Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Golden Algae

Many ponds in N. Texas - as mine - that are fed off of the Wichita / Brazos Rivers suffer golden algae kills. I have a 1.3 acre aerated pond that was a great bass and bluegill pond until around 2000 when golden algae blumes began and I lost 100% of my fish at that time. I had the water tested and toxic numbers of golden algae /cc were documented in the pond as the source of the kill. Interestingly enough, at that time, the TPWD denied my claim and stated no ponds in Texas had ever been affected by the G. algae. They have since retracted that claim. The kills in all of these small impoundments is near 100% - minnows and all. Last fall I stocked coppernose BG, black crappie, fatheads minnows and catfish for the third time since 2000. About a month prior to this stocking (desperate to try somthing different), I placed barley straw (4 bales per acre)in the pond. I now have bluegill starting to feed - thus this is the first time in 6 years I have not had a winter blume take out ALL of the fish. A friend of mine stocked his pond at the same time and did not place any barley. He has once again had a total kill thru the winter just as he has had since 2000. Although never documented to help against golden algae, barley straw is thought, by some, to help algae problems in ponds so I thought it was worth a try. I just replenished the straw for the summer so I will see what happens. This is probably coincidental and is certainly not a study with any statistical significance, but I do have one of the only ponds (off of the Wichita R.)in this area that did not suffer a kill over the winter - and was the only one trying the barley. I would appreciate any comments or thoughts from anyone, especially Bob L., if you are reading this, as we have communicated with each other about this problem thru the years. Thanks, Doc Myers.

Doc,

Very interesting post. I've read and heard about those golden algae kills for several years, but did not know it also was in the surrounding drainage.

He is a very busy man, but I would suggest you contact Dr. Mike Masser at Texas A&M with your information.

Thanks for your informative post and good luck.

p.s. check your PM for additional info.

Meadowlark,
Thanks for the info and the contact name at A & M. Since you are from E. Texas, you probably live close to my all time favorite lake - Fork. Hopefully it will never effect it. As you may know it has decimated PK fish numbers.
Thanks again for the response.

It not only decimated PK fish numbers but pretty well clobbered the local economy.

Doc, I don't understand how your 1+ acre pond is fed off the River System. Can you explain?

Dave,

Thanks for the response.

There is a large irrigation ditch out of Lake Diversion that then feeds many ponds here in the Wichita Falls area. Lake Diversion is "infested" with G. algae the same as PK and thus most of the ponds that get water from it have the same problem. The state fish hatchery at Dundee utilizes the waters of L. Diversion and have maintained a fish population by utilizing a very expensive and work intensive program with Ammonium sulfate to treat their ponds - not a realistic possibility for us normal pond owners. Many ponds in this area that are spring fed or fed by natuaral drainage have stayed clear of G. algae.

You are right - it is not about the fish and is definitely about the pond (or lake), but thus far noone seems to have a handle at all on the problem and once the pond (or lake) has the problem, there is no documented solution to it. I wish I could "take care of my pond so the fish would be fine" but thus far the reseach supports no realistic options for one to do so once G. algae becomes a problem. I posted the barley straw treatment as more than likely a coincidence and not as a realistic solution, but to hear comments and thoughts from others trying to combat the problem. (And also I told Bob L. last fall in this forum that I would post any results that came from it.)

I appreciate the comments and hopefully Bowie and Amon Carter will stay clear.

Are any of the people that are draining also sterilizing the basin? If so, is it not killing the algae?

The barley straw application is pretty interesting. I wonder if TPWD is experimenting with it and hope you will keep reporting. A good experiment might be for your neighbor to apply barley straw after the infestation/fish kill and restock. If barley straw is a good treatment, I wonder how long its properties remain viable.

To non Texans, PK, or Possum Kingdom, is one of the several large lakes on the Brazos River System. It is about 75 miles West of Fort Worth. Texas has only one natural lake. The rest are all man made power generation and drinking water impoundments. It suffered a couple of years of golden algae attacks with widespread fish kills. It had some really great fishing for striped bass, LMB and white bass. The fish kill was almost total. I talked to a TPWD guy who told me that they figured the river channel was probably about 6 ft. deep in dead fish. The channel runs for many miles and width varies. The lake has quite a few expensive, really expensive, homes along the shorelines. With dead fish washing onto the shoreline, nobody visited and nobody really wanted to even visit the beaches to swim. It killed the local economy and devastated real estate prices. It has been restocked and they are all holding their breath regarding future infestation. The magnitude of the infested waters preclude chemical treatment.

Doc,

Have you or others seen indications that it is spreading beyond the Brazos drainage basin? I haven't seen or read of any indications that Fork is involved or any other East Texas drainage basins.

This is an extremely important item that has potential widespread implications to everyone that enjoys freshwater fishing. If you doubt it, just look at what whirling disease has done to many areas dependent on trout fishing in the West.

Special thanks to you for continuing to focus attention to the problem and threats posed by this algae. The more it is talked about, the more concerns are expressed, perhaps the higher the chances of finding a solution.

Actually, a potential state record striper was caught at Possum Kingdom spillway not long before the golden algae kill. I say potential because it burped up a rainbow trout at the weighin and I think the fisherman got escorted away.

ML, I'm not hearing much about it these days. I have friends who own some PK properties and they are holding their breath.

Doc's barley straw experiment is really interesting. I expect his friends will try it next year. I'm hoping that their ponds stay clean. Although it wouldn't be feasable for large bodies of water, if it works out, it might provide the "innoculation" that private pond owners need.

What about the other lakes on the Brazos like Granbury and Whitney? I take my minnow seine to the Brazos and Paluxy rivers several times a summer? Am I in danger of carrying it home with me?

BrianH,

Based on Doc's experience, I sure would not take anything out of that basin back to my ponds. Not only is there a risk to your ponds, but also to others nearby that may also become contaminated by the transport mechanisms, e.g. birds, turtles, humans,etc.

Doc, I just reread that and absolutely could not believe what I was reading. What are they thinking? Do they have absolute assurance that there is no transport mechanism involved with fish? Are they risking the entire State of Texas to exposure to this algae? I can't believe anyone would be that stupid. They must know it isn't a risk to transport via fish.

Guys..just had a few minutes to look at the site and thought it appropriate to dive into this one. I have studied golden algae in detail, since it affects several ponds I manage along the Red River and Brazos system. Dr. Myers, I do believe barley straw can have a positive impact, especially on smaller ponds. ML, fish aren't the problem, the water is. Golden algae has specific requirements, such as salinity. Lake Diversion is a salty lake, fed by salt water springs in the upper watershed, some of the same springs which feed the Salt Fork of the Brazos. More ponds are affected from the Wichita River system than the Brazos, because Diversion is an irrigation source. The Diversion hatchery (Dundee) has figured out how to deal with the water, too.
I can think of at least 15 ponds on the Diversion system which have had fish kills due to golden algae.
Some state biologists believe golden algae can move via spores in the air, but must have a certain salinity, or they don't dominate the system. Golden algae likes cool to cold water, and overwhelms 'good' plankton and algae.
There have been fish kills in Lakes of the Brazos, and parts of the Red River and Lake Texoma.
Dr. M....Barley may well be the 'silver bullet' for golden algae. People are working with it, and I am glad you are, too.
BrianH, so far there is no evidence that golden algae moves to water with fish, unless the WATER is of the chemistry the dreaded stuff needs. That means you can transfer fish into clean, unsalty water. I'd be more worried about the species of fish you transfer.

Bob,

Good explaination. Thanks.

However, all those ponds wouldn't meet the salinity requirements, it would seem. Oh well, I'll sleep better with that data and can restore my confidence in the fish hatchery folks.

Dave,

Barley straw has been used extensively in Europe with noted sucess but the sucess has not been well documented here in the U.S.

The straw is supposed to be replaced every 4-6 months - or when it is 75% decomposed. The rate of application is 2 bales/surface acre - mild algae growth, 4 bales - moderate and 6 bales - heavy growth. I placed 4 / acre last fall and just changed those out with 4 fresh bales last week.

I am putting it out by dividing it into 6 mesh bags per bale ancored around the pond. It supposedly works well also to simply tear the bales apart and throw it into the water (more unsitely for sure).

I am reservedly excited about the possibility of this working and will keep posting the results on this site. I currently have 2 other pond owners who have had continual 100% fish kills (also documented by water tests) over the last 6 years who are also going to try the barley - so it should add a little credibility to the study if their fish survive also. Maybe this is all wishful thinking - but otherwise we just have great big swimming pools!

I appreciate all the comments..

Each one of those ponds either directly receives the same water from gravity flow from the irrigation ditch system, or the pond owners have directly pumped from the Wichita River system. Either way, the water comes from Lake Kemp, into Lake Diversion, down the irrigation ditches or Wichita River. One man, in particular, owns an oxbow lake off the Wichita River. He lost all his fish to golden algae. He had been keeping his lake full by using an irrigation pump and filling from the Wichita River, just a few miles from where it dumps into the Red River. He decided to pump his 35 acre lake down to two feet in depth. While that was happening, he drilled a well, and built some terraces to funnel fresh rainwater into the oxbow. So far, so good. His salinity has been cut by two-thirds and we restocked the lake. His lake looks promising.
Dr Myers has a really pretty lined pond in his back yard. He should be able to document results over the long term.
The irrigation water has had salt as high as 4,500 ppm, but 'normal' is 3,000.
Funny thing, though. Golden algae never reared its ugly head for decades until one of the agencies started plugging some of the salt springs in the far reaches of the upper watershed in an attempt to de-salinate water for drinking purposes. They built several reservoirs to collect salt water, spread it out and let it evaporate. Not sure that 'caused' the problem, but it could have had an impact.
I spent three years west of Wichita Falls, using that same water to raise catfish when I first got out of college. About the only thing the water can be used for is fish and to irrigate coastal bermuda. Too salty for much anything else.

JKM - I think barley straw could be beneficial in your ability to control the golden alga (Prymnesium parvum) in your pond. I say this because P.parvum is a form of Chrysophyta algae and has recently been taxonomically placed in the algal Class of Haptophyceae. These algae are all planktonic, flagellated, delicate and very small compared to most other algae. My limited experience with haptophytes is that they are quite sensitive to copper as a herbicide. Since P.parvum is structurally a delicate individual, I think P.parvum could be pretty vulnerable to the derivatives from the lignin leacheates in barley straw. Keep us posted on the success of your efforts.

Bill - I will keep you posted. Do you think copper sulfate should be added also? My pond water is very alkine (>200) so adding it should should be relatively safe as far as fish toxicity goes.

Bill - forget the above copper sulfate question. After reading some of your and Kelley's previous posts about copper in the hydrosoil lasting forever..I think I'll stay away from that potential problem.

JKM - I was not suggesting that you add copper sulfate or any copper based chemicals to your pond to treat the P.parvum. I just mentioned it to indicate that these guys are very sensitive to copper based products. Also when P.parvum is collected for analysis one has to be very careful how it is preserved due to the organism's delicate nature. I am concluding that based on their highly sensitive nature, they are likley going to be sensitive to leachates from barley straw.

Your very high alkalinity is why P.parvum grows in your pond.

I have read on another forum that hay will do the same thing and clear up the pond. Does anyone have experience using hay for this purpose?

The other forum that I read is the Mississippi forum.http://www.mdwfp.com
If this does not get you to the forum please let me know. This was by request.