how many "sucker"fish or "cleaning"fish/catfish should i put in my pond?

Question

i plan to have a pond about 6feet wide and 2-3feet deep.
it would have 10-15koi fish,5-10neon tetras,5-10neon cardinals,3-5gold fish and 5-10 black mollies.
i want a fish that would clean my pond and would not hurt other fish,it must have a peaceful nature.

im from the philippines

Answer 1

That sounds like a lot of fish for such a small pond, koi need 250 gallons each so for them alone you would need at least 2500 gallons. And depending where you live if you plan on keeping the koi and goldfish in the pond all year round it needs to be at least 3 feet deep so it doesn't completely freeze. The koi and goldfish will probably eat the smaller tropicals too so you might want to rethink what fish you will add. After you have that all sorted out 2 or 3 should be good but keep in mind common plecos and goldfish don't mix, they actually like to eat the slime coat have been known to kill them.

Answer 2

What is the lowest temperature you can expect the pond to reach? If it is below 70 degrees YOU CANNOT PUT ANY TROPICAL FISH IN IT.

Unless you love to watch fish slowly die of hypothermia.

You have been told this. You don't seem to want to hear it.

The only fish you have listed that can tolerate cold water are the koi and goldfish.

Also, you didn't give a length on your pond, so calculating gallons is difficult, but I went with 6x6x3 which gives you 800 gallons. This is info you need to know when deciding how to stock your pond!

Listen, a pond is a huge investment in money and time and effort. I advise you to stop asking questions in Yahoo and go do some real research for yourself. Your investment is worth the time and effort that research takes up.

I have provided you with a link to a tank size/gallon calcultor (where I got the 800 gallon figure), and a link to what I consider to be the best pond resource on the web, Robyn's Pond Page. Robyn also has a gallon calculator on that page and she lists all the different fish that can live in a pond, with links to details about their care.

Google around, and I am sure you can find lots of other info, but I would start with Robyn if you are serious about having a fishpond.

Do research on all those other fish you want. You will find they are TROPICAL and need temps of 70 - 85 degrees. Mostponds won't maintain that temp year round, and even if they did, I still wouldn't recommend putting tropical fish in a pond.

THIS MEANS NO SUCKER FISH.
NO TETRAS.
NO CARDINALS.
NO MOLLIES.

Don't be selfish and put tropical fish in a pond. Please.

Think about it, you can only see them from the top anyway, and most tropical fish are thin, and best viewed from the side. Get a tank for your tropicals and enjoy them in your home.

There ARE other fish you can have in a pond besides koi and goldfish.
Go do research. Read Robyn's stuff end to end. The investment in time will be well worth it. This is not something to do flying by the seat of your pants.

Go do the research. You'll be glad you did.

Answer 3

If you're in the Phillipines I doubt you'll have any problems at all with water temperature.

I recommend either the Plecostomus (suckermouth) catfish or the small Chinese algae sucker. Both are peaceful fish. The Plecostomus can grow over a foot in length while the Chinses sucker will remain smaller (around 6-7 inches max.). If you go with the Pleco I suspect 3-4 would be more than sufficient. For the little sucker fish no more than 8.

These fish are also scavengers and will eat dead or nearly dead fish. So if you see a sucker chewing on a dead fish in your pond, it was already dead to begin with. The suckers do not kill them for food -- this is just another way they can "clean" your pond! ;)

The reason I add this is because sometimes the larger Plecos are wrongfully accused of killing and eating other fish, but it's merely a case of guilt by association.

Answer 4

Firstly, the fish you are looking for which many people call "sucker fish" or algae eaters" can actually come in many different varieties.

Firstly, and most commonly you have Pleco's. There are many different kinds of plecos, but most people have standard plecos. These are the most common algae eater. The standard pleco can get a foot long and I personally think they would be your best choice. Maybe get 5 or so to start. They grow fast!

Other algae eaters include Otocinclus (which are very tiny and very sensitive, mostly used in aquariums), Siamese Algae eaters, Chinese Algae Eaters, and Flying foxes. These eaters get fairly large and all look the same, although they eat many different types of algae depending on which one you get.

Good luck! I hope I helped!


I would also ask you where you live. While the koi and glod fish would do great in your ponds, the neons, mollies and cardinals will not. They are tropical fish and need tropical waters. Not to mention they would have a hard time living in a pond and the koi may actually eat them. THe koi and goldies also need cooler water than the neons, mollies, etc.

Answer 5

Corydoras catfish

Answer 6

there is no fish that will clean your pond, you have to do that yourself

Answer 7

2 of them will be good enough to clean your pond...........

It grows quite faster than the others.....and will grow to quite a size.....

Answer 8

10 suckers