Starting a pond

[FishLover4+1]

Hi everyone! We've just had a pond put in, and the guys building it gave us some free fish. We weren't expecting them until May, but they turned up today with a load of bags and long story short we now have a pond full of fish. I've never kept pond fish before (although I have had temperate fish inside before) and basically I have a list of questions.

We have 2 fancy goldfish, 2 koi (still small) and quite a few goldfish.

The pond is huge so size isn't an issue. It's also 2ft deep. It's tiled at the bottom, the same as the sides (see picture)

We have a filter and waterfall. The water has been treated with a dechlorinator.

So onto my questions:

1. What equipment will we need? I've seen stuff about UV lights etc, are these necessary?
2. What plants are good for ponds in the UK? We're thinking lilypads but I'm imaging the fish would like some underwater plants as well?
3. Do we need to add some friendly bacteria in since the fish went in so suddenly?
4. How can we stop them being eaten by herons? Ideally nothing too obtrusive, my dad is very fussy about it looking "cool"
5. When do we start feeding them? I saw online that they won't eat if the water is under 10C, but they seemed to be foraging earlier so I put in a few pellets and they ate them.
6. Anything in particular we should be looking for in a good fish food?

(Would just like to point out that if it was up to me we'd have all this in advance, there would be a net or something on top etc. Unfortunately its my parents pond so I wasn't really involved in the planning)

 

[UnknownFishies]

I don’t know much about ponds but one thing I do know is get a net. Put it over the pond in fall and winter so there is no leaves in the pond.

 

[seangee]

I would suggest a UV filter - either standalone or in your main filter (if your filter that supports it). This will kill off the unicellular algae that turns your water green. You need to replace the tube(s) every year but don't need it over winter. You can't control the light outdoors so this is pretty much a neccessity if you want to see into the water. I would not feed them now until the filter has time to establish. I usually stick to feeding them only above 10C but TBH they will get plenty of food even if you don't feed them. Mine does not have plants because they eat / destroy whatever I put in there.

I made a wooden frame and put butterfly netting on it.

 

[DAnCSF]

Good luck with your pond, it's another of my wild ideas that I would someday like to act on . BUt I can't help but think a pond full of fish in my urban setting is nothing more than a buffet for the raccoons, skunks and birds in the area.

Regards DanC

 

[Naughts]

They look very exposed there in the shallows - herons, cats etc will pick them off in no time so get a grid on there until you work out a "cool" way to protect them.

 

[FishLover4+1]

Thanks everyone! I was expecting to be roasted on here for not being better prepared, but luckily people are a lot nicer here than they are on facebook! has anyone had any experience with the floating plastic web things you put around the edge? They seem to have mixed reviews

 

[Colin_T]

Take the 2 fantails out and put them inside. They won't do well with single tailed fish and koi. I would get rid of the koi carp too because they get huge (3 feet long) and the pond isn't deep enough for them.

In really cold climates you want the pond at least 3 feet deep so it doesn't freeze solid. Two feet deep should be ok but it might not be. Deeper ponds are also better for water lilies.

Put some frame work up or some stakes in the ground and stretch some netting over the pond to stop the birds getting in.

UV sterilisers can be used in spring and summer. they help kill single celled algae that makes the water green. You don't normally need a UV steriliser in autumn or winter. And if you have lots of plants in the pond, you might not need one at all. However, koi will eat plants and goldfish do too, although small goldfish aren't that bad on plants.

A decent filter and regular water changes and sucking the gunk out of the bottom will do more to control algae than a UV steriliser.

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Don't bother feeding the fish unless it's over 10C and 15C is better.

Avoid fish foods that have grains or herbs and spices in. If it contains wheat flour, corn starch, soy meal, etc, avoid it. Fish can't digest grains and any fish food with flour in is not good for them. Flour is used as a filler and binding agent and is cheaper than fish, prawn and aquatic organisms that fish normally eat.

Avoid fish foods with things like rosemary, thyme and any other garden plant in because fish can't digest them well.

A good fish food will have prawn, fish and maybe squid or octopus as the first 3 ingredients. Then it might have algae and maybe some vitamins. But most vitamins go off pretty quickly so the stuff they put in fish food isn't usually helpful by the time you get it.

On the ingredients look for whole fish rather than fish products. Fish products include bone and scale and other bits that don't necessarily have much nutritional value.

Goldfish and koi need a lot of plant matter in their diet so look for a food that has some plant/ algae in it. Aquatic plants and algae are better for the fish than terrestrial plants, and easier for them to digest.

 

[seangee]

koi carp too because they get huge (3 feet long)

So will the goldfish. I set my pond up in 2004. The biggest Koi / Ghosts (I have both) are over 2' long. Last summer the goldies were not far behind at around 20". These were all bought as wrigglers.

 

[Colin_T]

I don't include the tail when I measure fish. A large comet goldfish might reach 12-18 inches body size but could have a 10 inch tail.

Koi carp can hit 3 feet long and that does not include the tail.

The biggest Koi carp I have seen was at a pond shop and it took 2 big guys to lift this thing out of the water. It was close to 5 feet long and over a foot in diameter. You could shove your fist in its mouth.

 

[Stan510]

How large is the pond? I had a pond 12x12x3'deep and I had Koi,Shubunkins,a few stubby fantails that grew huge and were kee-yute with the wiggle swimming. I even had some Golden Shiners that made great pond fish.
No -catfish!...ever! The albino's look nice..but will attack your true pet fish as they grow.
Japanese Loaches are fine..very interesting as they come out of nowhere to feed at the surface for pellets.
Its amazing to me how the power of sunlight UV can make a fish pond clear and disease free and with no water changes all summer- at best case. With a good filter I might add.