Author Topic: Fish (Read 5669 times)

Mrs Ava · « **on:** January 18, 2005, 18:36:54 »

Pond lovers everywhere.....had out pond in situ now since early summer and as you may recall, lost our first batch of fish to something, possibly a bug, possibly number one son catching them and hurting them! grrr. Anyhow, Ava is planning to make a net cover to keep the children from bothering the pond and I would like to replace the fish for him instead of an Easter Egg. When is a good time to buy new fish? Won't be Koi, just your regular pretty fishies. ;D

teresa · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2005, 10:58:15 »

Oh EJ,
What a lovely idea, by easter there should be a good selection of fish in the garden centres etc and as the water temp warms up they will get more active. As long as they have oxgyen plants to hide in and eat they should be fine. Just make sure you clean the pool out a week before putting the fish in to let it settle. I have two shubkins in with the koi they are lovely you can even have fantails as well as goldfish have fun nothing more relaxing than watching fish while having a cuppa.

aquilegia · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2005, 12:37:40 »

Emma - just a thought - did you have lots of algae in your pond? I was reading my new pond handbook at the weekend and it said algae reduces the amount of oxygen in the pond, which kills the fish. I got rid of my algae by chucking in a load of watercress that had rooted from the supermarket.

Anthony · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2005, 13:11:20 »

Hi,

Late March/Early April would be the be the best possible time for you to introduce new fish to your pond and so this corresponds nicely with Easter. By introducing them in March/April you'll have the whole of summer to fatten them up ready for next winter when they don't generally eat but use their fat reserves to survive.

The only words of caution I would give would be to make sure you don't introduce too many fish too quickly as this often results in problems and can cause fatalities. Margaret will probably know more about this but it's something to do with the fact that the "good" organisms present in the pond that help digest the fish waste need time to adapt to an increased number of fish. Hence, if you put too many fish in at once then the water may become high in both Nitrate and more seriously Nitrite.

Hope this helps

Tony

btw how big is the pond as there is a way of working out just exactly how many fish it will successfully be able to cope with?

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #4 on:** February 11, 2005, 18:11:33 »

Oooer Tony, I'm afraid I am a typical chickaleeta and therefore the size of our pond is about that big by about that deep! ;D It isn't big, and is about my thigh deep, so quite deep, I suppose 8 foot at the longest and about 5 foot wide....hmmm....my darling Ava will probably larf his head off when he reads these measurements! To be honest I was only thinking of about 4 pretty goldfish for the time being as they do have to share the pond with our vast frof population. Thanks for the advice folks.

Deleted · « **Reply #5 on:** February 25, 2005, 14:55:34 »

I've had a pond for 4 years now, and introduced fish early on. Instead of goldfish i went for Rosie Minnows. They are much livelier and more fascinating than goldfish, and have quite different personalities (yes, I know, but they do!!!). It makes for much more interesting pond-watching by children and adults alike. They're also slightly smaller than goldfish - ideal for a small pond.

Introduce them slowly, gradually letting them into the pond water from a bag/bowl by the side, over a few hours - and never use tap water for them before or in the pond.

My pond is about 3ft deep x 5ft x 8ft, plus a 9" wide x 9" deep shallow, watery wildlife border all round. I started with 12 Rosie Minnows and 3 Rudd. I though this was the optimum for my pond - Until they bred the next seasons and you could see about 100 babies!!! Needless to say, most met a sticky end, but there's now about 6 rudd, and 20 minnows, plus 1 unidentified that got in when i bought them. The population count seemed to sort itself out by natural selection over the years.

Now I've had the Rosie Minnows i wouldn't go back to goldfish.

Anthony · « **Reply #6 on:** March 03, 2005, 13:35:32 »

I must admit I've never actually heard of "Rosie Minnows " - Would I be correct in assuming that they would be a type of minnow that has a more "fancy colour"? I introduced three "normal" minnows into my pond at the back end of last year and they seem to be doing well upto now - I guess the real indication that they are happy would be if they were to breed in the coming month or so. I guess like yourself dawn if they were to produce offspring then I suspect much of it would be "taken care of" by the larger fish present within the pond?

I'm wondering what your mystery fish might be? What characteristics does it have?

Deleted · « **Reply #7 on:** March 04, 2005, 13:45:19 »

Hi Anthony,

I think they might also be called American rosie minnows. They're a pinky-orange colour, a bit like pale goldfish, so easily visible. I've also got a few silvery-grey minnows as well, but the rosie ones are more easy to see. I think they do 'take care' of the excess offspring - and I'm certain the rudd do as they're a bit bigger. The first I saw of the fry was when the sun was shining across the pond one day, and there were little dark specs moving in the water - and there were hundreds of them! Watch your pond closely in late spring/early summer.

As for the mystery one. Well, he's a bit of a mystery still, as he's very 'shy' - hides under lily leaves for the most part. Darker than the others, a bit bigger, and head a bit fatter too. At least they all seem to get on - no agro in the pond!

I have some frogs lurking around, but no sign of frog spawn yet this year. Last year it didn't 'hatch' - I think I should have taken it out of the pond to a 'nursery', as I'm sure the fish get at it.

Anthony · « **Reply #8 on:** March 07, 2005, 13:13:11 »

I've done a bit of searching around and think these Minnows go by the name of "Rosy Red Minnows" although it looks like they might be difficult to get hold of.

Whilst undertaking my investigations I think I may have inadvertently stumbled across the identity of the other mystery fish you have in your pond. It sounds very much like a "Fat headed Minnow" Although most of the websites I have visited don't seem to hold an awfull lot of info on them.

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #9 on:** March 07, 2005, 16:15:54 »

Now we are all interested in Minnows! The UV filter went in at the weekend, so we are going to leave the pond to cycle for a month and then in goes a few fish.

Deleted · « **Reply #10 on:** March 08, 2005, 14:37:06 »

I got my mine from the aquatic centre concession at the local garden centre. 65p each, or thereabouts, a couple of years ago. Some how feel I can't call my shy one 'fat head' - no wonder he's shy!

Anthony · « **Reply #11 on:** March 08, 2005, 19:12:49 »

What type of fish are you planning on putting in Emma? I've extended my pond somewhat over the winter so along with the fact that three have died in the past few months I should imagine I'll have enough space for 1 or 2 more (I've done the calculations Margaret and I'm well below the recomended stocking levels even after factoring in growth)

I've always liked the look of Sturgeon when I have seen them in aqautic centres but I'm led to believe they are very difficult to keep and that some varities can grow very very big.....and perhaps my biggest problem is that Margaret has neve kept them so I won't have my on-line fish agony aunte to help me should I encounter problems!! (think I may need to do a bit more research on these) I also do like the sound of these Rosy Red Minnows but of the 2 or 3 places I generally go to to buy fish none of them have ever stocked them. Perhaps I may need to travel further afield.

If you ever feel like you need to add some variety to your pond, then Golden Orfe are my favourites, I curently have 4 which I have had nearly two years now so they are about 10" in length and i find watching them seriously addictive. The only thing is that they live a long time in the right conditions and can grow to about 24" in length so they need plenty of space.

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #12 on:** March 08, 2005, 22:40:04 »

Lurve Sturgeon, and we saw some WHOPPERS at an aquatic place in Devon. Also, I don't think they like frrrrreezing waters. I think we will be going for something nice and easy as the poor fish will have to compete with every frog and toad in the neighbourhood which seem to make our pond their home, plus the neighbours cat >:( which likes to balance on the edge of the pond, licking it's lips, and the kids who like to dangle their fingers in, and toy fishing rods! Minnows sound ideal, or just regular hardy goldfish. Mum and dad kept orf with their koi. Are they bottom feeders? Good pond cleaners??

Anthony · « **Reply #13 on:** March 10, 2005, 10:22:06 »

I think I will have to do some more research on Sturgeon. The ones I have seen are quite expensive so I wouldn't want to go forking out £10-£20 for it to finish up unceremoniously being flushed down the toilet!!

Orfe mostly feed at the top although like some other fish will feed at mid level or even from the bottom depending upon where the food is. From my experience they tend to circle around the food like they haven't a care in the world for it, then like a shot zoom towards it, snatch it from the surface and then dart back to the depths! They did use to be the "bosses" in my pond until the koi arrived but now tend to find themselves being outbarged for much of the food.

I do find them to be quite characters probably like Dawn does with her Rosys - When mine are not trying to swim up the waterfall they are generally found starring quite motionless at one of the return pipes from the pump.

I think that as far as bottm feeders are concerned then Tench are the best bet although again they can grow very big. They are also one of those fish that are very shy so unless you get the golden variety you won't actually see them until they reach 8-10" in length. I've had mine about 12 months and upto to the point when I emptied the pond in about October to re build it I actually thought that a cat had had them as I had not seen them for about six months!

sand · « **Reply #14 on:** July 06, 2005, 09:08:12 »

We are now getting the hang of our newly aquired pond. It's quite small, about 3'x6'6" and 3' deep with a filter and fountain (yuk). It is a bit twee but we're coming round to it and would like to re-line it and extend the edges to form a shallow area that we can plant up, next year (and get rid of the fountain, when we work out how)

It has some weed and lilies now which does make it look a little less stark and things seem to be settling in nicely, the water is crystal clear, perhaps I shouldn't have said that. There's some green slimy stuff building up on the sides but I've ordered some snails so I'm hoping they'll help out there?

My problem is the fish. The pond was already stocked with 8 fish, 4 pretty goldfish/fantails(?) and 4 raving mad golden orfe. I love to feed the fish daily but the golden orfe always spoil my moment of relaxation by charging all over the place and devouring every morsel of food before the timid goldfish types get anywhere near it. Will they starve? Can I help them to feed? Or better still - will someone please take the flaming orfe away before they can't turn around in the water.

Any suggestions welcome, Sand :-\

Margaret · « **Reply #15 on:** July 06, 2005, 13:27:20 »

Hello Sand.Your last suggestion was without a doubt,the answer to your problems.Too many people buy orfe because they look attractive,and you can always see them.But as you,and others discover,too late ,they just grow and grow.They need lots of room to swim.I had mine at a few months old and have already had to build a much larger pond for them.Though yours is deep enough it is nowhere near big enough for these speedy,greedy fish!

You will be doing them and yourself a huge favour in finding them a more suitable home.But why do you want to get rid of the filter and fountain? They are needed if you keep any sort of fish.However,if you want to make your pond into a wildlife one,with the gentle slope you speak of,then you can do away with the pump and filter and if you plant it up well you will be rewarded with plenty of amphibious activity. Again you would be advised to find a home for the goldfish but i think you would be ok if you can make it bigger when you do the slope.

sand · « **Reply #16 on:** July 06, 2005, 16:55:57 »

Thanks Margaret,

I'm wondering if the local fish shop will accept the orfe free of charge? Can but try anyway.

Sorry I misled you about the filter, we want to keep that but it's connected up to a fountain and that's the bit we want to get rid of. The previous occupiers have left the instructions but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm going to get my Dad onto the job after the holidays, he's a pond man...wonder if he wants some orfe?

I've recently read that orfe eat snails, does that mean that the pond snails I've ordered are about to be their next meal? They love caterpillars, freshly picked of the savoy.

Sand

Margaret · « **Reply #17 on:** July 07, 2005, 20:30:47 »

Hi again.Yes,i can just see the offer of the week in the window.............

Try a new experience this week.Tasty orfe and chips.................

I hope you meant the aquatic sort of fish shop!! Don't give them away,at least get some goods in exchange,or better still ask if you can put an ad in their shop "free to a good home,must have big pond."

I wouldn't bother with pond snails,at least not till the orfe have gone.So you have a pump and filter,do you intend to have a waterfall or what? If you are keeping the filter you must have a pump to run it and the water has to go somewhere! Let me klnow what they are and i will see if i can help.

sand · « **Reply #18 on:** July 08, 2005, 11:46:01 »

Ok Margaret, I've found the destructions so here goes.

There's a Fish Mate Compact UV Bio Pond Filter 8w with two pipes coming out sending water back into the pond. I clean the sponge filter in pond water weekly at the moment. This is all fed by water coming from a pump - Libel Xtra 3900 with the naff fountain coming out of it, I clean the sponge in the same way. It 's just the squirty bit I want to lose.

Does that help?

Sand

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Author Topic: Fish (Read 5669 times)