6 replies to this topic

[Joshaeus]

'ello all! I am planning to have a 20 gallon, above ground (my parents would really prefer it not to be buried) container water garden on the east side of my house this spring through fall, and am planning to put a few fathead minnows in it to test whether fish would do well in there (I'm not losing a lot of money if this effort fails). I just have a few questions to ask:

 

1 - Should I add aeration? I was just planning on having at most 2 pairs in this thing, with a lot of plants...hornwort, aponogeton distachyos (water hawthorn, basically a giant, cold hardy version of the aquarium plant), vals, maybe a hardy lily...

2 - Will they likely breed in the container?

 

Thankx for your quick replies!

Edited by Joshaeus, 12 March 2016 - 05:07 PM.

[mattknepley]

Can't speak to Fatheads in particular, but I do have a little insight. My carnivorous plants spend all year outside, grown in a tray system. Basically, the plants are (usually) individually potted but the pots sit together in trays holding a couple inches of water at all times. Often in full sun for extended periods of time. Gambusia are the only fish to thrive in those conditions. One or two males to a tray keeps the skeeters away. On the other hand, I have a trashcan/rainbarrel that is shaded 24/7/365. It houses ramshorn and pond snails, and one fat sunfish. Lastly is a 100g stockpond, loaded with plants, a neverending string algae infestation, the same snails as the trashcan, two Enneacanthus, several Etheostoma collis, and a couple other odds and ends.

Now, to make this relate to your question. All these setups are low budget. No mechanical filtration and no aeration. Michael W. taught me a while ago that all aerating does in a smallish container is force the water to all be the same temperature. NOT providing aeration allows a thermocline to develop that creates a cooler, healthier layer for the fish. It's great for a 100g stockpond and a trashcan, but low depth/wide area footprints require a touch of art and science. You'll have to seriously consider how much sun the container will get. I had a kiddie pool pond for a couple years that I accidentally cooked a couple fish in. I thought the depth was enough; it wasn't. Sadly for the fish, they had actually thrived for a while in the springtime, and I got kinda cocky in my thinking. I didn't pay enough attention and once summer had been in full swing for a bit it was sushi time. I would think a 20g planter would prove unwieldy, but hardly unmoveable. Have a couple-few differnt areas to try placing the garden in, or to move it between as the seasons progress. Parents permitting of course. I might suggest looking for an even more hardier fish than the Fatheads to have as a backup.

In short, can your container garden be done? Absolutely. To be done well will require consideration, observation and reaction. Can't help you any more there there, but am anxious to hear how it goes!

[Fenway]

They should be fine. I made myself a tub pond out of half a whiskey barrel and some pond liner. I didn't have any kind of mechanical filtration or aeration, just water hyacinth. I put mollies in mine, normally a trio or two pairs. I know I know, not North American plants or fish.The most I put in was five adult fish. I've done it for five or six years and never had a fish kill and they always produced fry. Mine received a fair amount of shade since it was right by the garage and there was a big maple tree nearby. Don't use a container like a Rubbermaid tote or some other kind of tote. The sides will bow out and eventually break. A circular shape disperses the weight of the water better so a circular plastic container should be able to hold the water and be fine. 

[gzeiger]

Mollies are certainly North American...?

[Fenway]

Poecilia latipinna is. These were just fish store hybridized mollies.

[Joshaeus]

OK, thankx! The container is on the eastern side of the house, so most of the afternoon sun will be blocked by the house. Much of the morning sun will be blocked by the leaves of nearby trees.

[gerald]

Sounds like that plan should work.  Fatheads need some sort of cave with a ceiling to spawn in: rocks, tiles, broken flowerpot, etc.  The cool bottom refuge in a thermally-stratified (non-aerated) pond or tub works only if the waste load (including decaying leaves) is low.  Otherwise the dissolved O2 gets depleted in the cool bottom layer and the thermal refuge effect is useless for gill-breathing critters.  There was a guy at SDSU many years ago working with solar ponds (fresh layer over saltwater) who was trying to find a low-tech way to oxygenate the bottom layer without mixing the two layers, so that striped bass or other euryhaline food fish could be grown in it.