Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Is this new arrival friend or foe ?

I noticed these guys this morning when loading my swan feeder. At first I thought it was some trash - green string that had mad its way into the lake. Then I saw more and more of it. From the AquaPlant database I thought it might be filamentous algae, but I wasn't sure. What do you think ? Recommendations ?

This is gonna be educational, finding out what that plant is. That color green looks SO artificial

I know. Sometimes when printing my pics to paper, the colors aren't always right. But in this case, the color is spot on. Thats why when I saw the first patch of it, I thought it was trash - it really looks just like green string. When I grab/pinch it, it just dissolves where I touch it.

I was thinking that maybe my water was too clear and that the bad algae was growing, but I don't know yet if that is the case. I haven't tried my disc today, but I doubt that visibility is more than 12 inches...

Brettski

I agree, Brettski, I ain't bitin'!

I am still on my quest to identify these guys, although I certainly understand the skepticism. (I haven't been a member long enough to joke with you guys, but do confess that I appreciate the humor.) I wish that I had a microscope with a camera attachment to look closer. Anyway, I googled "green string" + algae and found alot of hits, mostly aquarium/water gardening sites. www.serenitywatergardens.com sent me the following:

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Hi Kevin:

It certainly looks like a string algae to me. You can get a chemical called "AlgaeFix" from Petsmart or Petco, etc. Works great. Do not know how big your pond is, you might need to get a big bottle one somewhere else in order to save some money. Good luck.

Thanks,
James Pahn

From Aquaplant:

Filamentous algae are single algae cells that form long visible chains, threads, or filaments. These filaments intertwine forming a mat that resembles wet wool. Filamentous algae starts growing along the bottom in shallow water or attached to structures in the water (like rocks or other aquatic plants). Often filamentous algae floats to the surface forming large mats, which are commonly referred to as "Pond scums." There are many species of filamentous algae and often more than one species will be present at the same time in the pond.





Magnified FA

I thought that it was odd that this was occurring in a shallow area (<6"), but there was no real evidence of anything on the bottom, just the floating stuff. Anyway, I got in touch with someone at the NRCS (whose research park is coincidentally here in Lafayette), and this is what he said. (His reply was to a fellow scientist named Kevin, and the "they" he is referring to is we who own the pond...)

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Kevin, it is definitely an algae but I don't have any idea which kind. If it is a problem they can probably treat it like you would any algae, using
algaecides. I doubt it will become a problem because it is so unusual. My guess is that as soon as the water warms up it will fade out. If they are having problems, let me know and I can give them some ideas on what to do.

Ron
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Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this one. I will monitor the situation and repost if something interesting happens along these lines.