June is here and the evenings are perfect for sitting and admiring your pond with a beverage of your choice in hand. Before you get too relaxed, there’s just a few things that need sorting out.

Outdoors

  • Goldfish will start their spawning chases when temperatures hit 15c. Keep an eye out for excessive damage as males pursue females and be ready to administer an antibacterial/antifungus treatment to prevent any secondary infections occurring. Make sure that the male:female ratio isn’t too heavy as many people become very good at picking slender fishes with long fins that normally turn out to be males.
  • Conditions remain ideal for algae growth; make sure your ultra-violet unit is clean and working at peak efficiency. As lamps lose their effectiveness after 6 - 12 moths of burning, a new lamp is essential each year. Even after months of use an old lamp will still look the same but it is the invisible range of the spectrum that controls algae.
  • Add ‘summer bedding’ to your pond in the shape of the hard-working but tender floating plants such as Water Lettuce (Pistia). These greedy plants will help to starve-out algae by taking up nutrients and providing shade. If they start to yellow, add a liquid pond plant food to top-up iron levels.
  • As a quick fix, try Ramshorn snails which are harmless to plants, or an algaecide to provide a rapid response. I’ve been using our Blanketweed treatment and after a couple of weeks of wondering, I can confidently say that it’s made an impact. I’m using Sludge remover to help clean up the aftermath and planting heavily to add competition for nutrients.
  • Deepwater plants such as lilies will be growing strongly, adding solid fertiliser to their planting containers will boost flowering.
  • Filtration will be working harder now that fishes are active and it’s wise to check water quality and make sure that biological media isn’t overwhelmed by solid wastes.
  • After a cold winter and chilly spring pond fish will be keen to restore weight and condition. Remember that your pond filter bacteria may be unable to ensure good water quality so add a filter booster such as Pure Pond or Pond Bomb to provide reinforcements.
  • Feed fishes little and often. Think of food as a training aid and try to reward your fish for their bravery. They’ll soon learn to associate you with good things but the more frequently you can reinforce the link between people = food the more friendly your pond pets will be.

Indoors

  • Back in the days when filtration was air-powered and everyone had air-operated ornaments there was never any doubt over oxygen levels. Nowadays it may be worth considering supplemental aeration, particularly when your aquarium houses species that are normally at home in strongly flowing water such as barbs, loaches and catfishes. Air pumps are steadily getting quieter and can always be run on a timer to avoid causing too much disruption to those sensitive to the sound of bubbling.
  • This is a great time of year for live foods, sachets in store are full of wormy and shrimp goodness and in the garden small containers of water are starting to collect mosquito larvae. Both posh and home-grown versions will be welcomed by pet fish that are happy to hunt for their supper
  • Bright sunlight and cool temperatures mean a shock for fishes as they leave our stores. Please take with you a suitable shopping bag, or better still one of our specially-designed fish transport bags. Stress is a major issue for fish and we’d like to see any unnecessary risks eliminated.
  • As temperatures start to rise, check your aquarium is safe from overheating.
  • Warmer water holds less oxygen, make sure all filters and aerating devices are running well. Plastic bottles of frozen water are a handy emergency measure but nothing beats a chiller when you really need it.