7 replies to this topic

[loopsnj64]

I have a 35 gallon pond (no way of getting a larger pond) it IS deep enough to keep about 3 small fish and overwinter them. Aeration and filtration will be provided by a small waterfall. the pond currently has a few plants in it, but no oxygenators yet, would putting aquarium-grown anacharis in a pot work?

 

 

Heres a picture

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what native fish can i keep in such a minuscule pond

I was thinking of...

 

Darters (swamp, tesselated, brown, etc.)

 

Sticklebacks

 

Eastern Mudminnow

 

Shiners (what species?)

 

Pirate perch (making trips to where i can catch a few pirate perches soon)

 

Update: would a clam or 2 be beneficial, if so what species, there are plenty of asian clams in my local area, they are hardy enough to last a full year in an aquarium, meaning they might survive in a pond for a good while

Edited by loopsnj64, 18 July 2015 - 07:46 PM.

[Betta132]

Darters usually need flowing water.

Shiners will probably jump out if frightened. Also, they usually need more space, they're very active. 

Clams are not beneficial to anything but a very large body of water. They need a lot of food of a very specific (and tiny) size, which is why they usually die in aquariums. An outdoor aquarium is only slightly better. 

[Matt DeLaVega]

The darters you mentioned might be fine. They are all slackwater species. Heat may be a concern. A bit of afternoon shade will help, and only running aeration at night.

A few shiners would be fine if you compensate for jumping or their likelihood to try to migrate upstream during a rain event. Water flowing in. Lower the water level a bit and raise the tub so water cannot flow in. It will get muddy as well if you don't. Again heat may be a problem. not sure how deep this is.

Clams are fine. Not sure how corbicula will work, but fingernail clams thrive in the muck in this type of environment. You would not want too many corbicula as a die off could foul the water. An outdoor tank or pond is very different than an aquarium. Light intensity will allow it to grow much more phytoplankton and zooplankton. Which in my experience supports fingernail clams, even in our cattle troughs. Not sure how they get there, but they do.

Mudminnows would do very well.

Stickleback are nasty, and seem to prefer cooler water.

Pirate perch may do fine, but as dark as they are, they would be tough to observe at all.

Is this deep enough to overwinter fish in your area?

[Michael Wolfe]

Not sure where you are, but here in the south, none of the darters would survive the heat.

 

Mudminnows or topminnows might be the best choice.  Mudminnows are very tough.  Topminnows are also pretty hardy and would be fun to watch.

[loopsnj64]

Darters usually need flowing water.

Shiners will probably jump out if frightened. Also, they usually need more space, they're very active. 

Clams are not beneficial to anything but a very large body of water. They need a lot of food of a very specific (and tiny) size, which is why they usually die in aquariums. An outdoor aquarium is only slightly better. 

 

As mentioned by the others, i am keeping slack water darter species, also in theory clams should be beneficial for water clarity, key would be to avoid have too large/too many clams

 

 

 

The darters you mentioned might be fine. They are all slackwater species. Heat may be a concern. A bit of afternoon shade will help, and only running aeration at night.

A few shiners would be fine if you compensate for jumping or their likelihood to try to migrate upstream during a rain event. Water flowing in. Lower the water level a bit and raise the tub so water cannot flow in. It will get muddy as well if you don't. Again heat may be a problem. not sure how deep this is.

Clams are fine. Not sure how corbicula will work, but fingernail clams thrive in the muck in this type of environment. You would not want too many corbicula as a die off could foul the water. An outdoor tank or pond is very different than an aquarium. Light intensity will allow it to grow much more phytoplankton and zooplankton. Which in my experience supports fingernail clams, even in our cattle troughs. Not sure how they get there, but they do.

Mudminnows would do very well.

Stickleback are nasty, and seem to prefer cooler water.

Pirate perch may do fine, but as dark as they are, they would be tough to observe at all.

Is this deep enough to overwinter fish in your area?

 

 

Fingernail clams? i have never heard of them, the only clams in my local area are invasive asian clams and the occasional river mussel

 

Update: Are fingernail and asian clams the same or related species, because they look similar, if they are different, would asian clams be okay?

 

Update: that leaves shiners as not an option, but i am worried about chemicals flowing in from the road uphill, or garden chemicals from the neighbors yard, would a pair of gravel diversion channels be an okay solution

 

 

 

Not sure where you are, but here in the south, none of the darters would survive the heat.

 

Mudminnows or topminnows might be the best choice.  Mudminnows are very tough.  Topminnows are also pretty hardy and would be fun to watch.

 

 

Which topminnows are cold hardy?

Edited by loopsnj64, 19 July 2015 - 04:10 PM.

[Evan P]

Blackstripe Topminnows or Northern Starheads should be able to stand the cold.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Lots of things you can do to divert water. Do it. If you have a stream running in, you will have fish going out. 

 

I know very little about fingernail clams. They have a delicate whitish shell and get no bigger than your pinkie fingernail. They are not the same as the corbicula you find in streams. These prefer to live in muck and detritus.

 

http://nas.er.usgs.g...x?SpeciesID=131

 

If you don't find them locally like I do, you should not put them in an outdoor pond. No reason to establish them outside of their current range. I find them in every swampy slough around. They are easy to miss, because you have to dig through the detritus in your dipnet to find them.

 

 I have not intentionally kept them nor corbicula, so that is all I can really say.

 

Cold hardy and frost line are both things to consider. I still do not see where you live. If your pond is only 20 inches deep, and your frost line is 32 inches, you will have a problem during tough winters. You can put a stock tank heater in there to prevent freezing, or you can move the fish indoors. I don't care how cold hardy the fish are, if you have a 35 gallon ice cube they are going to die. Do not run aeration during the winter to keep it from icing up as that will kill your fish quicker than allowing it to freeze.

[Michael Wolfe]

Do not run aeration during the winter to keep it from icing up as that will kill your fish quicker than allowing it to freeze.

 

And if your in the south, same thing is true in the summer!

 

Thermal stratification is your friend.