Any fish for this?

[Chiroptera]

I'm really interested in taking on a personal project and cleaning this pond, getting the equipment for it, making sure its set and dandy and then adding fish.

I'm especially interested in something like livebearers, because I know koi won't fit.

The pond is 16 feet long, 9 ft wide at the narrowest point, I'd say 11 or 12 at the widest, and 3-4' deep approximate (it comes well past my belly button, last time I got in to do work I got out because I hadn't realized.

It's a mess now, but once I dig everything in and around it up, it will look nice with new plants and inhabitants. Also maybe a small waterfall near the table.

So what could I do? I'll be trying to heat it in winter, but if not I could winter the fish in in the garage with a heater, in a large tank.

 

[jlk]

You realize you have quite a large pond? Theres bunch of different pond calculators on the net & they use different multipliers but say for an oval shape (average 16x10x3), your looking at over 3000g. A 4ft depth, over 4000g. I dont see any reason why you couldnt keep some koi if this is what you would like. I am not sure how practical heating this size pond would be for winter but goldfish & koi would do just fine over the winter as long as you dont allow it to freeze over. Just a thought!

 

[Chiroptera]

Oh, there used to be comets in the pond, but it got those horrible choking plants.

I figured a single pair of koi may be just cutting it, but I'd rather not overstock a pretty pond like it could be and get sick fish. :/ I never even thought about it because I hear people talk about how koi need 1,000 gallons of water each and even though the pond looks decent sized, I can't calculate by looking.

I went out and re-measured. It's a figure 8, but like I stated above the middle doesn't come in but maybe two feet, narrowest is still 9'. It's easily 4 feet deep on one end, and 3 up until one corner where it goes to 2. (We think the ground may have shifted under the lining). It's really hard to calculate because it gradually changes depth.

It'd be nice to know that it'd be less of a hassle to try and winterize a pond for non-tropical fish though.

 

[Jason Buckner]

That sounds like a big pond. You could really have some big koi in there. Send pics when you finish, please. Excited to see how it turns out for you!!

 

[Jason Buckner]

My pond is only 850 gallons and I have 17 koi in it. The filtration is what really matters. I plan on going bigger in a couple years cause I know they will need more room as they grow.

 

[huma-huma]

Id have to agree in that you can house koi. But def clean it up and get the filtration back up and running first

 

[Jason Buckner]

Also, I think it is supposed to slant from one end to the other. Just as long as the shallow end isn't so shallow that raccoons or herons can stand in it and "go fishing".

 

[andresdeo]

There is a lot of potencial there, following along!

 

[crashf100]

Heaps big enough for koi mate!!

 

[Chiroptera]

That's amazing! Yeah, it slants a little into one corner, but thats it. Most of the plants have been pulled out. Unfortunately, I think there's a leak in the rubber lining, the water's down 6 or so inches from where it could be. I'll probably drain it partially and inspect the lining when I dig the mud off the bottom.

 

[Chiroptera]

Here's some photos. It's wierd because the water is below the lining on one side as halfway up the rocks on the other - making me think that the ground really did shift, maybe?

Also, there's a bunch of pretty little frogs that have already moved in - will koi eat them?

 

[crashf100]

Depends on how big the koi are & how small the frogs are.They will 100% eat any tadpoles.

 

[Jason Buckner]

And crickets and grasshoppers and moths............