When it comes to pond maintainence many pond owners and fish keepers forget that besides the regular water quality checks and the constant vigulance required monitoring our fish health there is an under the water check that we pond owners should keep an eye out for. This of course is our pond plants and in this instance we look at the distructive possibilities of the water lily.
In mid January Splash was called out to a pond that was drastically losing water, over a foot ( 12 inches ) loss over night. After arranging with the pond owner a suitable time to visit off to their premises armed with nets and emergency quarantine pool for their beloved fish. On arrival we quickly set up the pool and netted the fish using as much pond water as possible.
As the water level dropped our findings where quiet astonishing. A huge mass of water lily spanning 6 feet in diameter and over 18 inches of root mass laying in what would turn out to be at least 15 years of silt build up. The main root stem was over 4 inches think and had grown straight through the pond liner. This was going to be a big job the whole pond needed to be cleaned out and the pond liner and underlay replaced. Unfortunatly the pond owners did say they inherited the pond when they purchased the house and have never done anything with the pond or would know how to do anything with the pond (hence they called Splash ). After discussing their options the pond owners have decided that they do not feel they have the time to look after a pond and feel it would be better for their fish if they passed them on to a relative who is an avid fish keeper.
So to all pond owners that have water lily plants in their ponds, please check them a couple of times a year and trim them back or divide them to keep them an appropriate and managable size.
