Pond fish

[CACAdmin]

A number of you have ponds of varying sizes and I am curious as to choice of fish for your ponds.

I have in the past very successfully stocked my nano pond with Hets and also have on occasion had platys in there. This year I tried Limia Tridens who were raised at room temps but either I added them too early (night time pond temps drop as the pond is very small) or they aren't suitable (and yet are very hardy fish). Now that summer is full blown I will try a couple in there again and see how they do.

What fish do you stock your pond with?

[OldMan]

I am in my first very experimental year. I'm not sure what will survive or thrive in mine. I have a molly fry that I needed out of my tank to make room for another project and 7 X Helleri that I bought as juveniles with the thought to grow them out. By next weekend I hope to move some platies in with them. So far all are thriving and growing like crazy. Next year I may get a little braver and put my Xenotoca Eiseni in there to colony breed.
I would not call mine a mini but it is only 150 gallons so not very big for a pond. Temperatures do vary but only a few degrees so everyone adapts as it happens. The temperature especially moves when we get a good rain. I have the pond in partial shade under the edge of a tree so it only gets about 4 hours a day of direct sun which is helping with temperature stability.

[Melody]

Swordtails are one fish that really responds to being kept outdoors. You won't believe the colour levels you'll see. :yes:

[CACAdmin]

Glad to hear the mollies are thriving in your pond OldMan. At 150g you won't see any extreme temps so you have a wider variety of fish to chose from (my little pond is only 7g). I think the fish benefit too from the natural light, the chance to eat insects, etc.

As for platies, from my experience they do well.

Melody, I wonder if it's diet or the natural light or a combination of both that bring out the color levels in swordtails. Any idea?

[distanc3]

Swordtails are one fish that really responds to being kept outdoors. You won't believe the colour levels you'll see. :yes:

would goldfishes and kois eat the swordtails? :confused:

[Melody]

At the size they get, I'm sure they could if they wanted to.

[Laura]

We set up a small inground pond for the first time this year with a simple DIY filter. I think the pond is only about 50 gallons, but we wanted to do some landscaping and made sure to fit it in (with the full knowledge that we'll likely go bigger in the future).

I wanted something low maintenance and figured the racoons next door would try to eat whatever I put in there, so I stocked it with rosy red minnows. I figured they were a NA native sp. so should be able to stay out for longer than many other fish, and were small enough that they wouldn't make easy pickings for the racoons.

I got about 20 recognizing that I would lose some just due to the poor conditions feeder fish are kept in. They also needed some safety in numbers to be comfortable and not cowering in the bottom of the pond. I've got 13 left who are doing great and school together nicely.

I'm going to pull them in for the winter, but will still wait a while. I think they're a fantastic pond fish - inexpensive and they stand out in the pond very nicely.

[Melody]

Melody, I wonder if it's diet or the natural light or a combination of both that bring out the color levels in swordtails. Any idea?

Missed this part :Embarassing:. Both. Studies indicate that Swordtails respond to exposure to sunlight with increased colour and breeding, for example. There's one species that I can't remember the name of :rolleyes: that only sport some red colouration if they get sunlight, just like some red plants! :wink: A steady source of live food from larvae to algae is always a benefit to fish and colour is part of the testimonial to that. I would make sure they get a high quality source of a broader range nutrients throughout the Summer though, especially if there isn't much for algae in the pond. That can come in commercial food form like Omega One Super Vegie, fresh vegies and/or seaweed. It doesn't have to be daily... I'd probably go with at least twice/week. Carnivores or ominivorous fish that require a diet high in protein would be fine without the vegies I'm sure, but a quality food as a vitamin supplement still wouldn't be a bad idea.

[CACAdmin]

I think it's quite interesting to see the variety of fish people have tried successfully outdoors over the summer. They seem to thrive in the outdoors and their diets are likely enhanced by insects and micro organisms from the outdoor environment and as you indicated Melody the natural sunlight does have an impact too.

Although this is the end of the pond season, I hope this will inspire many of you to try even a little 'tub pond' next year... if you have species you can move from you tank to the pond for the summer, it's rather like giving them a little vacation. :smile:

[Gobies et al]

I had an 800 gallon pond for a few years. I sold my Koi last year and dismantled and filled in my pond this year. I experimented a few years with different species.

These are some of the fish I have kept in my outdoor pond (not overwintered):

Koi
Common Goldfish
Comet Goldfish
Rosy Barb (Barbus conchonius)
Weather Loach (Misgurnus angullicaudatus)
White Cloud Mountain Minnow (Tanichtys albonubes)
Zebra Danio (Brachydanio rerio)
Common Hypostomus (brought in when water temperature dropping under 60 F)
Boesemani Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia boesemani) (brought in ~60 F)
Western Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida australis)
Rosy Red Minnow
Paradise Fish (Macropodus opercularis)

All brought in beginning of September or water temperature staying in low 50's.

Others I have heard can be out but haven't tried:

Gold Barb (Barbus schuberti)
Green Barb (Barbus semifasciolatus)
Pearl Danio (Brachydanio albolineatus)

My Goldfish, Rosie Barbs, Rosy Red Minnows, and Western Rainbowfish have all spawned in my pond. I was careful with the Koi and only kept females.

Distanc3 - Yes, I can positively say Koi will eat Swordtails. Mine were probably >16 in. when they did.

Laura - I hope you don't get overrun with Rosy Reds. They can really multiply! My suggestion would be try a school of Rosy Barb males only. They are also fantastic for eating algae.

I miss my pond... I'm sure in another year or two I'll have another!

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for sharing your pond experiences Gobies et al. I gather most of the species you tried in the pond managed to handle temps down to the low 50's. That's good to know as I've always been concerned when temps reach the mid 60's. Is that surface temp? I am curious as surface water temp change much more.

Fish are often much more resiliant than we give them credit for. I don't worry about my marisa snails so much as they can a wide range of temps but I am always worried that I will leave the fish out there too long. (Of course, I have a tiny pond and as a consequence temps can drop rapidly). I envy you your 800g pond... and understand how you miss it.Do you have any pics of it before you filled it in?

[Gobies et al]

A few of the species survived temperatures as low as 40 F, accidentally of course ... missed them in the round up, Rosie barbs, White Clouds, Weather loach.

I used a digital thermometer in the mid to lower reaches and I could monitor from in the house. I would still get ~ 10 degrees temperature fluctuation in 24 hours.

I will post some pictures of it and my indoor overwintering ponds when I am able.

Do I need to have a certain number of posts before I can post pictures?

[Laura]

Thanks for the warning about the prolific breeding for the minnows.
I started the pond quite late in the summer and they haven't bred - I guess I lucked out - I just caught the original bakers dozen to winter them over indoors as we're having a warm spell.

[CACAdmin]

I will post some pictures of it and my indoor overwintering ponds when I am able.

Do I need to have a certain number of posts before I can post pictures?
No prerequisites. We love pics. Info on how to post pics here (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=492).

[sass]

We set up a 300 gallon stock tank made by Rubbermaid on our deck every spring and house butterfly koi and shubunkins in it.
I know koi and shubunkins are not anything out of the ordinary but they really add a relaxing touch to the deck, always begging for food and kisses:rolleyes: .
The sound of the running water makes relaxing that much easier. I often sit in a chair with my feet propped up on the side of the tank and our guys trying to nibble at your toes.
MMMmmmm winter is going to be long I think.

[CACAdmin]

Sounds like a great setup. It sounds like your koi and shubunkins are quite the characters. I can just picture them trying to nibble your toes.