Now that you have installed your backyard pond and filled it with plants for convenient hiding places, it is time to stock it with fish. It is important to do this properly to ensure pond and fish health and longevity. Filling your pond with fish and plants and the right balance of other supplies is exciting. You get to choose the elements that are important to you and really create the water garden that you have envisioned.
Get started on the right note by stocking the proper combination of fish species, sizes, and in the right order. Ponds that are not stocked correctly in the beginning can develop unbalanced populations of undergrown fish. It is important to have a deep enough pond with enough watershed to maintain normal water levels. Too-shallow ponds can lead to the death of fish due to lack of oxygen.
Before you can know how many fish to add you must know the size of your pond. Your pond fish population is more likely to succeed if you add in a few less fish than you are able rather than overstocking. Remember that pond fish grow fast if fed on a regular basis. Koi can grow to 2 or 3 feet in length, so having an overpopulated pond is not a good idea.
Make sure you are being sold healthy pond fish. Two breeds that do really well in a backyard water garden are koi fish and goldfish.
- Koi fish add light and movement to your water garden. Playful koi are always fun to see splashing around in a pond and their beautiful and unique colors and markings make them a point of interest for visitors.
- Goldfish actually come in a variety of colors including calico and Shubunkin goldfish feature a beautiful color mixture of white, orange, and metallic gold, and they have a peppering of black spots in varying sizes and locations that covers their body.
While fish are always a fun addition to any water garden it is important to care for them properly. Stock up on Koi and goldfish pond supplies and products that are specifically designed to promote long and healthy life spans. You can also find food and water treatments for any time of year.
Premium fish foods can help your fish grow, keep them healthy, and even bring greater vibrancy to their color. When properly taken care of, Koi can live for several decades. To achieve this, purchase products that can fight diseases otherwise deadly to pond fish as well as water treatments that can help prevent fish diseases.