Have 60 gallon Pond any ideas on what to put in it?Live in Arizona?

Question

Pond sits under tree. live in Arizona. gets sun. Does anyone know of plants or animals that would be good.

Answer 1

60 gallons is a pretty small pond, so keep your plans modest. A couple of shubunkins, a couple of fantails, and a couple of sarassa comets is about all the fish you could put in there. Those are all colorful and won't get huge. The pond is too small to put koi in. Six fish is probably the absolute maximum for that size of pond.

For plants, you might try a dwarf water lily. One is all you'll need. Good marginal plants for something that size would be japanese iris, parrot's feather, taro, acorus, or umbrella cyprus (pick 2). Throw in a bunch or two of anacharis as underwater plantings and you'll be all set.

For a pond that size (I have a big pond and a little one about that same size) just use a small pump, 250 gallons per hour or so, with a foam pre-filter on it. I have one of those things you get at Lowe's that has a T to hold two of those and it works like a champ to keep the water clear. Use the pump to power a small fountain and circulate the water. Don't get too much turbulence going or the lily won't grow.

Answer 2

What about some feeder goldfish? They are cheap and grow big enough. Also what about water hyacinths? they will flower and do good in the hot weather. I put feeder goldfish in my pond and I live in Michigan and they survived the winter and also have quadrupled in size.