Ngae Is A Pest In My Pond.

[thedi]

I have a pond which I use for swimming. There are lotus, lots of small fish - it is full of life. The water quality was a concern for a long time, but now I have quite clear water. The main point seems to be to avoid fish who muddle in the ground. This is how it looks like:

Everything would be fine - but now there is this ngae growing: Ngae is a plant which grows in ponds. It is fully under water. Unlike a lotus there will be no part of it up. It grows so good that lotus plants do not grow as well es before. When I tried to remove some, I was full of small red pickels afterwards, which did not go away for about a week. It was itching when I removed some of the ngae, but not afterwards: the pickels did not hurt, but my arms where covered with them.

This are a view pictures a ngae:

Does anybody know a way to get rid of them without too much damage to the rest of the live in the pond? There are thouends of small fish living around it - they seem to like it. I tried pla nil, in the hope that they have more apetite but they were coming from a farm where they where fed with hua aharn - they are not interested in bio food at all.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Thedi

PS: there is a second plant, which looks similar but makes no problems. Here is a picture it:

[ronthompson]

What did u do to have such a clear pond??

I have no idea what to do about the growth but i wish my fishing pond was half as clear>

[Dave the Dude]

Hi Thedi

Nice pond.

Im no expert but that looks like Elodia or Hornwort. May be worth checking it out on the internet and then once identified, investigate removal of.

It sounds like a job for a Thai guy with bin bags for a couple of days.

Dave

[TBWG]

What did u do to have such a clear pond??

I have no idea what to do about the growth but i wish my fishing pond was half as clear>

Hi Ron

I think the reason the pool is so clear is because of the pond weed! Its just doing its job!

TBWG

[thedi]

What did u do to have such a clear pond?? I have no idea what to do about the growth but i wish my fishing pond was half as clear

I pumped out all the water.

Then I let them catch all the fish.

Then I let it dry, until it was possible to cart the ki tom out of the pond.

Then I build small walls - about 60 cm high - in the pond, filled up earth in this steps. The middle part was laid out with sandstone plates which we found in fields of a village close to our. Between the sandstone plates we even poured some cement.

After some rain, when the pond was filling up, I planted all the plants I could find: lotus, reeds etc.

Only small fish - no carps! Carps like to muddle in the ground which will result in milk coffee colored water.

The smaller the fish the better.

This cost me all together maybe 100'000 Baht - maybe a bit more. I never keep track of costs of my hobbies.

I think the main point was the fish: no fish which likes to muddle in the ground. The worst are any kind of carps.

Another important point: as much plants as possible. Swamp areas are very good.

The sandstone plates looked like an overkill when I did it. Maybe it saves me now: This itching water plants do not grow in the middle part where thee are sandstone plates on the ground. This part is about 20 x 20 meters - quite OK for a swim. So this water plants do not trouble me too much. Its more that I like lotus and I am afraid that the lotus can not compete against them.

Regards

Thedi

[yamthaleh]

Could it possibly be Hydrilla? If so, from what I've read, it'll be a beast to control.

[thedi]

Could it possibly be Hydrilla? If so, from what I've read, it'll be a beast to control.

Yes, I searched a bit in the internet and it is Hydrilla.

From what I read, the only way to keep it under control is to let something loose that will eat it. There are fish from china which should do it - but from what I read they would develop into an even bigger pest than Hydrilla.

To let a Thai boy try to remove it will never work out, because the Hydrilla breaks very easy - and each small segment will grow to a new plant.

Hydrilla is the name of the plant - Hydra was the name in the old Greece tale - the dragon who was growing two heads wherever a hero cut off one.

I think, once I got it, the best way to go is to like it

Regards

Thedi

[Thaicoon]

This is the same pond plant that garden centres in the UK charge a fortune for, it is normally crimped at the botton with a peice of lead, and just thrown in the pond, it is supposed to keep water clear and give out oxygen, i think this is good if you keep it under control.

[32x]

Best way to get rid of the unwanted plants is by hard work im afraid to say..

U will need to hire some guys to rake the stuff out of your pond by hand..

[Dave the Dude]

This is the same pond plant that garden centres in the UK charge a fortune for, it is normally crimped at the botton with a peice of lead, and just thrown in the pond, it is supposed to keep water clear and give out oxygen, i think this is good if you keep it under control.

Thats what I thought Thaicoon, & thats why I thought it was called Elodia/Hornwart (prev post)

I would like some to help clear my pond water.

Dave