Fish Pond Maintenance – Spring 2013

After the harsh winter of 2012 into 2013, the time came with the eventual warmer weather to carry out some essential maintenance for our fish. This entailed emptying the pond, re-housing the fish halfway through, cleaning it, filling it back up and then putting them back. A fun day with Chris from Essential Ponds ensued…

Tanks set up ready by Alde Barn to take as much pond water as we could save. Pumping began and took several hours.

The Pond half-full. Half-empty? No, half-full? Oh, I don’t know!

Very murky-looking water! No fish in there yet.

Cue the Jaws music as Chris goes in. Unfortunately, he is a professional and didn’t slip in so no amusing Youtube video.

Netting them one by one, into buckets and into the holding tanks. Great to see them this close after so long. And looking so healthy. They’ve certainly grown in the year that they have been in there.

Empty pond.

Bizarrely we had ONE solitary baby fish!

Happily swimming about in the holding tanks.

A few weeks on, the filter and pump station appears to be working well, the blanket weed is at bay so far and the fish seem content in their cleaner pond. We are now stocking up with new aquatic plants for the year ahead.

Huge thanks to Chris for his expertise and calmness! For sensible sound advice, you can contact Chris on 01728 860748 or 07901 710107 and check out Chris’s website.