Blanket weed – there isn’t a
one dose treatment – yet! By Andy McConnachie from Aqua Landscape Design
POND CARE
Blanket weed has long been the bane of many a pond keeper Eco Pond Treatments
The number of treatments available to the aquatic market nowadays is exhaustive, it can be overwhelming to walk into an aquatic shop and find the correct remedy to assist you with your problem. Most treatments are chemical based, however there are an increasing number of natural remedies now available.
Water Treatments
Blanket weed has long been the bane of many a pond keeper and there isn’t a one dose treatment that will cure a pond permanently... yet. Therefore repeated treatments are required and with concern growing for the long term use of manmade chemicals there have been an increasing number of natural remedies such as Barley Straw. When Barley straw starts to rot, it releases humic acid and enzymes into the water thus helping to prevent algae like blanket weed and green water from growing. It can be difficult to get the pouches to rot aerobically in still, natural ponds and can take up to 28 days before they start to work. Barley straw extract is a ready to use product which gets to work instantly.
Montmorillonite clays have long been used in Japan as natural water purifies and fish health tonics. They work by ion exchange, absorbing harmful toxins and flocculating tiny particulates, such as algae. This significantly enhances water clarity and quality, whilst also replenishing natural beneficial minerals. For fish; the clay also works by aiding digestion, absorbing harmful toxins internally and improving skin health and colour. Water clarity problems can be caused by detritus build up on the bottom of ponds which can be stirred up by fish or water movement. Reducing the amount of waste can be done by adding a natural booster which will speed the decomposition of waste by using a special blend of selected pond bacteria.
Fish Treatments
There are several herbal remedies available to treat fish ailments and although they are a little more expensive than
16 Country Gardener
chemical treatments, they can be more effective due to the pathogens not having built up resilience to the treatments and most of them do not affect the biological balance of beneficial filter bacteria. Bacterial treatments, for fin rot, mouth rot, ulcers and fungus work by enhancing the immune system against such pathogens rather than killing the bacteria itself. Therefore it is harmless to the good bacteria which is essential to a pond's ecosystem and also speeds up the healing process. Parasitic treatments for ailments like white spot, also work naturally by promoting the fishes own defences both externally and internally.
Open wounds and ulcers can be easily treated using Propolis; a natural product produced by bees. and to prevent disease and parasites.
to form a waterproof, antibacterial seal over wounds and promotes the healthy regeneration of tissue.
It can also be added to food to strengthen the immune system.
It is used to seal the hive In fish, it can be used
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56