Stocking a small, hot pond

[RabbitMage]

Alright. My mom has a 'pond' in her little garden now. Just from looking at it it's probably around 60 gallons (see? "pond".) and about 2" deep at the deepest point. It's got a water feature, some water hyacinth, anachris, hornwort, and duckweed.

At the moment there are five or six white cloud minnows that seem to be doing well, but mom wants something most visible. She put two fantail goldfish in there, not thinking about the fact that we're in CALIFORNIA and the water temperature mid-day can climb into the mid 80's.

So, besides goldfish, what could I put in this pond that is visible and nice to watch, and won't go belly up in the heat?

[spirals]

What type of filter set up do you have? Also keep in mind that as temperatures cool ( I assume they don't get too cold over there though) you may need to move any tropical fish indoors to keep them from getting too chilled. Def. get the goldfish out of there, they have major issues when the water temp is above 73* and living in 80* water is going to cause some serious damage.

[RabbitMage]

Filter, right. My parents assure me the thing pumping water, buried under rocks, has a filter. I think they're confused, so I'm going to be coming by every week to do some vaccuming/water changing, plus the water gets topped off about twice a week.

I'm willing to haul any tropical fish home with me over winter as well. I have a nice 55g tank for everyone to hang out in.

[ChilDawg]

Rosies are hyperactive little critters, and cheap, too! Gambusia might be a little too aggressive for what you have there, so I'd warn against them. Zebra Danios might be your best bet.

[RabbitMage]

Do you think the danios would be visible enough? I think mom was angling toward something with color, but the danios may work. If nothing else, I'll enjoy them!

[ChilDawg]

I don't know if Danios will be as visible as she wants, that's true.

Rosies might be, but you should probably rigorously quarantine them first.

What about some of the brightly colored Swordtails or Platies (or even Guppies or Endlers)?

[RabbitMage]

Hrm, now there's a thought.

I have some half-grown platy fry here, maybe I'll toss one in tomorrow and see what happens!

[wataugachicken]

maybe some sailfin mollies. big and colorful. they can be caught wild all around the Gulf area, so they would probably do fine outside during a California summer. they might have to be brought in for the winter though.

[Desertponder]

Is this 2 inches or 2 feet deep?? You typed 2 inches in your post. That would be too shallow for anything.:grinyes: I suspect its 2 feet.
Is it in ground or above ground? What is the actual temperature of the water itself?? It may not be as hot as you think. Kind of depends on if its in full sun all day or gets some partial shade.