Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Invasion of the Water Blob

I was in the water last night cleaning out floating weeds in the vicinity of the diffusers. I noticed some solid gelatinous balls sitting on the bottom. I moved one of them into shallow water to have a look at it. It was about 8 inches in diameter and is covered with 3/8 inch diameter "eyes". They are not really eyes, but I am struggling to describe this thing. This thing has considerable weight. It does not seem to have the ability to move.There were many more on the lake bottom and most were much larger. Anyone know what it is? Is it animal or vegetable?

Frog eggs? I have seen something like that once north of Sudbury on some branches along shore. Kinda looked like a hornets nest in size but had all these eye like eggs I thought.

I real don't know 100% just a guess.

Cheers Don.

Probably something in between animal and plant - aka "moss animals" - aka Bryozoan.

An interesting read linked HERE .

Yes!!! That's the beast. I have a whole herd or flock of them. I hope they are part of the food chain that is eating the muck by the aerators.

Bryozoans existing in your pond is a sign of good water quality.

Weird though!

That's pretty cool! Saw them in the Adirondacks last year, along with the freshwater jellyfish. I cannot imagine they use much of the water's nutrient load as they are mostly jelly, but are probably helped by the good aeration and circulating water.

As far as I can tell, nothing touches them as far as being eaten, and their growth rate is odd, as they seem to just "appear". I wonder if the "blobs" are in some deflated state while maturing, and then when conditions are right, they absorb water and get into the ball shape? Did you notice them before as smaller objects?

I wonder what someone's response would be if they were walking in their pond, bare feet, and stepped on one!

Ever stepped in a big pile of dog or cow mess ? Same feel.

Like this from one of the lakes.

A big Bryozoan

Duffie's picture pretty much resembles the blob that Chet got turned into near the end of 'Weird Science.'

You're right!!!

So you actually want to see these in your pond?