Need some advice in keeping fish in a tub pond. I set up a tub pond in my deck two weeks ago and included some anacharis , frog bits and Ludwigia that I collected from Lake Elkhorn. Furthermore, I also got a arrowhead plant, and planted it in some Scotts garden soil, placed it in a pot and placed it in the tub (Around a 30 gallon planter) Last Saturday I added 2 long finned white clouds and 2 more on Monday. I noticed that they have perished and I can’t figure out why. I noticed that the anacharis is also not healthy. Is this because of the direct sunlight? Could it be that the garden soil is leaching some chemicals that are harmful to the fish? I added a cap of pea gravel to the pot. . The water has a light green tinge. I think it should be cycled by now, but I can’t explain what is happening. I have raised white clouds easily in regular 20 gallon tubs in the patio, with no direct sun light and they did fine. Should I remove the arrowhead? Any advice is much appreciated
Becca
Members
My guess would be the soil.
mchambers
Former CCA member
How warm did the water get? White clouds like cooler temps.
verbal
CCA Members
I think it like comes down to either the soil or the direct sun or the combination producing an algae bloom that robbed the tub of oxygen.
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jonclark96
Past CCA President
Does the garden soil have fertilizer in it already? That may be the culprit.
Avatar
Plenipotentiary-at-large
Can't breathe
Oxygen deficit definitely possible but Scott's Garden Soil is stuffed with fertilizers otherwise you'd just be buying a bag of plain dirt.
Just looked it up the content and it's .08 -.05 - .05 (N/P/K) and as such is formulated to release nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for three months, so yes you're going to get an algae bloom.
Dump it, hose off the dirt, pot or root the plants in plain old clay/dirt form your yard and try again. It's early yet, plenty of time to take another run at it...
Oxygen deficit definitely possible but Scott's Garden Soil is stuffed with fertilizers otherwise you'd just be buying a bag of plain dirt.
Just looked it up the content and it's .08 -.05 - .05 (N/P/K) and as such is formulated to release nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for three months, so yes you're going to get an algae bloom.
Dump it, hose off the dirt, pot or root the plants in plain old clay/dirt form your yard and try again. It's early yet, plenty of time to take another run at it...
