We have recently put a pond in our back yard, a fairly large one! We
did this because our older son loves to play with all kinds of critters
(Water or Land). At first we had a crystal clear pond, that is, liner,
rocks, water, pump, and filter. Once we put the plants and fish in, what a
green soupy mess in a matter of days. I got information from our local nursery
and he recommended a powder to clear the water. I am reading your page
and you say no chemicals. Well I don't know if the chemical worked or if
I got enough information off line about plants and fish and got lucky and
combined a good combo. Now this guy is recommending a UV light to keep
the water clear- What do you think? Also you say no turtles because
they will eat the fish ---oh no!!! My son is putting turtles in on a
daily basis and we do have a missing fish. I can't understand why it
would have eaten a large fish and not the baby ones. Is there any way
to have the turtles and fish? Maybe if we keep minnows in the pond. Any
advice would be appreciated, I want to have a pond that is clear and
enjoyable with great color. Any opinions on goldfish(fantail)? Thanks
for listening and I hope to hear from you at your convenience.
PL answers: Wow, lots of questions. First of all, you are on the right track. As far as the UV goes, I have installed them, but if we keep our ponds balanced, we don't need them at all and it is just one more than that needs to be watched and replaced. The turtles will eventually eat the plant material, probably much faster than the fish. My guess on the missing fish is that a visiting bird had a great sushi dinner that night.
Minnows are great. They will keep the mosquito population away, although your pump will do that just fine. Mosquitoes will not breed in moving water.
A fan tail goldfish will be great. I would wait until the pond is a few months old before introducing any expensive fish. I also advise against feeder fish because many of them are sick when you buy them. After all, they are used only for feeding larger fish. If they are sick, sometimes they can introduce a disease to the other fish and you will lose them all.
You seem to be doing fine. Just remember, a pond thrives on benevolent neglect.
Have fun and don't name those fish.
1 comment:
just started up a 100 gallon pond and all but 4 fish died so we drainned it and started again , now its doing better but in the last few days its getting darker in color, i know we need some alge but how much is too much? we have 4 koi and i apple snail and a few - 18 small very small gold fish one lillie pad plant and one cleaner fish cant think of its really name , anything you can do to help us , its not easy being green!!!
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