Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 7/14/2008

Question
We have a dirt tank or pond on our farm in West Texas.  Recently, a moss has started growing and is rapidly trying to take over the tank.  We have perch and crappie and maybe a few catfish in the tank.  How can we kill out this golden algie?  We have tried removing it by pulling it out.  This is not working but we sure are!  We have tried ashes from our wood buring stove.  This sure cleared the water but did not kill out the moss.  Thanks for any help.

Answer
Dear June,

About the only remedy that won't harm your fish is a product called "pond shade."  This is a dye that prevents sunlight from reaching the algae's deeper parts, and the stuff dies from lack of photosynthesis.

It doesn't look very pretty.  But short of physically pulling out the growing stuff, "pond shade" is the only thing I know that will stop the growth of unwanted weed plants in closed bodies of water.

You can find Pond Shade here:

http://www.pfpros.com/pondshade.shtml

It may not completely get rid of the algae, but it will inhibit its growth to some degree.

Hope that helps.

Dana