This is my first post. I found the website/forum last week and have read most topics but am going to ask questions again to confirm what I now think and ask some new ones. I recently drained my first (upper) pond which is right at one acre. It had about two catfish and 200-250 buffalo. I am assuming the buffalo came from birds? I am guessing this can't be prevented. What kind of birds?

Next question is muddy water. I noticed that the residual water cleared after the fish died. My lower pond is muddy and now am wondering if there are trash fish in it stirring things up. How can I tell if it is due to fish or not. It was clear in July, muddy since with (of course) no rain. Thanks Craig

Hi Craig. Welcome to the Monkey House.

Perform the "bucket test" on your lower pond. Put some of the muddy water in a bucket. If the mud settles out in the bucket, but not in the pond, something (rough fish a big possibility) is keeping it stirred up in the pond. If it stays muddy in the bucket, the mud is probably suspended by a chemical (ion) imbalance which can be corrected with the proper treatment.

How did the buffalos get in your upper pond? We have discussed spontaneous undesirable fish appearances here many times, although not recently. Possible, probable, and improbable means offered up as ways fish could get into ponds have included: bird feet, bird feathers, turtle backs, birds mouths, bird stomachs, ex-wives, in-laws, disgruntled former employees, tornadoes, hurricanes, biblical plagues, alien abductions, black helicopters, helpful neighbors, helpful fathers, and not-so-helpful trespassers. Without belittling anyone's pet theories or pushing my own ("The devil made me do it"), perhaps it will suffice to say that sooner or later fish we don't want will appear in our ponds and we will have to deal with them (manage around them, renovate, learn to love them, etc.).

I took a sample yesterday in a clear water bottle. The mud is not settling in 12-24 hours so I am assuming I will be adding gypsum. I tried an easier method of scattering hay along the banks but it didn't work maybe because it is too cool? (Central OK)

Is the muck at the bottom good for anything? I am considering a garden spot, alfala pathc for deer etc. Is it fertile like silt-I am assuming so since that is how it got there?

Bottom muck should contain enough organics to make it a good addition to a garden plot. I suspect may it vary a lot in content from pond to pond, depending on how much of it is organic versus sediment, and on what kind of sediment washed in from the watershed.