Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Should I be worried?

Welcome to the forum Barry, from a fellow South Louisianian.

It's hard to say exactly what you have without seeing it, but chances are, it's probably FA (Filamentous Algae), but it could be pollen as well. If it is FA, it usually doesn't become much of a problem as the summer months come on, but it's a good indicator that you've got a fertile pond. It may become an issue this fall and winter tho. It grows on the bottom in shallow water, and when it starts to die, air bubbles get trapped in it and it floats to the surface and looks like a mossy mess. With it being a young pond, you probably dont have much for shoreline vegetation yet. Without another source to use up excess nutrients, it's a battle to keep it under control. There are some algaecides you can use to knock it down. Copper Sulfate works well, but be careful not to treat too heavily all at once.

I've been battling pollen all spring and it gets stacked up as a greenish brown scum on the windblown side of the pond. If you touch it and it seperates like oil on water, it may be pollen. If it doesnt seperate, it may be a phytoplankton bloom dieing off. A couple of questions...

How deep is your pond and how deep is the visibility? If it's real clear, sunlight can penetrate into deeper water and let FA and other plant life grow deeper. 16-24" is another good indicator of a fertile pond. Not a bad thing because it's the base of your food chain.

When you feed, how quickly do your fish clean it up? If there is feed still floating after about 10 minutes, you may be adding nutrients for algae to feed on. It should be gone pretty quickly.

Do you have plans to put in an aeration system? Algae has a hard time growing in water that is well oxygenated, and I can tell you, down here, around August/September, your pond is going to get HOT!!! The hotter it is, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold, good for algae (especially blue green algae), bad for fish.

Do you plan to source some plants to start growing around the banks? They will help use up excess nutrients and make it tough on algae to grow. Iris, arrowhead, rushes, and some forms of lillies will help. Just be mindful of aggressive/invasive plants like milfoil, coontail, hydrilla, and hyacinth. They are all bad news down here.

Hope this helps a little. You're in a good place to learn a lot about managing your pond. Good to have you!!