Bored With Goldfish...

[FiSh123FiSh]

I noticed Ryan left out some discriptions of fish which were less common possibilities .

Bream - Need a very deep and large pond atleast 5' deep , they are prone to illness and will desimate of any insect life in a small pond. The sediment at the bottom of the pond will be constantly stirred up so the pond will look murky. They need to be in a shoal of atleast 3.
Bream

Chub - Predatory will eat anything that swims but they are omnivorous! It needs well oxygenated fast flowing water. Chub are sometimes found as a "lone wolf" but most of the time they are a shoaling fish. They do need some meaty food.
Chub

Trout - Very hard fish to keep. Needs highly oxygenated and fast flowing water(leave for the more experienced).
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout

Barbel - Omnivorous, need highly oxygenated and fast flowing water. The record for barbel is almost 21lbs so they grow quite large.
Barbel

Pike - Seriously don't try to keep this fish unless you have a large pond and no smaller fish unless you have enough room and enough small fish to keep it. At my LFS a bloke who works there called Trevor used to have a pike in a pond when he was a child and he used to cycle round every fish shop and pick up a dead or dying fish to feed it... well enough of the storys. Pike are hugely predatory and will eat everything. They need quite alot of space due to there large size.
Pike


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Roach - They are quite common to rudd and are very lively. Roach shoal in large numbers from 5 - 40. They generally feed from the middle and top. As I have once caught roach on a fly. The roach record was just under 6lbs so they do not grow that large.
Roach

Bleak - They are a silvery colour with an upturned mouth so they feed off the surface. They eat insect mainly and can become quite tame to eat out of a hand. The Bleak grow to about 4" in length and are a shoaling fish. Anglers never go out to specificly catch Bleak but they usually find your hook with a maggot on. Anglers use them for bait, which is there reason for being caught.
Bleak

Perch - Perch have been sold in LFS as I recently saw them. They are hugly preditory and as young Perch tend to shoal but as they get older they tend to Stay alone. They should not be kept with smaller fish as they would be mearly a snack.
Perch


Hope this helps,

Tom.

 

[FiSh123FiSh]

Thanks for pinning it! I feel like I have achived something

Tom

 

[balapickerel]

funny, i have fished for most of these fish, but other considerations include, shiner minnows, bass and catfish

and another fish that i have that are very attractive in the right lighting are central mud minnows, here is a picture

 

[afishdude]

nice, I think ima make one too.

 

[jnrcorps]

i to have fished for most of these fish, but i have to say that i found this very interesting

 

[steve...c]

you forgot my fav fishing fish the tench. great info btw

 

[Ryefish]

I agree with the Tench. I have three, two green and a gold. The gold are very beautiful when they are matured (i never see my green ones so i cant comment )

 

[FiSh123FiSh]

Ah so I have my biggest I ve caught is 9lbs 4oz.

I have a 4" in my pond lol.

I'll do one now:

Tench

Very slow growing fish and will not be seen in your pond in daytime unless very large and brave. I tend to see mine very shortly at night. A bottom dweller and enjoys sifting through the silt for aquatic insects such as blood worm etc. Comes in two colours, green and golden (green is the natural colour) They will relish earthworms and sinking food. Youw will more often than not see your tench in the winter/autunm months as this fish deep hibernates until the spring when it spawns. The skin of the tench is smooth as it contains very small scales. It also has a thick protective layer of black slime which is often left behind in a net. A myth of the tench is that is is said that its skin has healing properties and other fish "rub against" it.

Moreover, the Tench would make a nice aset to your pond.

 

[coldwatermarinez]

Here are some other pond fish that have been missing from both lists:

Small ponds:

Spined Loach
Cobitis taenia - A small European loach, needs no license in the UK as it is native. Relatively easy to keep with good filtration. It is similar to the Asian weather loaches but can survive much lower temperatures and so is more pond friendly. Adult size is 9-12cm (3-4").

Stone Loach
Barbatula barbatula - Another European loach, also native to the UK so no license required. This one is more sedate than the spined loach but also needs good filtration. Very easy to keep. Adult size is 12-14cm (4-5").

European Bullhead
Cottus gobio - Yet another good bottom feeder for the smaller pond, again requires good filtration, however it is very predatory so do not trust it with smaller fish such as baby minnows. Again, UK safe as it is native, and found across Europe. Adult size is 6-9cm (2-3").

Ninespine Stickleback
Pungitius pungitius - A small stickleback species, care is almost identical to that of the three-spined stickleback. Found across Europe and North America and UK safe. Easy to keep. Adult size is 4-9cm (1.5"-3".)

Southern Redbelly Dace
Phoxinus erythrogaster - Small fish that gets on well with minnows and shiners, native to the eastern US states. License required to keep in the UK. Adult size is 6-9cm (2-3").

Tadpole Madtom
Noturus gyrinus - Scavenging catfish, good companion for other North American native fish. Found along the east coast of the USA and Canada. The North American equivalent to Corydoras and Brochis. Adult size is 9-12cm (3-4").

Mosquito Fish
Gambusia sp. - A small, very aggressive livebearer. Keep either alone or with much larger fish that can fend for themselves, such as bluegills. Gambusia affinis is the species found in the western US states and Mexico, while Gambusia holbrooki is present in the eastern US states and Canadian provinces. Both species are now present across South America, Australia, North Africa, Russia and Ukraine through deliberate introduction to control mosquitoes. Adult size is 4-7cm (1-2").

Brook Stickleback
Culaea inconstans - A North American stickleback, an important food fish for trout, bass, perch, chub and pike. Native to the north-eastern US states and the east coast of Canada. Does well when kept with other small and medium sized native fish such as minnows, other stickleback species, sunfish, darters, shiners and madtoms in a well planted pond. Adult size is 4-9cm (1.5-3").

Large ponds:

Channel Catfish
Ictalurus punctatus - A large predatory catfish from North America that will readily eat all small fish. Golden form is commonly available. Best kept with large fish such as grass carp, koi and sturgeon species, as it will eat most goldfish. Not native, but currently UK safe. Adult size is about 80-200cm.

Diamond Sturgeon
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii - One of the larger species of sturgeon, but also one of the most attractive. Needs a large pond. Peaceful, but will take small fish, but not particularly piscivorous so should be fine with good sized goldfish. Difficult to keep and expensive, so do not attempt keeping one of these unless you have experience with other sturgeons like Siberians or Sterlets first. Non-native, but UK safe. Adult size is around 100-150cm (40-60").

Siberian Sturgeon
Acipenser baerii - Another large sturgeon species, sometimes mistakenly sold as and often confused with the sterlet. Grows much larger and is relatively peaceful but will take very small fish. Non-native but UK safe. Adult size is 100-150cm (40-60").

Hi-fin Banded Shark
Myxocyprinus asiaticus - Very attractive bottom feeder. Needs a substantial amount of vegetable matter in it's diet. Very safe with other fish, but may have to be taken indoors in harsh winters. License required to keep in the UK. Adult size is 50-90cm (20-36").

Northern Snakehead
Channa argus - A large predator that is also very aggressive. Will eat goldfish and orfe and tear chunks out of koi. Best kept alone or with large armoured fish such as channel catfish and sturgeons. License required to keep in the UK. Adult size is 80-120cm (32-48").



I think this topic should be merged with the other topic to clear things up a little.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Thanks for those contributions Coldwater..... (although they are all banned species here in South Africa)....

 

[coldwatermarinez]

Thanks for those contributions Coldwater..... (although they are all banned species here in South Africa)....

Trust me, you guys have MUCH better fish than Europe. Some of the South African tilapias are very interesting to keep.

 

[IainMac85]

what about the species of ide or orfe? i see alot of lfs selling them and they are quite attractive

 

[matthodd]

hey sorry i am new to this but i joined in view of fidning out and seeking help with my goldfish tank

i have some goldies and to spice it up a few guppies for colour i was wondering in order to make it a little bit more interesting to look at does any one know of any shrimps that might fit in to my set up

thanks alot

matt

 

[Sam-Baker]

If you like Carp then a crucian carp is a small growing example that will show rich golds and is a really beautiful fish all in all usually growing to about 2lbs...

hey sorry i am new to this but i joined in view of fidning out and seeking help with my goldfish tank

i have some goldies and to spice it up a few guppies for colour i was wondering in order to make it a little bit more interesting to look at does any one know of any shrimps that might fit in to my set up

thanks alot

matt

 

[Discusfish]

I’m a great fan of carps and tilapias. They are easy to be taken care of. Does anybody know about breeding of carp?