air pump and where is the d*mn floating
heater. All excuses that are really not being prepared for Mother Nature's
dirty tricks. It is to be noted the bullfrog survived all this just fine. An
addendum to Mother Nature's chicanery.

Anyway.
This year I've got about 10 large goldfish and 10 small goldfish in 3,000
gallons.
I've noticed an increase water skeeters and snails in the pond. From about zero
to lots. I think the water skeeters came over from the frog bog (they fly,
kewl!) and the snails have been surviving in the veggie filter. I'm enjoying
these critters.

The frogs' eggs I put in an aluminum tub on the deck went from hatching to
swimming around to completely disappearing. No changes to froglets, its like
they wasted away. I can watch their siblings in the bog to see where they
should have been in their development. I was feeding them so they didn't
starve. More like a failure to thrive. The container, maybe? Doing some
research I'm betting it is. Aluminum and frogs don't mix well. On the plus side
the small tropical lily I have in there has three buds! I know it is going to
bloom when I'm OT next week, drat the thing. I will leave a camera with my dog
sitter with instructions to take a picture.

The middle tub has rush and duckweed and zillions of seed shrimp who zoom
around like demented sesame seeds on the highway to nowhere. Round and round
they go. They love to eat rotting romaine lettuce and fallen insects. A
bloodworm thrown in there attracts them to completely cover the thing.

The frog bog is completely grown over. This year's award for most prolific
plants go to pennywort and lizard's tail. Most of the taller plant stems have
the left over nymph case of a dragon or damselfly on them. Dark pink water
lilies are thriving in there, only ten inches deep but a huge growth, all from
a tuber tossed in there as I was walking by. Amazing. Miniature horsetail rush
is the slowest growing bog plant on the planet. It has grown out about an inch
and I'm pretty sure this is its third summer.

So any changes surprise you this year?



kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html