AquaExtension

🦠 Meet the hardest-working crew in your pond.

Beneficial Pond Bacteria (BPB) are the unseen workforce that keeps aquatic ecosystems functioning around the clock. These naturally occurring microorganisms serve as the pond's biological filtration system, breaking down waste, cycling nutrients, improving water clarity, and helping suppress nuisance algae before problems become visible.

Rather than reacting to issues after they occur, BPB provide a proactive management approach by continuously processing fish waste, decaying vegetation, organic muck, and excess nutrients. Many commercial bacterial products are designed to supplement existing populations, boosting these natural processes and helping ponds maintain balance more efficiently.

In general, beneficial pond bacteria can be grouped by the jobs they perform:

🔹 Phosphorus Cycling & Storage
🔹 Nitrifying & Denitrifying Bacteria
🔹 Sludge, Muck & Organic Matter Digestors
🔹 Water Column Clarifiers
🔹 Daily Reflection (Photosynthetic) Bacteria

Together, these microscopic managers work 24/7 to support water quality, reduce maintenance needs, and create healthier aquatic ecosystems.

Pond muck accumulation caused by decaying organic matter is a common challenge for pond owners, often reducing water depth, contributing to nutrient buildup, and impacting overall pond health.

To help address this issue, 's Kori Paliwoda, laboratory technician in the Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory and TAMU Department of Rangeland, Wildlife & Fisheries Management undergraduate student, is leading a study evaluating multiple commercially available bacterial muck digestion products.

Using pond sediment collected from a catfish pond, the study will compare the effectiveness of these products under controlled conditions to determine which provide the greatest muck reduction and overall water quality benefits. The goal is to provide pond owners with science-based recommendations to help them select the most effective and cost-efficient solution for managing pond muck.

Stay tuned for updates as the project progresses!

Your pond already has a management team working 24/7... and most of them are microscopic.

Join us for The Tiniest Pond Managers: Natural Bacteria and Bacterial Derived Products webinar on June 16th to learn how beneficial bacteria influence water quality, fish health, nutrient cycling, aquatic plant growth, algae management, and even pond depth.

Many pond owners think of bacteria only when something goes wrong, but the right bacterial communities are constantly working behind the scenes to keep aquatic ecosystems functioning. This webinar will explore the different types of bacteria found in ponds, the roles they play, and the growing number of bacterial, bacteria-derived, and bacterial support products available for pond management.

The best part? Many bacterial products are incredibly simple to use. In many cases, it's as easy as adding the product and letting billions of tiny pond managers get to work.

Register today and discover how some of the smallest organisms in your pond can have the biggest impact.
Visit the link in our bio or go to tx.ag/PondBacteria.

Congratulations to Kori Paliwoda on being selected as a recipient of the Waller County Master Gardeners Association Scholarship! 🎉

Kori serves as an undergraduate student assistant in the Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, where she has analyzed more than 100 water samples for private landowners and supports ongoing aquaculture and water quality research. Her attention to detail, initiative, and commitment to excellence have made her an invaluable member of our team.

We are proud to see Kori recognized for her hard work and dedication, and we look forward to seeing all she accomplishes in the future. Congratulations, Kori! 👏💧

What a great way to end the week, we had a blast!

Not every “pond hack” on the internet belongs in your waterbody.

From cinnamon for duckweed to random “miracle cures” mixed in a 5-gallon bucket, social media is packed with DIY aquatic plant advice that ranges from ineffective… to actively harmful.

Aquatic plant management is rarely one-size-fits-all. Correct identification, water use restrictions, dissolved oxygen risks, fisheries impacts, timing, nutrient dynamics, and treatment area all matter before anything goes in the water.

Sometimes the “cheap fix” ends up costing more than the original problem. 🌱💸

Selective breeding in aquaculture works a lot like it does in agriculture and livestock production. Researchers identify fish with desirable traits such as faster growth, improved survival, better feed efficiency, and greater tolerance to environmental stress, then use those fish as future broodstock to strengthen the next generation. 🧬

Last month, the AquaExtension team visited North Carolina State University’s Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory, where striped bass have been selectively bred for up to seven generations. Over time, programs like this can improve production consistency, resilience, and hatchery performance while helping producers adapt to changing environmental conditions.

At AquaExtension, we are now exploring how similar genetics-based approaches could help improve red drum production in Texas, especially for traits like cold tolerance following severe winter losses experienced by producers in recent years.

We cannot wait to share more from our time at PAFL and give a behind-the-scenes look at the hatchery systems, spawning operations, selective breeding strategies, and research collaborations shaping the future of U.S. aquaculture.

Goodwin 2026 chair-elect of U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef- AgriLife Today Jeff Goodwin, Ph.D., was appointed chair-elect of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef during the organization’s general assembly meeting.

After two years of “Are the aquatic plant ID cards coming back?”, we finally get to say: YES. 🌿⁠
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The newly revised 2026 Aquatic Vegetation Identification Cards are officially available.⁠
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This updated edition includes 59 aquatic plant species/groupings commonly found in Texas freshwater habitats and continues a resource originally created by Dr. Masser in the early 2000s with help from many of the legends in the aquatic plant world.

The new revision also includes detailed line drawings generously gifted to our program by Charles Stutzenbaker, a Texas A&M graduate, Texas Parks and Wildlife retiree, and author of several aquatic plant and waterfowl books.

The cards include:
✔️ High-quality field photos⁠
✔️ Line drawings for quick comparison⁠
✔️ Floating, submerged, emergent plants & algae⁠
✔️ Durable coil-bound design for field use⁠
✔️ Designed for real-world identification in Texas waters⁠
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Whether you’re training new employees, scouting ponds, or teaching workshops, these cards were built to go where muddy boots go. ⁠
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Link in our bio or go to tx.ag/IDCards for product listing ⁠
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Effects of reduced-frequency feeding in the grow out of domesticated Striped Bass in recirculating aquaculture AbstractObjective. The Striped Bass Morone saxatilis is an emerging cultivar in the United States due in large part to its rapid growth rate and the abilit