Hi Friend,

Here is today's Pond Q&A, with a question from down under..

Question>

Hi, This is coming all the way from Perth Western Australia. I feel so silly when I read your letters from people talking about their ponds. My pond is so small with only 8 fish.

But beautiful fish nevertheless. I got on to your site when I was looking for information on green hair algae. All is well now but feel so insignificant with my half of a wine barrel pond. It does look attractive in its setting though.

A lot of information does not apply as the climate here is warm. It does get cold in the winter ,but ice on ponds . What is that!!!

I am only joking as I am originally from the U.K. Anyway I was just writing to try to better the distance from some of your writers.

Bye for now Maureen G.

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Answer>

Hi Maureen,

Glad to hear from you down in Australia! Not sure if you have the record for distance though, we had a question from down in Queensland earlier this week, so we'll just say you're tied ;-)

No need to feel silly, if your pond gives you enjoyment and happines, then it can never be too small. However, it is true that the general rule is that no matter how big your pond is -- you ALWAYS want a BIGGER one!

For treating hair algae in your barrel pond, you can try Algae Fix by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, but it may or may not be available down where your are. Since you are in a tropical environment, I would recommend getting an algae eating fish called a 'Plecaustomus' or 'sucker fish.' These are usually used in aquariums for algae control, but are also great in ponds. The only problem in colder climates is that they don't survive the winters. I've got 4 large ones (6-8") in my pond, and they keep it algae free year-round.

Since you don't get 'ice' down there in the Outback - here's a memory refresher for you and all you other tropical pond owners:

Ice is defined as: Frozen Water (below 32F) The color of snow is: White (or yellow, depending on if you have a dog)

Hope that clears things up!

Brett Fogle

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