IMO those are thick groupings of unique forms of filamentous algae most likely primarily bluegreen algae with maybe some green algae mixed in. They look too green to mostly patches of attached diatom growths.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/30/1808:36 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
I've got something like that starting in my pond. I was free of it until the tropical system dumped a bunch of rain on us. It refilled my pond thankfully, but I guess it also added a little extra nutrients. Mine is more tan, tho, and is starting to cover just about every plant and rock.
.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
This year in one of my small, clear water, blue dye, perch ponds, I had very similar growths of algae like that in your pictures. The pond also had some tilapia. My algae mats also grew on large cobble and small bolder size rocks that were primarily limestone. My algae mats were composed of dense intertwined very narrow 1-2um wide bluegreen (Cyanobacteria) filaments creating large leathery, often jelly like masses growing first as attached prostrate mats of bluegreen algae probably Leptolyngbya or maybe Phormidium mixed in with lots of detritus and dirt. As the mats became 2-3.5 cm (1") thick they peeled off the rocks and floated. The filaments are too narrow to fit the current book descriptions of Lyngbya and Phormidium.
This year I also introduced crayfish into this pond. Time will tell the rest of this story as I monitor algae mats and crayfish numbers. Azteca maybe you/we found one way to reduce this mat algae problem. Azteca - do your crayfish thrive and flourish in this pond or are they as juvenile or adults consumed by the fish which is why you add crayfish each year? Are your crayfish commonly caught in minnow traps or are the crayfish low density after a year in the pond???.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 12/10/2108:43 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
The big unknown here on this topic is - What density of crayfish per square meter or yard does it take to keep this offending algae minimized? That would be valuable information.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
Zucchini to crawdads - the pond equivalent of straw to gold!
Perhaps akin to feeding the mayonnaise directly to the tuna....
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."