Water Garden Wonders

Add fish to your water garden!

BY: Becket Water Gardening

Before your add goldfish or koi to your water garden, follow these tips:

Introduce fish gradually. Float plastic bags containing fish on the water for 30 minutes to equalize temperature. Then, open the bag and let pond water come into the bag before releasing fish.

Do not overstock. The rule of thumb for stocking goldfish or koi is 1 to 2 inches of fish for every square foot of pond. Your fish will be stressed by crowded conditions.

Do not over-feed fish. They eat small amounts at a time, and the rest sinks to the bottom of the pond and pollutes it. Keep in mind that fish will also feed on the roots of plants as well as mosquito larvae—which keeps the bug population down.

Comments

By cfrazier1 Tuesday, August 24, 2010 12:32 AM

What about if you live in a mobile home park where there cats and sometime dogs are out and about all the time is it safe to have fish in small to medium pond in your yard.

By cmenard1 Friday, February 03, 2012 9:36 PM

Dogs will find the water irresistable and will possibly jump in the pond which could harm the fish. Cats generally don't like water and will not bother them. One of the biggests problems can be raccoons. Be sure your sides are built straight up and down - not slanted - to keep them out.

Ponds can be an insurance liability especially in an open area accessible to children. I would first check with my insurance company before I put in a pond, and secondly I don't think I would put one in without fencing around your yard to keep children and animals away from your pond. Better safe than sorry!

That said I've had a medium-sized pond for 5 years and it has brought me hours and hours of enjoyment. Watching the fish is one of the greatest stress busters I know. Good luck!

By sgk1158 Monday, February 20, 2012 3:28 PM

Shubunkin are a great alternative to more expensive koi. I bought one last summer and it is a beautiful, fan tailed "calico" orange, black and white fish. I also have 3 comets that are orange and white and successfully overwintered in 2010/11. They had babies last summer (6 out of 8 that I spotted lived after hatching) and I'm anxious to find out if any lived over the winter. Make sure to keep a thermometer in the pond and don't feed them when the water temperature is under 50F. I haven't yet had a wildlife problem in spite of seeing racoons and neighborhood cats in the yard.