Guppy Farm
- Thread starter mrchillman
- Start date
the larvae can hurt or eat small fish, but the adult dragonflies eat MOSQUITOS. which would you rather have? and i imagine that if you have so many dragonflies and larvae in your pond, it's because they have a lot to eat there.
to be honest i would rather have my fish, we don't really have mosquitoes here, maybe a few but its not like the east coast. :] Ill try and get pics up tomorrow sorry i have been lazy i took them, but havn't put them on the computer yet.
Alright i finally got the pics up :] Now any one know how to get rid of dragon fly larvae?! I just got back from a 4 day trip to boston and noticed that i had significantly fewer guppies, and right off the bat i saw 4 big one and a half inch long dragon fly larvae in my pond... that were just sitting out in the open.
Here is a quick update:Good news and bad news. Bad news I only have about 3 guppies left in the pond (that i can see, there might be 4 or 5) The baby ones are all dead, probably eaten by dragon flies, only the really big jumbo sized ones are left. I still have about 20 or so living in an aquarium indoors. As for the good news, My pond water finally cleared up! Its amazing i was outside one day thinking how aweful my pea soup water was, and i came out a few days later, to find it crystal clear. I can see all the way to the bottom of the pond! Thats how i know most of the guppies are gone.
I put my finger in the water today and noticed it was kind of on the cold side (it went down to 30 degrees a couple nights ago!), and so i added another heater to it. (my thermometer broke) its better now with the other heater, and my big guppies that are still alive seem to be doing well.
I put my finger in the water today and noticed it was kind of on the cold side (it went down to 30 degrees a couple nights ago!), and so i added another heater to it. (my thermometer broke) its better now with the other heater, and my big guppies that are still alive seem to be doing well.
Wow I can not tell you anything cause I am still new at all this but I can say I think that is such a nice outside pond. You did a really good job on it.
I live in Indiana so I stocked my small garden ponds with rosy reds that survive winter without heaters. I have lots of dragon flies too. They do eat some of the fry. If they didn't my pond would be overstocked with fish in no time. Rosys breed fast like guppies. It is worth it to have the mosquito control around here.
I would think that there would end up a natural balance in your pond like in mine. I'm not positive but the breeding may slow down as the temps drop. Then you would see less fry. Also the can hide pretty good in a planted pond. Since you have some breeding indoors you don't run the risk of being wiped out. I see fewer fish in the fall but the population shoots right back up in the spring.
You really can't stock a pond as full as an aquarium which is a closed system. An aquarium needs to balance only what you put in it.
A pond has to deal with cycling waste from the fish plus bugs , plus birds go out of their way to poop in it. Plus small animals drop stuff in it, dust, seeds, leaves and flower petals fall in it. Snails, reptiles and amphibians live and occasionally die in it.
Allowing the fish population to be naturally culled will make for a healthier pond in the long run.
When the birds and frogs discover the dragonflies they will do their part in keeping the population under control.
Get some good binoculars and sit at your window and watch the activity going on at your pond. There's lots of activity to see that stops when you walk close to the pond and they see you.
Here's a link but it may be too basic for you.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=255
National Wildlife Federation has lots of articles about creating backyard wildlife habitats around your pond. http://www.nwf.org/backyard/index.cfm
I would think that there would end up a natural balance in your pond like in mine. I'm not positive but the breeding may slow down as the temps drop. Then you would see less fry. Also the can hide pretty good in a planted pond. Since you have some breeding indoors you don't run the risk of being wiped out. I see fewer fish in the fall but the population shoots right back up in the spring.
You really can't stock a pond as full as an aquarium which is a closed system. An aquarium needs to balance only what you put in it.
A pond has to deal with cycling waste from the fish plus bugs , plus birds go out of their way to poop in it. Plus small animals drop stuff in it, dust, seeds, leaves and flower petals fall in it. Snails, reptiles and amphibians live and occasionally die in it.
Allowing the fish population to be naturally culled will make for a healthier pond in the long run.
When the birds and frogs discover the dragonflies they will do their part in keeping the population under control.
Get some good binoculars and sit at your window and watch the activity going on at your pond. There's lots of activity to see that stops when you walk close to the pond and they see you.
Here's a link but it may be too basic for you.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=255
National Wildlife Federation has lots of articles about creating backyard wildlife habitats around your pond. http://www.nwf.org/backyard/index.cfm
