Summer Pond Stocking

[AlaskaMatt]

Ok, i was wondering what other fish i could add to this list, the pond is 5'x4'x2'(L, W, H). The temps in the summer up here are fairly warm, like 68-78 or so (cant remember exactly, summer seems so short =P). so anyhow this is what i have planned so far, the pond has water in it and thats it.

2-3 Dojo Loaches
6 Guppys
6 Zebra Danios
6-8 White Cloud Mountian Minnows (Feeders if it makes a difference)
2 Goldfish (Feeders)

So what are your suggestions?

 

[fishcatch22]

how big is the pond gonna be? I can already tell you the guppies most likely will die, and if it's too small the temp swings between night and day could kill the others. if it drops to the 50s at night you can wave good bye to all but the goldfish and dojos, both of which are large fish that produce large amounts of waste so will need a pretty good sized pond. I don't know what it's like in wasilla but I can tell you it got in to the 50s at night most of the time in anchorage.

I might reccomend stocking with koi if it's big enough. they are definetly hardy enough for our weather.

 

[AlaskaMatt]

I think around 450 gallons, I plan on stocking the tropicals in july when its warm

 

[fishcatch22]

I think around 450 gallons, I plan on stocking the tropicals in july when its warm

it's really not warm enough for tropicals any time of year here, plus how are you going to track them down when it comes time to remove them? maybe if they were large like common plecos, but small fish may be nigh impossile to find in a pond of that size if it's got suffcient cover.. just go with common goldfish, chinese hi-fin banded sharks, and dojo loaches. make sure the pond is deep enough to withstand freezing, either than or get a floating heater.

 

[AlaskaMatt]

Allright, thannks for the info. Ill just stick to those fish you mentioned. Allthough i wont be wintering them over, i would need the pond to be REALLY deep, like 6'+.

 

[Derringer]

Comets, Koi, Shubunkin - all can do water close to freezing ~35 up to 90 degrees. You have a LOT of variety regarding colorations to choose from too, so your pond could be very colorful/diverse with the right fish.