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Summary
Paul’s review of Sepp Holzer’s Desert or Paradise continues with Opalyn and Katie.
“Hang a light bulb, ideally a solar one, over a pond at night. It will attract lots of mosquitos that in turn, attract fish. You can create a shallow zone underneath it by putting some rocks in the water, then only the young fish can swim there and catch mosquitos and flies – a simple way of providing food for the fish and to reduce the mosquito population at the same time.” It should be noted that mosquitos aren’t particularly attracted to light, even UV lights, so Sepp is probably using “mosquitos” to mean any small annoying insect. In a similar vein, you can keep termite swarms out of the house with a strong work light outside the house – turn it on overnight, and frogs will be attracted to it along with the termites. Side effects may include overweight frogs.
“I do not need to worry about fish reproduction in a naturally built lake. All I need to do is to ensure that there are enough sheltered spots for spawning. In order to protect the offspring, I create fish kindergartens by placing rocks, trees, or scrub in the shallow zones that create a safe space for the young fish to mature. These provide plenty of food, and the predatory fish cannot get in. Various fish have different needs for spawning grounds. Pike spawn next to the grass by the bank. Zander spawn in deep or shallow zones, usually next to roots. You can help the by building nests for them. I tie fine roots, twigs, and branches and hang them 1-2m deep in the pond. Trout need shallow zones with running water and a bed of gravel or sand. They travel up to the inflow of the lake and create little hollows with their fins in which they leave their eggs. These are then immediately fertilized by the male trout, and the hollows are closed off again. The hollows need constant flowing water otherwise the eggs go moldy – that is why trout seek the inflow of a lake. The spawn live off their yolk bags until, as youngsters, they can start eating mosquitos and small insects.” Shallow, standing water tends to have a lot of microorganisms called Daphnia that can provide fish with half of their food.
Relevant Threads
Ponds forum
Sepp Holzer on ponds and "the monk"
Bugs forum
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This podcast was made possible thanks to:
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