Rookie Ponder

[betsey]

Hi Everybody

The house I bought recently had a small pond. It's about 3 feet in diameter and has 3 levels, each about 10 inches deep. I cleaned out the bamboo and mud and rinsed and pumped it dry. The next day I filled it with water. Then I bought a few plants and 4 fantails. I added stress coat to clear the chlorine and feed the tiny fish once a day.

Originally I was going to just add a mosquito pellet, but the lady I spoke to at Walmart said I should just get some fish and explained that all I had to do was feed them at first and that they could stay in the pond all winter. I live in Maryland and it will freeze, but she said not to worry that the fish would be just fine.

Now I am doing research for the proper care of my fish because I think they are wonderful and I want them to be healthy and happy. I have had them for only 5 days and I just love having them.

I see talk about pond pumps and needing to change water and I need some instructions please.

The pond is mostly in sunlight but has overhanging edges for shade. There is no pump and no netting. And the fish play on the surface and are very friendly. The fish are small, approximately 1 inch long.

Do I need a pump and why?
Do I need to change water and how often?

My new fish thank you for good advice.

[piranha]

Even if your pond did not freeze, the fantails are not very cold tolerant. Cold tolerant commons or comets need to be at least 5 inches to survive a cold winter. Those fantails need to be inside for winter. A pond should be at least 36" at its deepest part. It will be warmer there for the fish to "hibernate." They are not fed during winter months due to the change in their metabolism.They cannot digest food. A De-Icer will keep an area of the surface ice free so that noxous gases can escape the pond. Some larger ponds can sustain fish without filters.Smaller ponds such as yours need filtration. External cannister or external box type filters are a good choice if looking for low maintenace. If a pond is located where it receives hours of sun each day, it may be overrun by algae unless there are many plants including floating types to block out the sun and compete with the algae for oxygen. A device called a [acronym:25f4922aed="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:25f4922aed] sterilizer either sold separately or built into a filter will destroy algae.

[RogerMcAllen]

I agree with what was said earlier.

I don't think you really need the de-chlor. The sun should take care of anything in your tap water.

[betsey]

Thank you so much for letting me know that Fantails need to come in out of the cold! I was told to get feeder fish but the day I went to the fish store I was told that the feeder fish were having a bad [acronym:823fb1e8cc="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]PH[/acronym:823fb1e8cc] day and was sold the Fantails instead, I will get a filter for the pond, and some more floating plants.

How soon do the fish need to come in?
Can the floating plants come in with them?
How big a tank would be okay, now that they have had a pond?

Thanks a million

[RogerMcAllen]

I am not sure, but I would bring them in as soon as the water goes below 70 or so, if not sooner. I am not sure what the exact specs on them are.

The flloating plants can come in, but I do not suspect that they will do terribly well. They need a lot of sun, and I think there might even be something where they don't like light on their roots from the side.

Most people say something like 5-10 gallons per goldfish. Something like a nice 50 [acronym:d89dece768="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:d89dece768] rubbermade tube would be a nice home.