Congratulations on your new pond; we know you’re very excited to have this beautiful addition adding to your property values, and we’re excited to help you make it everything you want it to be. So, you have your pond installed and filled, your plants selected and placed perfectly, and you’re ready to find the perfect fish to complete your beautiful pond. Finding the perfect fish for your pond can be challenging, given the size of your pond, the features you have in place in the pond, and the climate in which you live. Let us help you pick out your perfect fish. We’ve divvied it up based on the type of pond you own, because that makes a difference in the fish that will be happy residing there; let’s get started.
Farm Ponds
Farm ponds are lined with clay, rather than a plastic liner and have usually been dug out to either provide drinking water for livestock or collect excess run-off water on the land. These ponds are ideal for sunfish, crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, pickerel, and sometimes carp to help control vegetation. Most of these fish thrive in natural ponds and will coexist peacefully. If you would like goldfish, they will survive in farm ponds, but it’s important to have only goldfish in the pond. The other fish mentioned above are more predatory than goldfish and will eat them rather quickly if they live in the pond.
Fish like a clean environment, so ensure you have a quality pond liner installed, such as one from here: http://www.swelluk.com/pond/pond-liners-54/.
Goldfish Ponds
Goldfish ponds are smaller ponds meant for only goldfish. There is a wide variety of goldfish from which to choose. They grow to the size of their environment, as well, so your pond goldfish will grow much larger than any house goldfish you ever had. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, so you can diversify your pond without putting your goldfish in danger by mixing them with other fish. Goldfish can be the inexpensive perfect touch to your garden pond.
Water Gardens
Water gardens are meant to have your vegetation as the focal point, but people like to liven things up by adding fish. Comets and shubunkins thrive best in water gardens as they are durable creatures that are very colorful and active. They especially prefer moving water to still, so the addition of a spitter, fountain, or waterfall isn’t an issue. They survive all year round, so you don’t have to worry about the pond being outside. That being said, if the water freezes, you need to be sure to poke or drill a hole in the ice to keep toxic air from gathering and killing your fish. You could also invest in a pond heater that would prevent the pond from freezing.
Fish are a great and natural touch to all ponds, but it’s important to do your research and get the right fish for your pond. Different fish thrive in different climates and sizes of ponds and if you don’t get the ideal fish for your pond, you can wind up killing the fish. With all the variety of fish, however, it’s easy to decide on the perfect fish for your climate and pond size that matches the look you want for your pond.