4 replies to this topic

[Icarian]

Hello all, thanks for accepting me on your forum.

 

I'm looking for advice on a fish to keep in an outdoor container pond that I will be using to grow some native aquatic plants (pickerel weed, frogbit, mermaid weed, Nymphaea odarata  - suggestions welcome!). I live in planting zone 7a and will be using the Father Fish method of deep substrate planting. My goal for this container pond is for it to mature into a self-sustaining ecosystem requiring only occasional trimming and minimal feeding. There will be a total of four container ponds at 25 gallons each (former whiskey barrels).

 

I've been having trouble identifying a fish that will survive the winters here in Southern New York. The Banded Killifish is the closest that I could find, but it is carnivorous and would therefore require regular feeding. I would like the plants in the container to supplement the fish's diet, so I'm looking for an omnivorous species. I also want to keep the bio-load light, so I'm looking for a small fish that doesn't require large schools.

 

An ideal fish for me is the Japanese Medaka rice fish (Oryzias latipes) as they have a very long history of surviving winters in outdoor container ponds, but I want to make sure there are no native options for me before I move on. Thanks!

Attached Images

• 

Edited by Icarian, 29 April 2022 - 09:19 AM.

[El Todd]

Maybe give mudminnows a shot? I haven't kept them yet myself, but from what I have read on here and other places they seem like a viable option for what you are doing.

[PBK]

Mosquito fish would be a good choice because they hardy. Bugs falling into your tubs will provide some food for them.

[WheelsOC]

Things I would rule out:

Gambusia (mosquitofish) would be great, they even somewhat resemble ricefish... except that New York is outside of their native range. Not only is that a potential problem for acquiring and keeping them legally, it's also a problem of winter temperatures. Especially in a small above-ground pond (like a container garden).

Sheepshead minnows have the native range (they're found all the way up to Cape Cod), but they prefer brackish, salty  water. That rules out keeping them in most planted tubs.

Eastern Mudminnows are within the right range, but they're entirely carnivorous/insectivorous bottom-feeders and a tub full of fine-leafed plants and algae probably won't do them any good.

 

Some to consider:

Fathead minnows. Bait fish! They're omnivorous, cold-tolerant, hardy, and have an interesting cave-spawning behavior. Usually easy to find as bait fish. Not very eye-catching, unless you got a pet store and buy the light-orange "Rosy Red" variety (sold as feeder fish). They're also usually under three inches in length. These would be my primary recommendation.

Mimic Shiners: Very common, small fish native to most of NY. The catch is they mostly eat daphnia, and daphnia are mostly cultivated in "green water" cultures so they wouldn't be likely to thrive in a tidy little container garden. So probably not quite the set-it-and-forget-it species you're looking for.

Spottail Shiners: They get a little larger but they're common and native (check the name: Notropis hudsonius). Probably need more feedings than the others.

 

To be honest I'm not sure there are a lot of fish that would be good just "foraging" in the tubs for very long.

[El Todd]

I still say mudminnows would be a good idea to try. Spottail shiners would be far less hardy in my opionion based upon my experience keeping them. Fathead minnows seem like a good choice.