Caring for Your Garden Pond

Feeding

  • Fish will ALWAYS act like they are hungry. Don’t believe them.
  • Do not overfeed. Too much food = dirty water.
  • No more than 2 food tablets per fish. 15 fish = 20-30 food tablets.
  • Winter – feed about once a week.
  • Summer – feed 2 or3 times a week.
  • Purchase food at PetCo etc.
  • Do not feed fish when water temp. is below 50 degrees. Fish are unable to digest well at this temperature.

Adding water

  • You can expect to lose about an inch every day in the middle of summer. This is due the plants using the water and evaporation.
  • Too much city water is poison to the fish. If you add very much, you will need to treat it.
  • You can buy the treatment at the pet store. It is easy.
  • If you add water all the time, you do not need to treat it. You can always add an inch or two without treating it.
  • If you leave the hose in the pond for too long, You will kill the fish. Be attentive and careful.

Cleaning the pond

  • Use the net to keep most leaves out of the pond.
  • Clean the pump and and waterfall by turning off the pump and running water backwards through the hose. Do this when the waterfall slows down.
  • You may need to clean the gravel once a year. (Overfeeding is the biggest factor in how often it needs cleaning.)
  • Cleaning is a “simple” process of removing most of the gravel and washing it off. You can also remove “dirt” by stirring the pond and siphoning off some water. Repeat this process as needed.
  • Do NOT use a sharp metal implement to stir the gravel if you have a fabric liner. A puncture on the bottom is a problem.
  • If you have some type of bio filter, you will need to follow the manufacturer's directions for cleaning. Depending upon the size and type, you may need to do this frequently.
  • If you have an "Under Gravel" type filter, cleaning is an interesting process. If you DO NOT OVER FEED you will not have to do this very often. The process generally consists of cleaning the gravel. This can be done in place of by carefully scooping it out and washing it off. You do not need to get it perfectly clean. You do not need to remove all the gravel. DO NOT SCOOP WITH SHARP METAL OBJECTS.

Winter

  • Keep water in the pond.
  • As long as the water does not freeze solid, to the bottom, the fish will be fine.
  • Keep the pump running but make sure that it is circulating the water.
  • Do not let the ice cause the pump to pump all the water out of the pond. This could happen if the water under the falls freezes. This is very rare, but could happen.
  • When winter comes the plants will die down. Remove the old stalks, once they die. The roots will make new big plants in the spring. some of the photos below show this.

Adding Fish

  • Rule of thumb - One inch of fish per gallon of water or 8 inches per cubic foot. (7.48 gal. per cubic foot of water.)
  • Make sure water is treated, ("Novaqua" etc.) even when just adding more fish. It helps to reduce shock.
  • Do just like you would an aquarium. Place the fish, in the bag, in the pond for a few minutes. But not in hot direct sunlight. Those little bags can get too hot. Once the fish water and the pond water are the same temp, release the fish.
  • Adding fish can introduce disease. One of the most common is "ich". See Below.

"Oh No!" These are the little things that make you say "Oh No!"

"Oh No! My pond's water is green.

This is probably free floating or "planktonic algae" in your pond.

What do you do? - It depends.
If the water is just a little green it is probably best to just do nothing. The plants in the pond will compete for the over abundance of nutrients. The fish or tadpoles will also eat the algae.

But if the pond is VERY green you may need to treat the water. You can purchase several types of chemical treatments at you local pond supply or pet shop. Read the label carefully. Some will work very well but are dangerous to plants and fish. Select the product that is for ponds with plants and fish. Read the instructions carefully. Some products are dangerous to animals. (Don't let you dog or cat drink from the pond.) Some products have warnings about even coming in contact with your skin.

The good news is that these work well and should clear up the problem.

Keep the pond aerated and filtered. Dead algae can give off products that can deprive the pond of oxygen. It can also give off a product that feeds the growth of more algae.
More detailed information can be found here: http://www.russellwatergardens.com/UValgae.htm

"Oh No! My pond has suddenly become full of gray and black string."

If you go out to your pond one morning can see, what looks like, miles of gray yarn, you probably had a love connection occur overnight.
You probably have been hearing the croak of a frog or toad in the evenings.
This frog has gotten lucky and your pond is about the be filled with tadpoles.

What do you do? - Nothing.
In a matter of hours you will start to see movement in the string of yarn. In 48-72 hours you will have tadpoles.
They will eat ALL the algae in the pond.
In a few days you will have just a few tadpoles. In a few more days they will all be gone.

"Oh No! My pond water has suddenly taken on a pinkish orange color."

Unless one of your party guests has poured a bottle of "Big Red" or something in the pond, this is probably a "Bacteria bloom."
This can happen if the conditions are just right, just the right amount of sun, food, fish waste etc .exist. The bacteria has reproduced wildly.
The little buggers have over populated the pond.

What do you do? - Almost nothing.
This could clear itself up in a few days. The bacteria run out of food, then start dying and eating each other remains.
It will soon reach equilibrium.
Do not try to kill the bacteria. You need these bacteria in the pond. They eat lots of bad stuff.
You might try draining out about an inch or two of water and replacing it with city water. This might speed the process along.
But, depending upon what caused the bloom, this new, clean, water might cause more reproduction.

"Oh No! My pond's fish have white bumps on their tails and fins."

You have probably just set up this pond or you have added fish. Your fish have "ich." This is short for "Ichthyophthirius multifilis".

This is a parasite that burrows into the fish. This causes a blister like swelling. The fish will often be seen scratching themselves on rocks etc. Your fish are miserable.
If treated early, it is cleared up rapidly. The parasite has a two week life cycle. It is only during one part of the cycle that it is treatable.
There are several treatments on the market. They all work very well. But some will stain your rocks because they are dark blue.

What do you do? - Treat the water.
Ich is probably the most common disease of pet fish. Therefore it is the most commonly found treatment.
You can order it on line or pick it up at most pet shops. Do a google search for "fish ich" and you will see tons of information on it.

"Oh No! One of my party guests has discovered that a broken off piece of hamburger bun make the fish act like piranhas."

Once this happens it will become the favorite pastime at the party. Everyone will want to see this and then show their friends.

What do you do? - Very little.

A little bit of bread from a bun will not hurt things. The fish will love it.
Let the guests have their fun but tell them that too much will affect the water quality and that the fish do not digest the bread that well. These things are all true.

Use your net to scoop out uneaten bread as soon as possible. The fish don't like crust.
One good tactic might be to make one of the guests in charge of the bread parts. There will usually be one person who finds the fish fascinating will be happy to take care of them.

Caution: Watch very small children near garden ponds.
If a small child falls in the pond, the rocks will sometimes make it hard for
them to get out on their own.