Pond Fish

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Many gardens today have a number of elegant features to please the aesthetic tastes of most garden enthusiasts. One of the most beautiful of these features is the garden pond. The combination of water, carefully arranged rocks, and plants adds a peaceful sanctuary for any home garden. But one thing above all else sets the garden pond on a pedestal above all other garden water features: The inclusion of pond fish. Having pond fish in your garden pond is a great way to add color, action, and enjoyment to your new water pond.

What are Pond Fish?

When most people think of pond fish, they imagine the many species of decorative carps such as goldfish and the ever popular koi. This however does not mean that these are the only pond fish choices available to you. All the phrase pond fish means is any fish that can live in a decorative garden pond. Many garden pond enthusiasts enjoy a wide variety of fish in their garden ponds, even small sport fish such as panfish! Before you add any fish to your garden pond, be sure that your garden pond is set up in such a way to allow your fish choice's survival.

Taking Care of Your Pond Fish

Once you have selected the fish or fishes that you want in your unique garden pond, you must consider how best to take care of them. Caring for pond fish is vastly different than taking care of fish in an aquarium. Many more factors come into play in the outside world, most notably weather conditions. It's very important to learn how to cope with these conditions if your pond fish are to remain alive and healthy. Here are a few tips on keeping and taking care of your pond fish:

If you wish to have multiple fish for your garden pond, make sure that any differing species will get along. Many pond fish are very territorial and will attack or kill other pond fish if they can. Other pond fish may simply just eat one another. always make sure to do a little research before any pond fish purchase.

In colder or highly seasonal areas, ponds and lakes will freeze, sometimes completely. This can be a disaster for your pond fish and garden pond! If the pond is allowed to freeze, most likely all the fish and plants will die, leaving you a soup of dead plants and animals when the thaw comes around. Consider installing a pond heater to keep this tragedy from happening.

Keep an eye out for invasive animals, most notably frogs, that may attempt to eat or take up residence in your fish pond. Small mammals such as raccoons, foxes, and possums will greatly appreciate the easy to catch fish dinner you've provided for them, while frogs and toads will thank your for their new breeding grounds! If you think an animal is eating your fish, consider calling animal control or attempting to trap the culprit yourself. In the case of frogs, simply scooping them out and relocating them should be sufficient.