Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants does algae grow in cold water?

Hi,yall I have a small trout pond (not all fish are trout, fish are bass bluegill perch crapie). anyhow i was wondering about an algea that started growing on the rocks and old submerged spring house this winter after i stocked with trout I think it;s filamentous algae, but after a heavey rain it all floats to the top and the pond gets suds on it like some one took a bath. the fish don't seem to mind but i do. Anybodys 2 cents are apriciated.

Yes there are cold water algae varieties , both planktonic and others ( Filamentous ).

Filamentous Algae, aka Pond Scum/Moss – from the archive.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92633#Post92633

Eric my visability last Winter [2011/2012] was pretty bad, due to some kind of a bloom. Most years, like this one, I have 60-80" - last year it was more like 24". No clue what species it was, but some kind of cold water diatom or plantonic algae bloom. Glad it's gone this year!

Thanks for the imfo.

It likely resulted in you having high first year yoy survival and better conditioned fish. So not a bad thing

Small pond,

Filamentous algae in the winter can be indicative of overfeeding in a small pond. Be careful you don't over feed.

Suds from decomposing algae suggests that the algae had a gelatinous coating that when it decays releases proteins into the water. Aeration with proteins will produce suds - bubbles. Several algae species have gelatinous coatings and it is most common in bluegreen algae (Cyanobacteria).

thank yall for the imformation I thought someone was playing a mean prank on me involving soap. I supose I am over feeding I give the pigs all they will eat and through in a little more in case they get hungry again. I do see pelets sunk on the bottom but thats also how I found a huge leak in the pond the sunk pelets gathered in one spot so i covered them in a couple of wheelbarrows of dirt and packed it down no more leak i'll change some of my feeding habits for sure.thankyou.

Only feed what they can consume in 15 minutes or less. If there is food left after that, cut back. The little bit that they might grab later isn't worth the bad things that happen from overfeeding.

The last two days all of the fa has been floating to the top and it has covered the entire pond what's causing this? Could draining then refilling the pond have something too do with it?

Typically FA grows on the pond bottom where it can get sunlight to grow. It grows thick enough to trap gasses (air, etc) and that causes it to break free from the bottom and float.

Why does it grow? There is sunlight for it and enough nutrients. Nutrients can be in the ground, fish poop, decaying leaves and organic material, uneaten fish food, etc.

Easier said than done, but to stop it from growing you have to
1) not let it get sunlight
or
2) reduce the amounts of nutrients available to it so it starves.

You may be feeding too many fish for the size pond you have.

There are quite a few species of filamentous algae that are specially adapted to grow in cold water especially 'trout type water' of streams and ponds. They belong to genera such as Stigeoclonium, Draparnaldia, Uronema, Ulothrix. Provide more nutrients and these algae can really flourish. Many of these species are not commonly seen in warm water ponds even during the cold weather season.

Smallpond,

Bill is an expert on the subject.

If it makes you fell any better your particular species of FA may subside when the pond temps goes up a little. At least mine does. On the other hand Chara takes over which may rob the FA of nutrients.

I think I'm seeing this for the first time on the creek that runs through our property. While we had some warmer temps last week, they were brief and we've barely approached 40 degrees all week this week. This creek is normally very healthy. Flows well, bends, plenty of deeper waters as well as breaks. But we now have a beaver dam downstream and seems to have nearly stopped the flow and may have caused this algae to build up nearly everywhere. I don't ever recall algae on this creek.

Can someone identify the algae for me if I post a picture? Thanks. cecil what is chara, and how do you get it?