It is now officially Spring and your ponds are starting to wake from their winter dormancy. The aquatic plants are showing signs of growth - some even flowering. The wildlife is beginning to stir with frog spawn appearing in suitable ponds a real feeling that there is better weather to come!
Pond fish are much more active now for longer periods of the day while the water temperature is higher and the sun is dancing on the water surface.
Spring is the best time to give your pond its annual service – checking all stages of pond filters are working fully, replacing UV bulbs for the coming season (most are only really effective for 9 months and then only if the quartz sleeves they are housed in are cleaned of dirt), aquatic plants need trimming and dividing with the new growth keen to root and re-establish quickly, lilies and marginal’s need feeding with a pond plant fertiliser to encourage healthy growth and flowers, check for any leaks in liners or a build up of dirt in the pond that will need removing.
It is not only the pond that needs scrutinising; your fish too need to be observed for early signs of damage or disease from the hardships of winter. The fish may only just be moving around but all those nasty disease causing bacteria are active at much lower temperatures meaning they may already have infected your fish. If your fish are looking as if they need a boost but have no obvious symptoms then a general pond tonic may be worth using, but if there are specific symptoms such as ulcers, finrot, fungus or parasites then the correct pond treatment needs to be chosen.
Any maintenance on pond filters at this time of year will need to be combined with a filter enhancer to rejuvenate the beneficial waste reducing bacteria which will have been lost during maintenance. These bacteria are an essential part of an efficient filtration process and reapplying then will mean no drop in water quality.
These newly active fish will need feeding! A good quality food will help to boost their immune systems and increase their general vitality. Make sure that the food is fresh – food left open for too long will have gone off and lost its vitamin content or worse. The food needs to be the right size and type for your fish, floating types are generally better as you can easily monitor how much your fish are eating without the wasted food polluting the pond water. There is a great range of Pond Foods available to choose from now so your fish can be spoilt for choice!
But most of all make time to sit back, relax and enjoy your ponds and water features – after all that is why they are there!
