u/Ok_Yesterday_2719

We’ve had this plastic container set up as a mini pond since early April. It holds around 200L of water and currently has a few medaka, pond snails and aquatic plants. Over the past weeks temperatures were around 16°C on average. Our garden faces south/southwest, although trees behind the house provide shade during the hottest part of the day.

What I find interesting is that several very warm and sunny days, we barely have any string algae. However, the water itself is slowly becoming greener.

Could this simply be because the pond is still young and biologically “maturing”, or could something else be causing it?

Another thing I noticed: algae growth only appears lower on the walls of the container, not directly near the top/waterline. There’s a green band forming a bit deeper underwater. The water level has always remained the same (up to the overflow hole), so it’s not an waterline mark.

Does anyone know why algae would grow in this specific pattern, and whether this is normal for a young mini pond?

I think I’m slowly going crazy over my little pond.
I spend so much time leaning over it, watching everything that’s happening. Now I just spotted two snails “dancing” together… what’s actually going on here?
Is it what I think it is?

Is she already carrying eggs?

I’m new to the world of mini ponds. We’ve just set up a small pond with gravel and zeolite on the bottom. I already have a few water plants in it, but I’d like to cover more of the bottom with plants. I’m not sure what plants would be suitable. The only fish in the pond we have are a few medaka.