Pond Boss Forums PHOTO GALLERY Image Gallery Brown/orange/red scum developing

Here are some pics of the scum. Wind is from the west, all the scum is on the east side. Comments?

Looks like different stages of decaying/live filamentous algaes to me.

Cody may be able to tell the species from the pics.

Very fertile water. Break up the stuff with water movement. What is your visibility ?

Some blue-green algae , some FA and some planktonic algae.

Eric

Please help me identify blue green algae in these photos. B/G is toxic, correct? All pondmeisters would benefit from this knowledge - should we monitor our BOWs regularly for BG algae or is it fairly uncommon?

There are many types of blue/green algae. Here is some Wiki info.
Cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria, and Cyanophyta) is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: (kyan�s) = blue). They are a significant component of the marine nitrogen cycle and an important primary producer in many areas of the ocean, but are also found in habitats.
Cyanobacteria can be found in almost every conceivable environment, from oceans to fresh water to bare rock to soil. They can occur as planktonic cells or form phototrophic biofilms in fresh water and marine environments, they occur in damp soil, or even temporarily moistened rocks in deserts.
Aquatic cyanobacteria are probably best known for the extensive and highly visible blooms that can form in both freshwater and the marine environment and can have the appearance of blue-green paint or scum. Cyanobacteria include unicellular and colonial species. Colonies may form filaments, sheets or even hollow balls. Some filamentous colonies show the ability to differentiate into several different cell types: vegetative cells, the normal, photosynthetic cells that are formed under favorable growing conditions;
Certain cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins including anatoxin-a, anatoxin-as, aplysiatoxin, cylindrospermopsin, domoic acid, microcystin LR, nodularin R (from Nodularia), or saxitoxin. Sometimes a mass-reproduction of cyanobacteria results in algal blooms.
These toxins can be neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, cytotoxins, and endotoxins, and can be toxic and dangerous to humans and animals.

Thanks Eric...

Do you think a pond owner needs to be on the lookout for BG algae? Doesn't sound like it's easily identified. Any suggestions?

I think all pond owners should be aware of what is going on and when in doubt ask here. I don't hear much of B/G algae being a big problem from the toxic aspect. However it should be watched for the water quality aspect (extra fertile and possible DO problems).