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Joined: Jun 2002
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Lunker
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I second Archer's comments. I just can't top it off like him to keep it down. I know where the cattle go in the chara is non-existant. They don't eat it but they stir up the water and it kill them.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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My Chara floats up to the top when it starts to die off. I had about 30% surface coverage of a 3/4 acre pond just before Hurricane Ike. With the high winds/waves I have no more surface Chara...its all up on the banks.
Mine is also very thick even in 7 ft water. It seems to keep the water very clear and I get 4+ ft visibility. I am getting some Triploid GC from Overton in early Oct.
I have not tried any chemical control this year. I use well water or falling rain to keep pond level up...I get no runoff due to banks 2 ft higher than surrounding land. Is it really "floating" or does it just expose itself when the water goes down? There's a difference. Hey I'm keeping an open mind on this and please don't be offended. I just can't see the Chara I have floating. Getting thick enough to reach the surface yes and being exposed when the water goes down yes again. However the Chara I have would never "float to the top." I wish it would as it would be easier to remove.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 09/23/08 05:43 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 55
Lunker
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Lunker
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Great masses of the Chara in our pond will float to the surface if we have a normal (hot sunny) summer. These floating islands appear about AUG 1st. Its not the actual chara that floats but the gasses that are trapped in it when it dies and decomposes then breaks loose from the bottom. If I run the boat through the masses with the motor wide open then they will break up and sink but that doesn't really accomplish anything. In a bad winter we have a shortage of DO as a result of all the dead weeds.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Chara is typically coarse stemmed and leafed. I cannot envision how the mat would be tight and dense enough for decompositional gasses to be entrapped and cause it to float. I would really like to see some close up photos of this happening.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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I have not seen chara float up like that. What you are describing in the trapped gas and float up is part of the life cycle used by FA. Often both can be in the same pond.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Darryl, From the photos which are taken too far from the weed mass for a good visual, it looks to me that the Chara has a layer of degrading or old filamentous algae intertwined through out the top portion of the Chara canopy. The FA will tend to float at the surface on top of the Chara esp as the water receeds and the weed mass is close to the surface. I have seen similar situations in other ponds.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 09/24/08 08:57 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Well, tomorrow I'm going to paddle out in my canoe and take some close-up pix of the chara in my pond ... I've been putting off hauling it in too long now-- I keep on hoping it will sink!
From what I've observed, when chara grows to the very surface it emerges and "sun burns" -- turns white. Then, I have noted on several occasions that filamentous algae will become attached, almost like it's colonizing on it.
When that has happened (the FA build up) over the past couple years, I've used a powdered hydrogen peroxide product that really works well on the FA -- literally dissolves the stuff. The chara? Unscathed, of course! -- Mike
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Okay, paddled out this afternoon and got a few more pictures. Hope these are helpful. By the way, I was going to try to haul a bunch of it in ... but the wind kicked up a bit, so I thought I'd adopt a "wait and see" attitude to see what happens to this mass of chara out in the middle of the pond. First a close-up Now a medium shot And a wide ...
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Joined: Apr 2002
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ML - From the first photo, that is Chara. Interesting. Doesn't the wind bow it to shore where it can be drug or raked out?
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Bill -- You would think so, since it's not rooted. But what I have out in the middle of the pond this year is almost like a reef. Very dense and heavy -- and darn near immobile!
The only encouraging thing I can report is that it is actually thinning out down below. My pond is very clear and I could see today that the chara is actually quite a bit thicker and wider on top than it is about 4 or 5 feet down. Perhaps there are some gases holding it up a bit. Whenever I smack it with a canoe paddle (in the interest of science, mind you -- never out of frustration), thousands of little bubbles well to the surface; and the chara seems to sink just a bit for a few moments ... and bounces back.
Where it is right now really doesn't interfere with my fishing, I just don't care for the look of a real weedy pond. It's starting to get down into the upper 40's here at night -- that may prompt some chance. -- Mike
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Mike, Good info. That helps explain the floatation for me. Gas bubbles probably mostly oxygen adhering to the leaves and stems of the mat are causing it to float. Smacking the mat with the paddle dislodges the bubbles in a small part of the mat. Other bubbles quickly take the place of old bubbles as mat remains floating. My explanation is correct if you break loose a small handfull of the Chara and shake it in the water to release almost all bubbles and put the mat back into the water the handfull of Chara should now sink.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Bill --
I will do that tomorrow. Right now we're getting a good (and much-needed) rain. It's been a long, dry summer -- probably another reason the chara flourished the way it did.
On the topic of dissolved oxygen, I wonder how chara ranks as an O2 producer in bright daylight, compared to regular aquatic plants (or other algae, for that matter). Conversely, I almost shudder to think what the 02 profile of my pond would be pre-dawn without an aeration system! -- Mike
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Joined: Jan 2006
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I stocked 3 Grass Carp last year in a 1/2 acre chara infested pond. The TPWD Biologist told me that the GC wouldn't eat it. I talked to the owner last weekend and he told me that he can now fish with lures. He also told me that he has never seen the carp but knows that they are earning their pay.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Apr 2003
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DD, I see you're surviving. Finally allowed back on line?
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If you can read this ... thank a teacher. Since it's in english ... thank our military! Ric
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Joined: Jan 2006
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It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 82
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Bill -- Indeed, I compressed a good handful of the chara, and it sank. Late yesterday, when the wind and rain relented a bit, I decided to heck with my chara-hauling for the day, and decided to try a bit of fishing ... ... first trout of the fall from my pond. I was able to snap this quick picture and get it back into the pond. Seemed to swim off just fine. -- Mike
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Ambassador Lunker
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Mike, that's a beautiful Virginia rainbow, look's about 18 or 20 inches.
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