Fairy moss in my pond

[ellie2cats]

My pond is almost completely covered with what I call fairy moss.  Tiny little plants less than a 1/4 inch accross and each one has its own little root.  What can I do to get rid.  I have tried skimming the surface but its like painting the Forth Bridge !!! Can I spray with anything. I have got plants in the pond and don't want to kill them.

Any suggestions ? Please
Ellie

[Kepouros]

This sounds very much like duckweed.  Nobody ever knows quite how it got in his pond but there it is and multiplying rapidly.  The most likely explanation is that one tiny plantlet has been brought in on the foot of a bird, and one is all it takes.

There is nothing you can spray which won`t kill everything else in the pond.  The best weapon is a fine meshed seaside shrimping net.  Use the hose pipe to drive all the duckweed across the surface to one end or corner of the pond, then scoop it out with the net.   You won`t get it all - there are always two or three tiny plantlets which you miss, but it will keep the pond fairly clear for a few weeks, then it will be time to do it all again

[shirlton]

If its fairy moss then it will probably die in the winter.We love it cos it keeps the algae down and if you skim it regularly then it wont take over. We also found that it seemed to collect the duckweed into little areas so that we could get rid.Wish we had some but theres nowhere around here that sells it.
If its all duckweed then just keep scooping cos you will never get rid

[Mimi]

Wish it would grow in my pond I love it and wouldnt mind having to scoop it out now and again.  Ive tried several times and it just seems to die off 

[goodlife]

Ohh...Mimi...be careful what you wish for....
I used to 'suffer' with same faith...I wanted some duckweed..and it never settled on and it just disappeared.
Then once somebody gave me bucketfull of that stuff...how stupid was I.. ..and now it grows in every puddle,bucket,pond, butt....and it travels by sticking onto frogs..I've seen it on them....
But then again....frogs and newts don't seem to mind and the water keeps 'crystal' clear underneath..I'll rather have duckweed than blanketweed...

[Mimi]

Yeh me too goodlife. I hate blanket weed but pulling it out around a bit of bamboo is kind of theraputic.   Pond has been a bit of a problem this year after a really cold winter and being frozen for as long as it was.   Fish and wild life where ok because the pond is quite deep but some frog spawn was frozen in and died off 

[Carol]

Fairy moss is a prolific in my pond but I tend to scoop lots out now n then aong with some plants which are prolific as well.  The Fairy moss turns yellow in the winter but up it comes again in the spring.

[GrannieAnnie]

I wanted duckweed so took a jar of it from a nearby stream. It was all eaten by our goldfish.
Maybe that is how to get rid of it?

[Kepouros]

I have two ponds - one is well stocked with goldfish of decent size, the other contains a number of Koi Carp, Grass Carp, Mirror Carp (all over 10 lbs in weight), Large Orfe, and Tench.  I still have to skim both ponds several times each summer merely to stop the duckweed taking over completely.

[GrannieAnnie]

I have two ponds - one is well stocked with goldfish of decent size, the other contains a number of Koi Carp, Grass Carp, Mirror Carp (all over 10 lbs in weight), Large Orfe, and Tench.  I still have to skim both ponds several times each summer merely to stop the duckweed taking over completely.

Do you feed your fish? We don't so maybe they were starving enough to eat duckweed?

[shirlton]

You really don't feed your fish?We don't feed ours when the temp is below 30% but as soon as the water warms up in Spring they start of with small amounts of wholemeal bread and then onto pellets for the rest of the summer

[GrannieAnnie]

They live on the bugs that drop in and mosquito larvae etc. just like fish in the wild. They keep procreating (and being stolen by Great Blue Herons) when they begin getting large.

[Kepouros]

Actually, my fish are being fed rather well at present.  A few minutes among the nasturtiums yields a fine haul of 30 or 40 cabbage white caterpillars, and when these are tossed into the pond among the larger fish the surface of the water fairly boils as they all home in like pirhanas

[Andy H]

Interesting that you have grass carp and they dont clear the duckweed?

I got all my duckweed out but you have to get EVERY spec of it.

My 3 grass carp are now brave enough to come up for pellets and they will get rid of a whole lettuce in about 10 minutes!

[javahart]

Here are pics and descriptions of these similar but distinct species.

Duckweed - Lemna minor - http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/duckweed.htm

Fairy Moss - Azolla  http://www.pond-life.me.uk/plants/floating/azolla.php

I don't mind either in a pond because they serve a useful purpose.  Most ponds have way too much phosphate and nitrate (either from tap water or soil run off) - all those lovely nutrients you add to your soil are not good for ponds!  These floating plants will rapidly consume available nutrients in the water column and outcompete nasty weed like blanket.  All you have to do is seive them out every two weeks during the summer months and add them to your compost heap.