Prevent Fish Sickness | Do Not Add Gravel To Your Garden Fish Pond
Gravel Causes Anaerobic Bacteria To Build Up
All garden ponds, no matter what size they are will contain microscopic bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic organisms. Many of these organisms feed on waste products, in order to survive. Some of these organisms, known as aerobic bacteria require oxygen to survive, whilst others known as anaerobic bacteria don’t. It is the anaerobic bacteria that tend to be a nuisance, causing bacterial infections and other fish disease problems ...
It is for this reason that a mechanical sand filter should never be used in a garden pond. A sure sign that there is something wrong with your pond is the rotten egg smell, produced by hydrogen sulphide. This is as a result of the anaerobic bacteria activity. These bacteria use sulphur compounds, amongst others.
It makes sense therefore to create a fish pond environment which potentially limits the possibility for stagnant areas to develop, as a result of anaerobic bacteria multiplying.
How Does Gravel Create Stagnant Pond Areas
The major problem with using gravel for decoration and effect on your pond floor is that it creates stagnant areas that becomes a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria. Any uneaten fish food or fish waste that hasn’t been removed by a pond skimmer or pond filter will fall to the pond floor, lodging itself between the gravel. This waste accumulates, and in the absence of oxygen soon turns into a breeding place for the unwanted anaerobic bacteria.
Taking a look back through the history of pond keeping and in particular the building of garden ponds you will see that gravel was used extensively on pond floors. In those days pond keepers were not aware of the potential harm and unhealthy environment they were inadvertently creating. The technology used was also based upon technology used in the Aquaria field. The point about aquariums is that it is easy to vacuum the gravel using a miniature vacuum pump ... this is not feasible in a garden fish pond.
Professional Koi keepers and Koi breeders go to great lengths to ensure that the bottom of their large ponds, are kept free from as much waste food, and fish waste as possible. The installation of bottom drains through which debris is purged is common place. All this is done to reduce the opportunity for anaerobic bacteria to develop. Koi are a species of carp that are not as hardy as other forms of carp or goldfish varieties and are susceptible to what is known as stress.
My advice to you would be to remove any gravel from the bottom of your fish pond or water garden immediately. Hopefully you will be in luck and it is fall or winter time. There is less activity taking place during these colder months, with cooler pond water temperatures.
If you cannot get rid of the gravel then the next best solution is to get your hands on a sludge busting product. Take a look at Viresco Digester or Microbe-Lift Sludge Away for removing organic sludge from your pond floor ...
