in the desert southwest and I plan to put the pond in a shaded area. Does anyone have experience with a fish pond and how much maintaince does it require? What is the most important thing when having a pond with fish? Also any good references to care for the fish and pond? Thanks in advance...!
2006-08-21 18:35:20 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
dont let these other answers scare you, pond keeping is very easy, once youre set up and do build your pond in the shade, it will keep your water clearer
first, go buy a book about koi and ponds, youll enjoy the pictures and it will tell you everything you need to know, how many fish to stock, what kind of filter to install, how to build a waterfall and what to do when you have problems
the only regular maintenance you have to do is pulling dead vegetation, replacing evaporation and feeding your fish, it is a most enjoyable hobby you can even go off for a week and your fish will be fine Good Luck with your new hobby
2006-08-21 21:55:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How much maint depends on the size of the pond & what type of fish you have. Koi are very expensive, so you probably want to spend more on maint, to protect your investment.
One thing you really need to think about are racoons! They'll go after your fish! You need to have spots that are more than 3 feet deep & hiding spots in the deep area. The racoons can't go deeper than that. But... the herons can!
There has been a proliferation of long-legged fish eating birds in the west in the last few years. I have a freind who collected gold fish at every fair she went to for years. Put them in all her horse water troughs (over a 100 of them.) Herons came in & ate them all before she realised what they were doing.
You also need to remember about chems (chemicals) aquatics are very sensitive to them. You can poison your fish very quickly by using chem laden potting soil for water plants. Or spraying plants near the pond. Be careful about that stuff. Just go Organic.... you're whole yard w/be better off!
2006-08-21 18:45:48 · answer #2 · answered by Fulltime in my RV (I wish) 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The biggest thing to watch for is water evaporation keep it full also keep a pump going in it to aerate the water koi is a good choice you may have to put a protective screen on the pond as the birds will eat your fish. care wont be to hard if you put some water plants in, water lillies clean the water. A water feature as a constant running fountain will put the air in the water and look nice Good Luck and enjoy it.
2006-08-21 18:55:23 · answer #3 · answered by Kdid49 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keeping the water flowing. Fish need oxygen or they'll die, and flowing water is the best way to get oxygen to them. (Bubbles help too...but if the water isn't flowing, then algae will build up (especially when it's shady there) ---& that's not good either, bcz then your fish could get 'scale'.which can close up their pores and they'll die.
KOI fish can live up to 100 years...so you want to be sure you've got a good home for them before you get them.
I lived in an area that had irrigation water that I let my garden hose run slowly with it, into the pond...and there were seeds and bugs in it the fish loved, so they did real well...and the water was FREE for me.
Living in the S.W. desert, you may have that too.
Search out "Lily Pads" and "Koi fish".and look for books on it at Barnes & Noble. It's a great hobby.
2006-08-21 18:44:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fish ponds are a joy to have. My advise is get a liner. The only thing I do with mine is about every 2 years I empty it and clean the debris from the bottom.
2006-08-22 02:58:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
we have a man made pond also you can go to home depot and find the pool thing...but yeah getting it black in color is best!! due to not being able to see algae...also my dad cleans it every two weeks and its nasty in there even with a filter and water cleaner solution...and if you have cats or possums in your area make sure that you have a wire cover to cover it so they can't get it in at nite you'll have to keep taking it off and putting it back on hassle but kois are good luck so yeah or they'll eat them...feed them twice a day also to make the pond look more full goldfish!!! they get a long with them...whatever you do make sure you use the same type of water when you first get them and everytime you get them...if you use tap...which isn't a good idea then always use tap...if you use the filter water always use filter water (one that is safe for us to drink from)...WHATEVER YOU DO DO NOT USE THAT WATER FROM IN FRONT OF THOSE SUPERMARKETS!!! we switched water once because it was time consuming but we lost 4 kois that nite so yeah stay away from that one!!!
2006-08-21 18:44:37 · answer #6 · answered by kawika712 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to have a very good filter. It requires lots of maintenance. You have to dechlorify the water, keep the algae out. Keep the mosquitos and larvae out and Keep the fish alive.
The most important thing is have a good filter. If the filter works well cleaning should be a lot easier, but none the less still requires plenty of maintenance.
2006-08-21 18:41:56 · answer #7 · answered by stunnaramirez 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
THE MORE SHADE THE BETTER BECAUSE ALGEA WON'T GROW AS FAST, CLEAN IT ABOUT ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS, IT REALLY IS NEAT TO HAVE BUT IT'S HARD WORK SCRUBBING THE WALLS AND ROCKS, AND TRANSFERRING THE FISH BACK AND FORTH, I HAVE AN AFRICAN FROG IN MINE AND GOLDFISH WITH THE BIG EYES.
2006-08-21 18:52:28 · answer #8 · answered by Work-N-Hrd-2-Mk-It 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i used to keep gold fish in my horse troughs never had a problem with them, keep the water moving so it stays aerated,plant water plants in it if you want to for shade
2006-08-21 22:07:22 · answer #9 · answered by bill j 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋