Keeping Pond Fish
By HondaCB500
@HondaCB500 (5)
February 13, 2008 4:11pm CST
Hi, can anyone please help? We have a pond and last year had some goldfish and small koi in it. Unfortunetly they all caught something, such as fin rot, fungai problems and died. We have one goldfish left.
What can we do this year to make sure that the pond is ok for fish?
Thanks
2 people like this
2 responses
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
14 Feb 08
Welcome to Mylot. First I will need more information about the size of your pond, as these fish get large and you may have had to many fish in the pond. This is one of the common problems.
Next what size pump and filter do you have for your pond? Goldfish need a larger pump and filter to remove wastes to keep your pond clean.
The other big problem is stress. Do the fish have places to hide from birds and other animals trying to eat them? I regularly see feathers near my ponds; however, my fish have lots of plants for protection.
Test your water and post what the results are now. I have had fish over 25 years and if I don't know the answer I'm sure I can get the answer right away.
@HondaCB500 (5)
•
14 Feb 08
Hi, thankyou for your reply. Our pond is approx 2 1/2metres by 1 metre and about 1 metre deep.
We had about 10 goldfish in at one point.
We have plants and stones in the pond, so they have plenty of places to hide.
I've never tested the water before, what do I need to do for this?
I'll need to check the size of the pump and get back to you on that one.
1 person likes this
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
15 Feb 08
I would take a sample of water to your local fish store.
I have two ponds that are small and wouldn't put 10 goldfish in them. The fish need room to grow. They are about the same size as your pond.
1 person likes this
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
14 Feb 08
Since goldfish can grow over 12 inches long and live to be over 35 years old and koi can grow to be over 3&1/2 foot long and live to be well over 100 years old you need to have at least 30 gallons of water for each goldfish and over 100 gallons for each koi for them to grow well and not have there life spans cut short. The pond needs to be deeper than the frost line, enough so that in the winter there is still plenty of room for the fish to swim around in. Also you need to make sure to provide a way to have gas exchanges even when the water surface is frozen over. This can be accomplished by a floating heater which will keep a hole open in the ice.
