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Pages.

Introduction
About The Author
Authors Notes
Your First Pond
Trees & Sunshine
Take The Plunge
Preformed Pools
Installing A Liner
Making A Raised Pool
A Koi Pond
Miniature Ponds
Adding A Waterfall
Electricity
Colourful Ponds
Dangers
Choosing A Pump
Solar Powered Pumps
Looking After A Pump
Pond Pipework
Installing A Fountain
Self-Contained Fountains
The Leaky Pond
Planting The Pond
A Wildlife Pond
A Bog Garden
Pond Plants
Plants Round A Pond
Choosing A Lily
Floating Plants
Water Hyacinth
Oxygenating Plants
About Fish
When To Buy Fish
Choosing Fish
Quarantining Fish
Fish Under Stress
Feeding Your Fish
Holidays & Fish
Breeding Coldwater Fish
Changing Colours Of Fish
Pond Fish
A Koi Collection
Ghost Koi
Fancy Goldfish
Coldwater Catfish
Sturgeon
Grass Carp
Rearing Trout
Swan Mussels
Visitors To The Pond
Frogs
Newts
Visiting A Koi Auction
Clubs & Societies
Caring For Fish
Testing The Water
Oxygenation
Are You Poisoning Your Fish
Ponds & Medicines
Diseases & Parasites
Disappearing Fish
Problems With Herons
Filtration
Green Ponds
Fish Pond Filters
How A Filter Works
Improving Your Filter
Ultra Violet Sterilizers
Looking After A Filter
The Pond Through The Year
Spring Cleaning
Pond Plants In Spring
Ponds In Summer
Autumn & Winter
Breaking The Ice
10 Problems
Useful Facts & Figures

Allotment Articles1.
Allotment Articles 2.

Pond Fish

When people have a fish pond they often just think of goldfish and don’t realize that there are now quite a few different varieties of fish available to the outdoor aquarist. Another thing that people don’t realize is just how big fish can grow in the right conditions, or how long they can live. Goldfish, or comets that are long tailed goldfish, can live up to 20, or 25 years and grow up to a foot, or 30 cm long. However, in a small pond or cramped conditions this size is limited and they may only grow a few inches. 

The growth of fish is governed by a hormone that all fish secrete and the higher the concentration of the hormone, the slower the growth rate.

Another popular fish that is closely related to the goldfish is the Shubunkin. These can be blue as in the Cambridge Blue, or multi-coloured with reds, blues and blacks making every fish look different. The less popular Sarasa Comet is also closely related to the goldfish, but was originally bred in America. These fish have a long comet tail but are red and white in colour.

Golden Orfe are another fish that can grow very big, often reaching one foot in quite a small pond. Unfortunately when they reach this size they often jump out of a small pond, but can grow even bigger, up to 3 feet in a lake. They are a golden yellow colour, very hardy and resistant to disease but they also need a good supply of oxygen as they get bigger. This can be supplied either by a fountain, or a waterfall and is most important on a hot summer night when oxygen levels are at their lowest in the pond. The Blue Orfe is a hybrid from the Golden Orfe, but has a pink underbelly and a blue back. The species has not been perfected yet and a lot of specimens are not a good blue colour, but if you look through the tank at your aquatic retailer you will always see some good ones which he will be happy to catch for you.

Golden Rudd are very similar in their habit to Golden Orfe in that they swim around on the surface always after insects. They are more of a red colour and don’t grow anywhere near as big, so they are more suitable for a small pond.

A lot of people like to put water snails in their pond to eat the rubbish that accumulates on the bottom. However, snails also like to eat fresh green vegetation and are quite partial to lily leaves. A much better idea is to put scavenger fish in the pond such as Tench. The common green Tench is widely available, but once you have put it in you are unlikely to see it again until you clean the pond out because of its colour. A much better seen fish is the golden Tench that is sometimes sold.

Fancy goldfish such as Black Moors and Fantails are sometimes put in fishponds, but they are not the hardiest of fish so are best brought inside the home for the winter. Other varieties of fish sometimes sold for fishponds include Gudgeon, Weatherloach and Minnows but all of these are best kept in an aquarium where they can be seen to their full advantage.











 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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