Marguerite's Blog
Marguerite's Blog
The fishpond.
Posted on 15 Jul, 2008 15 comments
Apart from owning an tropical aquarium once, I never had to do much with fish, other than eating them. When we came here in Cairns, the previous owner had lovely waterplants and various fish amongst them in the pond, adjacent to the veranda. These were not included in the takeover, so he came and took them all, leaving some sludge in the bottom. In that sludge we discovered tens of cane toads, which we got rid off and pulled the plug in the bottom of the pond, so emptying it. The water just ran through a pipe into the garden bed below in the front garden. I cleaned and scrubbed and hosed till it looked all clean. In the following week we caught another 80 canetoads, who had jumped in, remembering the pond, but with water, lol. Now they were caught in the dry pond and huddled together in a corner, piling on top of each other, probably trying to climb out. The pond is only 40 cm deep, but as I mentioned before, these fellars cannot jump! When finally we did not get any more toads I hosed it out once more.
For weeks we’d been looking at this gaping hole, which has a concrete bottom and which reflected the sunlight and became a bright eyesore to us sitting on the veranda drinking coffee etc. And I really do like plants! So…I convinced my hubby to get some waterplants, which would not only look good, but also take away the glare. We bought half a trailer load of river stones, washed them and put them in the pond. That was a start. Next move: to the nursery. We didn’t really like what we heard: You need fish and plants to compliment each other. Well, I didn’t mind to have fish, but had not planned them and besides, I didn’t know much about them. But it would be a nice challenge. So, I chose some plants, including 3 waterlilies and went home. We filled the pool with water and placed the plants in it, some on the bottom, some on bricks, as they were bogplants. It all looked promising. Then came the day we went fishing. In the pet shops aquarium and came home with a handful of goldfish. The stupid shop had provided me ( and probably other customers as well ) with faulty plastic bags, and mine bursted inside the car! Just my luck. Lucky we always have a drink container in the car for the dogs, so I placed the bag inside it and hoped for the best. There was not much air and not much water left…..You are supposed to “float” the bag with fish for half an hour in the pond, so they get acclimatised to the water. Well, this was an impossible feat, so I just let them out, rather than the fish getting hurt. They immediately hid inside the bricks ( we have hollow bricks here and I placed them on their sides ) and I didn’t see them for 24 hours. But I had also bought some goldfish food, as they were goldfish. So the next day I sprinkled some dry food on the surface and they slowly came for it, then quickly disappeared again. The next day one fish had died. That one went over the wall in the garden beds. But the rest thrived until much later another succumed to whatever it was. I bought some more and again I had a couple die. But now I still have 5 fish which seem to be doing well. In the waterlilies I unknowingly brought home two guppies, which have since grown into a colony of about 50. The water also had its problems. Algae started to grow against the wall and bricks, pots and on the stones. We bought a filter and a pump, which has a sweet little fountain attached to it. But although the water is crystal clear, the algae seem to thrive. Now I bought a vacuum cleaner, one hose in and another one out, so creating a suction, I think the word is ventricular. And here we are vacuuming the pond, bit by bit, because it is back breaking work. It also is teamwork, as one person has to vacuum whilst the other holds the end of the outlet hose above a filtercloth, which is over a flowerpot with a hole in the bottom, so the water goes clean back into the pond. When the pond is full, the water overflows through the overflow pipe inside the pond and ends up in the garden beds.
Phew…I also have been twirling algae around a thin wooden stick, which worked very well, but too long a job, as it is slow. So now I hope we’ll get on top of this problem. Oh, and I forgot to mention, that we spend money on a pond maintenance guy, who did nothing else than tell us that algae were natural and good for the pond, and harmless to the fish, but that we could purchase some algae eaters of which he wrote the name down. We had been to a special aquarium shop and each little fish costed a fortune. These are a species of catfish. Not only that, they only had one, as more would be coming after the breeding season. I asked if they would live in harmony with the goldfish, and oh yes, that was no problem. Browsing the internet I found otherwise on some forums. So….perhaps I opt for cleaning the pond myself! Phew again….little did I know keeping waterplants and fish was such a big deal. But it does look nice!
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Comments
15 Jul, 2008
another exellent blog marguerite.my friend give me some stuff for my blanket weed whitch is organic and doesnt effect the fish. it doesnt kill the blanket weed but it eats what it lives on so the blanketweed starves and dies i noticed the diffrence in 10 days, i could get the name of it if you like. :)
15 Jul, 2008
My goodness! What a lot of work - my dear husband is talking about making a pond in our garden.... I don't really want one because Henry would be in it all the time. Can you imagine him trying to catch the fish and the fish going mad trying NOT to be caught! What a nightmare!
15 Jul, 2008
I have Spritzhenry's problem. If I put in any kind of water, my lab, Bella would be in it as soon as it was filled. Once she tried to get into a tub full of melted ice we had used to keep beer and soda cold for a party.
16 Jul, 2008
Haha, yes I can imagine the dog jumping in the pond. However, my little Cully also loves water, yet she has never tried to jump in the pond. She loves the swimming pool, the river and the ocean. I think she knows it is "special" cause I spend many hours on my knees bending over it and every day I call the fish and feed them. She just looks, but doesn't attempt to go in it, yet it is ground level. Lyd, it sounds interesting, but what really do the algae feed on, you think? I think they get there because of phosphor coming from plants. Apparently algae is healthy for a pond, provided the water is clear, which mine is. But I just think it is unsightly and don't want it to take over in the end. My fish are doing well, so do the plants so things must be in harmony. I am afraid to add things to unbalance the environment in there.
Treesandthings, yes I could have added a pic of the pond here, but the blog was already so long, lol. Thank you all for reading this blog.
16 Jul, 2008
Treesandthings, I don't have any snails here!
16 Jul, 2008
Water lot of hard work , but the pond looks gr8. As a kid, I had goldfish in a tank indoors. One day, my Dad brought home a catfish, which proceeded to eat the tails of the goldfish! I flushed it down the loo, hehe!
17 Jul, 2008
Yes David, that is what I was afraid of. So I opted for the vacuum cleaner.
17 Jul, 2008
Oooooooooh! So the "cat was in the bag", so to speak?
19 Jul, 2008
Hi Marguerite...there are numerous types of algae...the one that is hardest to get rid of and potentially harmful cause it clogs and chokes... sounds like what you have...it is filamentous...stringy...and vivid green and sticky! The word Yuck was invented just to describe it!... If you feed your goldfish with fish flakes you are adding the other type of algae to your water...that's why they tell you to feed only as much as your fish will consume in five minutes...cause if any remains uneaten it turns your water green... I hasten to add that that is not a bad thing just doesn't look great... the fish actually are algae eaters...the only algae you should worry about is red algae...a bloom of that changes the water chemistry and kills fish ...sounds like you've been working very hard on your pond and you are being extra conscientious..
19 Jul, 2008
Hi Lori, Thank you for your interest in my fishpond and your help. I can only tell you, the water is absolutely clear, the fish are doing fine and I only feed them that much what they eat within one minute! There's absolutely nothing left and I do see them nibble the algae. It is not really sticky, although I can get a little stick and twirl it around and so I catch algae and it pulls them from the stones and edges, but that is a long job. Today I vacuumed, lol, not realising I was emptying the pond, when my hubby came and said:" Gee, the water is getting low". Trust me! Anyway, I filled it up again. I managed to clear a lot of algae, so I think we're getting somewher. I think it is a fable though when they say algae don't grow in the shade, because that area is even worse, haha. Anyway, I repotted some plants and cut some long bits out in between some underwater plant, which had gone straggly and at the ends were roots ( the ones which were not in the sand ) were and planted them back in. Looking much better. I rid them of the algae and everything is looking good.
19 Jul, 2008
I used to do "exchanges" I'd pump out the fishy/algae water and put it on my garden (great fertilizer/soil enhancer) and add fresh from the tap...our water is treated but that's the best thing about carp...they live in worse ...and seem quite tolerant of chlorine which disipates if you have a bubbler within 24 hours anyway... LIke you, I find my pond an endless source of fascination...if it isn't the fish it's the water...if it isn't the water it's the algae...etc. etc. etc. at present I'm thinking about placements for the water iris... I'm thinking about buying some more pea gravel and put a thin layer in the bottom...the black reflector idea has worn a little thin and the plants need something to root in...taking all this inside when autumn comes is looking daunting... oh well.. live and learn...
19 Jul, 2008
Thanks for your feedback Lori. My plants are all in pots, in or under the water, as I have no sand but riverstones. I do repot them often as they seem to grow like mad! Today I vacuumed again and refreshed 1/3 of their water. They said to me tap water as that has minirals in which the fish need, but most of it is rainwater, comes from our huge rainwater tank. I also added 1 kg salt in 2500 l water as suggested by a fish expert, it would do the fish good and builds up more slime on their skin so they are more protected ( to what? I might ask ). Anyway I did that too, but that must have diluted a lot by now. I only have 5 goldfish and tens of guppies in the pond.
20 Jul, 2008
Hmmm.... well the fish may not suffer from the saline but the plants certainly will...it sets up a reverse adsorption thing in the plants...instead of taking in water their cells expell it and your plants die of dehydration!!! In this climate salt is put on the roads in winter to stop ice buildup... and the salt from streets and roads stunt the vegetation along the highways and sometimes brown our lawns... very few plants are tolerant to salt...Use as much rainwater as you can... and maybe you could google to see if there are saline waterplants available..you should be able to grow lotus...perhaps?
21 Jul, 2008
Oh Lori, it's not that bad. A very good fishman told me that, and he has lush ponds. The only plants not thriving here are the waterlilies, probably too cold up in the hills. I should have bought some suitable for colder regions. 1kg salt to 25000 liters is nothing really. By now the pond has had about 3 times 1/3 refreshed. Yes, I used rainwater, but the pond service man said to use tapwater as rainwater has no minirals in it, which are good for plants and fish. You know I get so many different advices it is very hard to know what to do. So far these fish are very healthy and happy, the plants thrive and the water is crystal clear. I think I must be doing the right thing after all. The pond is not half as salty as my swimming pool, I can't even taste the salt in the pond. I am not going to buy any saltwater plants now, as I have spend enough money on the pool as is. That's it, if things deteriorate, then I will quit the pond affaire, lol.
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Joined 16 Feb, 2008
Hampshire
15 Jul, 2008
Just looked at your'e pics to find your'e pond, very nice.
Do you have many snails? I have a wildlife pond with no fish but planty of snails have turned up. Probably in the plant roots or on the feet of birds that visit.