?Anyone keeps other fish in ponds, besides Koi and Goldfish?

[Auren]

¿Anyone keeps other fish in ponds, besides Koi and Goldfish?

I have an outside concrete pond, with many tropical fishes in it, as well as temperature control and filtration? I wanted to learn and share information on this topic.

 

[Dangerdoll]

My sister has a channel cat in hers in addition to 2 koi.

 

[schiejr]

I have done good with swordtails and plecos. Going to try mollies and rainbowfish this year.

My main obstacle is cold night temps. My ponds are still not staying in the sixties over night- we have had colder, wetter weather than normal. I typically am able to go from June through August with tropicals.

 

[125gJoe]

Plecos could work...

 

[silentskream]

i had a really long post written out that i spent a lot of time typing up. but somehow i accidentally hit a button and deleted it. so i'm just gonna tell you that koiworld magazine had an article in the 2003 -2004 issue entitled "FISH FRIENDS" it was about good tropical pond fish. some of which included:
any fish from the haplochromis genus
oscars
guppies
mollies
cichlids
plecos
rosy barbs, and pretty muc h any type of barb
tetras,
clown loaches
rainbow sharks, red tail sharks.
gouramis
african cichlids help control parasites, small fish, frog eggs, and tadpoles
discus
freshwater eel.

 

[Auren]

In relation and in agreement with silentskream, I also read "water garden and ponds magazine" where there is an article where it says, that basically any fish you can keep in an acuarium, you can keep outdoors they even said Marine fish also, but that a more complex issue according to the magazine.

Here in Mexico the temp is aroung 16 c at night and 23 c daytime, sow I have around 5 sumbmersible heaters to keep a constant water temperature with few degree variations. Yet I would like to see a more cost effective way of keeping the water temp. constant.

I am amazed at how my swordtails have prolifirated they´ve had dozens of babys.

I would really like to initiate a hobbie of outside ponds with more fishes, I think that is has its advantages, like you dont need artificial light, there is always insects and some green algea the fish can eat.

 

[jacblades]

discus in a pond?!?!?!?! well im not sure anyone would want to since ponds only offer views from the top. theyd just be a bunch of lines!

a saltwater pond?!?! no way!

i also read in ponds magazine or ponds usa or some pond magazine that siamese fighting fish were excellent for ponds. what they failed to mention was that you could only have one! im sure a few poor schmucks went out and bought several bettas for their ponds and they all killed each other

 

[brianfl]

I currently have Pacus, Tinfoil Barbs, Common Plecs, Sailfin Plecs, Sailfin Pim, Black Shark, Mayan cichlids, Giraffe catfish and some Channel Cats. They get along quite well.

 

[aquariumfishguy]

The problem with all the "pretty, colorful fish" is that (as mentioned), you hardly see them. And the small fish? Hmm... forget about it. The only time you MIGHT see the fish is at feeding time.

And as for plecos, they can survive temps as low as 55-58 degrees F. but most who keep them in ponds report NEVER seeing them. A friend of mine tells me he has to polk and prod through the pond to be able to tell if the pleco is alive!

So that is why (to me) tropicals just aren't worth it. I am not the kind of person would would keep a fish "just to say you keep it". You know what I mean? Because thats what happens in a pond. I have big bright goldfish who are sometimes a challege to see.

 

[Auren]

I agree with aquariumgishguy if we are talking about a large deep pond, but there is also small ponds of 200gal or less, which are not that deep and you can easely keep tropical fish and enjoy them. The pond I am talking about is aroung 500 gallons and is shallow on the front part, and in other parts its 45cm deep, and I have no problem with viewing my tripical fish and enjoying them every day I see them, feed them and not just keep them.

This is like sort of an external aquarium, not quiete a pond and obviously not quite an aquarium, where there are always advantages to keep these fish in a glass aquarium as well as advantages to keep them in an outdoor body of water/pond. What i am trying to say is that there are lots of interesting options in the hobbie that are not common. I really enjoy sitting in my back garden and watching all the fish outside, and not only in a glass aquarium, and due to the size of the pond I can controll the temperature.