This is self-descriptive...would natives do well in a container pond? The containers in question would be somewhere in the 5 to 15 gallon range, would be outside from April to October (possibly less if it gets too cold), and would be indoors the other part of the year.
Container ponds for natives?
Started by
Guest_Joshaeus_*
, Mar 18 2014 10:24 AM
10 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 10:54 AM
What sort of neighborhood predators do you have? Outdoor container ponds are like buffets for the local raccoons, wading birds, etc.
#3
Guest_Joshaeus_*
Guest_Joshaeus_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 11:16 AM
Skunks and maybe cats or raccoons, but the deck is a floor above the ground and has stairs - I have not seen animals larger than a squirrel on the deck. In any case, do you have any anti-predator suggestions for such a container.
#4
Guest_Yeahson421_*
Guest_Yeahson421_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 12:25 PM
I know that Michael Wolfe has great success with container ponds.
#5
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 12:32 PM
I had great success feeding the local herons my goldfish. Our pond was a 5 foot cube (five feet wide, five feet across, and five deep) with no sloping sides, but still the wading birds or raccoons (or who knows, maybe the neighborhood kids) got the fish. We had a fish named Colby Jack who was white and orange like her namesake cheese. She got big in that pond, but must not have been bigger than the heron's gullet. Colorful goldfish might as well be the snack crackers name after them. Eventually Dad got what he called 'crappie' (I thought they were pretty crappie; they ate the betta I stuck in the pond in one bite) but what must have been bluegill. Those were either fast enough or good enough at breeding to stick around for a few seasons. But in a shallow 5 to 15 gallon container pond, even the fastest fish would fall victim to predation.
#6
Guest_Subrosa_*
Guest_Subrosa_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 01:24 PM
You can try a ScareCrow, which is a sprinkler with a motion detector.http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101-Scarecrow-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B000071NUS Hook it up to a hose and place it so the containers are in its field of protection. Any movement triggers the noise of the sprinkler and a stream of water. Personally I use a state of the art area denial system to keep any unwanted visitors out of my yard. It's an Anatolian Shepherd. I even have an active squirrel nest in a tree outside my back door, and it's hilarious to watch the squirrels use the canopy to get clear of my property before they head to ground and reverse the process when coming back home. But perhaps because he was raised with a Macaw he has no issue with birds whatsoever.
#7
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 18 March 2014 - 02:23 PM
I know that Michael Wolfe has great success with container ponds.
Thanks for the shout, and yes, my 100 gallon rubbermaid stock tanks have been a robust success here in north Georgia. Breeding has been pretty good, and survivorship has been pretty good (I am sure that I am losing a few to some predators... top minnows were less successful than the Cyprinella have been... and I have not lost a single flame chub yet... hoping they are breeding right now in the ice cold water!!!!). The depth of the stock tanks seem to help with predators and with thermal challenges (both hot and cold).
I would be concerned with such small volumes of water as the original poster mentioned. Joshaeus, aren't you in florida? I would think that you could keep lots of things outside year round... heck I have Flag Fish that have lived under the ice (I know, I know, its impossible... but they didn't spontaneously generate, so they did survive the ice, mysteries abound). I think you need a lot of shade and a small fish... if the snakes didnt eat them all you should be able to do L.omatta in your small volume... do it just like Erica's bucket tanks... only you can eliminate the fluorescent tubes and use the sun!
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#8
Guest_gerald_*
Guest_gerald_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 04:40 PM
15 gallon or larger rubbermaid tubs (or similar) work pretty well. Smaller containers will of course heat and cool faster; I suggest 15 gal as a minimum for outside use in sunny areas (I'm in central NC). The larger they are, the more stable (temp and water quality). Smaller containers might be OK in more shaded areas. BTW my eastern mudminnows survived in a 5-ft diam plastic wading pool (10" deep) on my driveway, despite extreme cold and thick ice the past few months. Hoping they'll breed again like last year.
#9
Guest_Joshaeus_*
Guest_Joshaeus_*
-
- Guests
Posted 18 March 2014 - 05:05 PM
Nope...I'm from New England. In any case, I think I'm just going to do these ponds indoors...outdoor container ponds sound problematic.
Edited by Joshaeus, 18 March 2014 - 05:06 PM.
#10
Guest_gerald_*
Guest_gerald_*
-
- Guests
Posted 19 March 2014 - 09:43 AM
As long as you understand the two basic potential problems (overheating in sun, and predator exclusion) they're really not problematic, and many fish do seem to breed better outside. window screens, wire shelving, old refigerator shelves, etc can be used to keep out birds and 'coons. Dragonflies might still drop eggs through screen unless it's fine screen.
#11
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 19 March 2014 - 10:44 AM
Nope...I'm from New England. In any case, I think I'm just going to do these ponds indoors...outdoor container ponds sound problematic.
Dont give up... I had a nice group of sunfish in a in ground pond (125 gallons only about 3 feet deep) even in Cleveland Ohio... they were very trained to feeding from the deck... and survived all the winters I was up there. Of course as Subrosa mentioned, I was also using a predator exclusion device, mine was a Basset Hound that terrorized all the squirrels rabbits and other vermin. Another trick that would help with the temps and the predators is to keep the ponds close to the house and close to a door or something (not only will you go out more if it is close to the door, but will also be "scarier" to the predators.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
NANFA Youtube Channel 
