Have you ever heard about putting fish in a horse's water to keep it clean?
LOL.
I was searching google for different ways to clean a horse's water, and there was a Y!A question from 3 years ago about putting fish in the water trough to keep it algae free. it would make sense to put a fish like algae eaters in there, since duh, they eat algae...but it seems like something's fishy (hehe) about this. seems like it's good in theory, but wouldn't work. i mean horses are herbivores, so they shouldn't want to eat the fish (unless you're my horse...knowing him he would try). What do you think? ever heard of it? done it? known someone who did it?
Anonymous2010-03-22T10:12:30Z
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I've heard this MYTH for most of my life and it needs a stake driven through it's "heart".
Okay, Let's look at "feeder fish". (1) Feeder fish are spawned by the thousands to feed other fish. They're caught and sold "as is". Meaning they are not treated for parasites or diseases, putting the tank owners fish at serious risk.
(2) Have you ever drunk your aquarium water? Yes, horses do drink from ponds, lakes, stream that have fish. The difference, those are "open" active dynamic systems with established levels of oxygen, beneficial bacteria etc. Putting fish into the water tank a closed system, unbalanced dirty water. You might as well give your horse the water from your aquarium.
Algae eaters (and all fish) have specific requirements for survival. Correct ph, adequate oxygen levels and so forth. These are not present in a water tank.What oxygen available in a freshly filled tank declines as the water warms in the sun. No oxygen, fish suffocate. The ph, unless tested is a guess. Extreme ph swings kill fish. Dead or dying fish decomposing (rotting) in the water is a health threat to horses.
"Oh, but I'll be there to give fresh water every day". If you're going to be giving fresh water every day, go ahead and clean the tank. Got a couple of horses and a 400 gallon tank? Use a smaller tank.
Putting fish in a horses water to keep it clean is an excuse for "I'm too lazy/don't want to clean it". It's a stupid idea
Algae blooms because of direct sunlight. Eliminate exposure to sunlight, eliminate algae.
Hmm, I've never heard of that. I'd say it's a neat idea, but then I'm thinking of a fish tank and what it takes for those fish to survive. I had algae eating sucker fish and my tank still had a lot of algae that needed to be cleaned. In addition, you need to get air into that tank for the fish to survive, though I'm not sure how this would translate if the water is outdoors. And I wouldn't want my horses to eat the fish either, and they try to eat anything they can, including a jacket of mine and the cushion of a tractor seat :/ Some horses also love to play with the water and that could be quite hazardous to those fish.
I've found that using a cloth cleans up the algae pretty well, and a lot of water pressure. I usually have to clean the water once a week to keep the algae down. One thing to try is putting the water in a shady area, it's proven to reduce algae for me by quite a bit.
Yea, I have heard of it before... don't know much about it though.
Haha, I think I would try it but as you know, I live in Minnesota... so figuring out what to do with them over the winter would be interesting. And secondly, I have automatic-waterers now, so putting a fish in there would be pretty interesting as well LOL. I'm not so sure my horses would appreciate sharing their 9" by 9" water dish with a fish. haha....
Add: I just found something on another forum, here's what it said, "Steer clear of goldfish in troughs because: 1) they don't eat algae anyway, so (2) you'd have to feed them or they'd die if no mosquitos laid eggs in your trough (3) if you feed them, remember the trough will be full of fish waste and excreta unless you install pumps, filters and aerators (4) troughs can get boiling hot/dried out/frozen solid and fish are living creatures too. The solution to clean water in troughs is elbow grease."
So all that to say.... maybe it's not such a good idea after all :/ lol.
I've never heard that one and I won't repeat why a famous actor said he didn't drink water because I'd get modded! :-)
It is quite possible that a horse would refuse to drink water which had fish swimming in it.
Water troughs should be cleaned out regularly anyway. Horses WILL drink out of dirty troughs if they are desperate enough but they won't generally choose to do so.
EDIT: I posted before I read the other replies. I found the other replies about fish very interesting.
I've never heard of that, but actually it's not a half baked Idea.
I'm guessing you would get a medium/large pleco (the algae eaters) and place it in your horse's water. The added ammonia to the water from the fish waste would trigger Nitrospirae to grow on the sides probably. This bacteria takes the nitrogenous wastes of fish (Ammonia, NH3) and converts it into Nitrite (NO2), which through dissimilation gets turned into Nitrogen (Gas N2). So in theory you'd have to supply another water source for a little while for the bacteria to grow, in addition you would have to slightly warm the water to 75-80F and maintain that temp, but you would most likely never have an algae problem, and Nitrogen comprises 78% of air, so you'd be doing everyone a favor as well.