African Cichlid Pond

[Goodcreature]

I've been inspired! I would like to build a small pond, 250-500 gallons, for peacock cichlids. The fish would stay there from late spring to mid fall, since that's when the weather is acceptable, and I would stock it with 2 males and 4-6 females, as well as a small minnow species to act as a feeder fish, but I'm not sure on that yet.

The folks want it to be an in-ground pond, so I guess we're gonna end up doing it that way. The pond will be in pretty much full sun, so I'm gonna try to have quite a few lilies and such to give some cover for the fish. I'd also like to have some type of water grass, like a reed, but it's not really necessary. Finally, for plants anyway, I'm looking for a real nitrate hog, like cabomba or egeria densa, so that I can kind of balance my bioload and vegetation, thus controlling algae. I don't have the money to buy a filter, much less one with a UV stage, so I'll be building my own. That's why I'm working to get my "ecosystem" balanced out.

I would like for my fish to breed, if possible, which is another reason I'm pushing the plants, since both the females and the fry will need places to hide. Another reason for the numerous plants is that I would like for the pond to become more of a system, so that it could draw various species of wildlife, such as frogs, aquatic insects, etc. and provide more sources of food for the fish, in all stages of their life cycle. For example, plants are useful, though not critical, for the life cycle of dragonflies, and adding them would make the pond more ideal for laying the eggs, which could be food for my fish.

For the filter, I'm thinking of doing an internal system, with the biological filter media actually in the pond, and the pump pulling (and pushing) the water through hidden pvc pipes, either to a waterfall, or some water feature that would aerate the pond.

Now, with the description out of the way, I would like some suggestions for a possible minnow species. It has to be small enough for the peacocks to eat, so I'm not even sure if I'll be able to use minnows or not. Also, some possible and useful plants for the pond would be great, and I would really appreciate a list of sorts. Thanks guys.

Sorry for the big post, but I got excited. It is a pond, by the way.

 

[kenjivaj]

No minnow or feeder guppies because you said you want to do a planted breeding pond. The minnow and large guppies will eat up the frys. Minnow should be bigger than your peacock cichlid mouth other wise it will be eaten already. The only good plant is the water lily and duckweed. The other plants are not so good. But beware duckweed will grow like crazy. Go with floater plants so your pond does not have too much algae growing. Water lettuce is not good for pond because the roots breaks down in the water. I don't know to much about frog bit plant. It should be good to maybe. I would hate you to put plants in the water and hair algae grow all over them. That's why I recommend floater plants only.

 

[Goodcreature]

Alright, I guess the minnows are out. No problem.

Water lilies are one of the things my parents said that we had to have, so that's going in no matter what. I've thought about duckweed, and when used correctly, it can look quite nice, but I 'm afraid that it's going to cover up the pond too much. I'll give a go, since I can get it for free anyway, and see how it works out. But, I'd really like some kind of plant for the bottom; I don't want it everywhere, just in a few spots. I'm considering the possibility of jungle vals, and maybe even java moss. I really have no clue what would like nice in a pond setting; just that lilies are a must for my parents, and that some kind of plant for the bottom of the pond might look nice.

Thanks.

 

[SubRosa]

I think you may find Peacocks a slight disppointment when viewed from above. They're very laterally compressed, which means they're like a pancake. They look good lying flat on a plate, but almost disappear when seen edge on. Mbuna are built more like a link sausage and present a lot more to see when viewed from above. Sorry about the food analogy I missed dinner.

 

[kenjivaj]

If you want plants on the bottom go with low light plants. That way your floater plants don't kill your bottom plants. Java moss, java ferm, anubias and other low light plants. For a filter. You can builded a gravity gravel and sand filter. It works best for me.


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[Goodcreature]

I realize that peacocks aren't the best fish for ponds, aesthetically anyway, but the main point of the pond was to provide a better environment for the fish, hopefully resulting in increased health, growth, coloration, and better clutches of fry. I still would like the pond to be beautiful, but I'm focusing more on the pond itself rather than the fish in it. Thank you for the heads up though; you're right: it would have been very disappointing.

It does bring up a good question though: would it be better to keep peacocks or mbuna in the pond? Peacocks are primarily carnivorous, although omnivorous, but from what I hear, mbuna eat pretty much anything, and their diet consists mainly of insects and algae, both of which will exist in abundance in a pond. But, peacocks are relatively peaceful fish, while the mbuna are more aggressive. I don't know. What do you guys think? For reasons other than aesthetics, would it be better to keep and breed peacocks or mbuna? It might be good to know that the pond will likely now turn out to be around 600-800 gallons. Thanks guys.

 

[kenjivaj]

With that size pond. You can keep both because Peacocks like open water set up and mbuna love rocks and caves. But if I have to chose one. It will be mbuna because of the fish color. Female peacocks will not have color in your pond.

 

[Goodcreature]

If you want plants on the bottom go with low light plants. That way your floater plants don't kill your bottom plants. Java moss, java ferm, anubias and other low light plants. For a filter. You can builded a gravity gravel and sand filter. It works best for me.

Thanks for the suggestion! I hadn't thought about it, but low light plants probably would be best with all the floaters we'll have.

For the filter, I think what I'm gonna do is basically build a giant sponge filter, which, in the pond world, I believe they call an internal filter. It'll have a long, cylindrical mesh of plastic "sponge" at the bottom of the pond, to which I'll attach a submersible pump, which will pull water through the sponge and pump it through pvc pipes, which lead to a waterfall going back into the pond. It should provide the biological filtration I need, but I might need to tweak it a bit as I go. The pump might have to work a bit harder than a regular external filter, but not too much. Besides, it has the added benefit of all being hidden in the pond, and I won't have to build anything outside the pond to house it.:dance:

 

[Goodcreature]

With that size pond. You can keep both because Peacocks like open water set up and mbuna love rocks and caves.

There's quite a bit of surface area in the pond, but I don't think there's enough to have both a breeding harem for peacocks and one for mbuna; there would be too much bullying against the peacocks, since they're much more timid.

But if I have to chose one. It will be mbuna because of the fish color. Female peacocks will not have color in your pond.

That doesn't count. My choice can't be based on what they look like.

 

[XanAvaloni]

Some things I have not yet seen mentioned (background: I built a yard pond about 12 yrs ago and it's still going. Goldfish only, and they are now wild and free creatures. I don't harvest fry/juvies or interfere with their lives much at all. They winter over without noticeable problems. Population is self-regulating.)--

--what's your source of electricity going to be? You need it for pumps/filters at least. Chances are you are going to want some lights around it both for esthetic and safety reasons so nobody walks into it by accident in the dark. Solar lights are much cheaper than they used to be but still have to be replaced every couple of years. Similar style lights with permanent wiring are cheaper in the long run but still require power. Figure these into the design before you turn the first shovel of dirt.

--Plants grow. Put in whatever you like but keep in mind that after a couple of months, much less a couple of years, you will be spending more time pulling out excess than worrying about shortages. Surplus water plants make excellent compost after they are chopped up a bit.

--Predators. Raccoons, snakes and birds, primarily herons, will rip through your livestock in short order. Some thoughts to defenses might be in order.

--Leaves. These will endeavor to fill up the pond to the brim every fall. Scooping them out, without wreaking havoc on your "good" plants, is a challenge. One solution is to get one of those big nets they sell to drape over fruit trees to keep birds from eating the produce. Put it on before you think you need to.

--Unwanted chemicals. Anybody in the neighborhood use a lawn service, Terminix or similar? Those chemicals travel in the wind. Chances are you would be fine but if anybody really nearby gets sprayed on a regular basis you might want to keep a tarp handy to throw over the pond for the days this work is being done.

--Permanence. This is most likely going to be around for a LONG time, but the day may come when for one reason or another you don't want it any more. Then you are faced with having to find dirt to fill it in. Solution--one I wish I had used--is to use the dirt to build up a berm around the edge of the hole rather than hauling it off and leaving the water level with the ground. Since you are not going to have fish over winter the loss of insulation is not a factor. This will be unstable and prone to slides until grass or other plantings grow up on it, but it's a possibility to consider. After that it will look terrific. You can use rocks, wood or other materials to brace it and can also build one section of it higher than the rest and base your waterfall there.

--Harvest/intaking. How are you planning to capture the fish in the fall to bring them indoors? You will nearly have to take out all the plants, including the lilies which will be a challenge as their roots become large in a short time and also intertwine with each other. Even with that obstacle removed they are going to be tricky to catch. Do you have a potential market if they breed heavily? That could be a whole lotta fish goin' on there.

Hope it doesn't sound like I'm trying to talk you out of the project. Ponds are great. You just have to accept that once you put something outside it is no longer domestic but part of Nature and Wildlife and all that, no longer completly under your control. Have fun.

oh, and don't worry about adding frogs, turtles dragonflies etc. Once you build it they wil come on their own. see: wildlife, above. Also: snakes.