Prevent Spring Fish Kill

The winter is a quiet time of year for a pond.  The weeds die off, the algae growth slows to a crawl and the fish settle down for the long winter’s nap.  However, with ice and a snow cover, the long winter’s nap could turn into a permanent dirt nap for your fish.  How can you prevent this from happening in your pond?

For starters, a pond completely covered in ice and covered with snow can cause the death of the growing algae at the bottom of the pond.  This death will lead to the loss of oxygen in the water column.  If the oxygen levels drop too low, a fish kill could occur.

A sure fire way to prevent approximately 90% of winter fish kills is the introduction of anaerator unit into a pond.  A properly sized aeration system will produce enough oxygen in the pond to make up for any oxygen depleting event that could normally affect a pond.  Aerators are not fountains; they are units that pump air into a diffuser plate located at the bottom of the pond and bubble up to the surface.  The other approximately 10% of fish kills are usually toxins introduced to the pond and cannot be avoided by using an aerator.