So now I'm two weeks past the "spring cleaning" of the Half Barrel pond. Last week I moved a few Amazon Sword Plants (Echinodorus amazonicus) and an Ozelot Sword (Echinodorus ozelot) with a little baby beside it from my Betta container to the pond.

There's still a Fathead Minnow (Pimephales promelas) hiding down there. He comes out to graze for something in the algae occasionally. Next week I have three Calico Ryukin coming to live in the pond. I understand they are still under 2" (5cm) long

Here's the pics and some questions. Maybe someone can answer some things I'm curious about.

First, an overview pic:


First Question - Will the goldfish eat this algae? What kind of algae is it?


Second Question - What are the curly things? Are they worms that the goldfish will eat?


Here you can see a Blue Pickerel Rush (Pontederia chordata) making a new leaf, they come up from the middle wrapped around an old leaf stem.


Here's a new leaf on the Orange Peel plant (Houttuynia cordata), it's the curled pointy thing to the right of the opened leaf.


And a parting shot of the sword pot on the bottom, new to the pond this week.


The video is uploaded to youtube and being processed. I'll post the link to it when it's ready.

Enjoy!

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOxdMCoBQVU

Well.it all looks to be off to a good start for sure.Last week when I was working,the temps hit 78 degrees.This week I've been off though,has been in the 20's and low 30's for highs,so I need a lot more pics like this to really remind me that the warm days are coming. Looks good Daniel.

The barrell pond looks great! So, you are going to have a Ryukinaritaville too? the water makes a nice sound.

the algae seems to be hair algae, with some cyanobacteria strands entwined in it. I'm not quite sure the goldfish will relish grazing on the algae but perhaps they'll be inclined to taste it, at least.

The curly things are most likely fecal matter from the resident minnow.

Looks good! Looking forward to more updates as time goes on!

The curly things are all over. If it's from the minnow - the guy is crapping up a storm. He's only about 1.5 inches long.

haha!

I can't wait to see how the pond shapes up with the warm weather, it looks really nice even now!

The algae does look like hair algae. Its the color and density. Just a lot of it. You could cut it back a little maybe. You must get a lot of strong sunlight? It can be nibbled on by fish that like it - shrimp love it- and it will help keep your nitrates down. You may want to think about extra aeration at night because a large volume of foliage inc. algae will rob the tank of air at night.

Glad to hear the minnow is still thriving

PS -edit- That algae will make a perfect breeding place for fish eggs. And the worms look like worms to me . Not sure if the fish will eat them but I don't think they're a threat. Someone else will know more.

Your barrel pond is really coming around again, can't wait to see it in full bloom as your other pond was so beautiful set up.

Looks great and ready for Ryukins!

Is the fathead minnow going to stay?

For now, yes. He is about as long as they are right now - maybe longer. Well, as long as they are supposed to be. The Ryukin are supposed to be shipped today.

We'll see how it goes in the long term.

Wow, if that hair algae, then its got some luxurant growth to it,lol! Hair algae is normally very fine and long like hair strands, so this looks more to me like a moss of some kind!

what a beautiful barrel pond!! how many gallons are in that baby and what type of filtration do you have going on in there?

About 29 Gallons.
Hydor HOB at 300 GPH.
Sunshine and fresh air.

Have they arrived?

Not yet. I should contact the seller to see if they're on the way.

It's looking great Daniel! I bet you can't wait to get some goldies in there again now

keep posting updated picutures