This has nothing to do with chickens.But I was wondering if anyone knows how to get a clean pond.We have a pond1/2 acre with Koi and catfish in it.I guess that is a no,no. They churn up the mud...Can I have some much needed advice?.... Thanks, Sunbury Chick
Can you describe what you mean by "needing cleaned up"? Is it muddy all the time? Does it have alot of algae? I know a fellow who puts flakes of straw in his ponds for the algae. Don't know what this does but it clears it right up! I know another fellow that has catfish and koi in his pond and has no problem, his pond looks beautiful! And he has A LOT of fish, big ones!
Have you done any water testing on your pond to check the parameters? Many things can cause muddy water, but a good place to start is to check the PH with a water testing kit <not the same as for soil!>. Catfish are bottom feeders for the most part and koi are not but both put out plenty of poop and this can also unbalance the water and make it muddy. Did you add a lot of fish at once or is this an existing pond that's had the same amount of fish? Also...as the weather warms up, it can cause algae to bloom and overtake the biological load in your pond, especially if it's a still pond without a stream or such running fresh water into it. If it's algae as well you can put in barley straw in bales or barley straw extract that's available at most pond supply stores and online. Koi need bentonite or montmorillonite clay and adding this will also help clear up your water. If it's a new pond and not "cycled" yet, that can be part of it too. Make sure there is grass or rock going down to the pond's edge to keep the bank from washing in when it rains to add to muddiness. Once the pond has cycled and set up it's own biological filter, it should start to stay clearer. If you get algae blooms, there are additives to put in for that as well that are natural and organic and won't harm your fish nor the environment. We have our koi and goldfish in separate ponds from the catfish and bream, but I know there are some that keep koi and game fish in their larger ponds with good results. The koi do usually require heavy duty filtration as they don't have stomachs and everything passes right through. They do best in mud bottom ponds but you will still need to add bentonite to replace the minerals that they and the plants/algae and other organisms consume. Hope this helps a bit