starting a pond

[demon_surfer]

hehe well know one anwsered my last post, but reading it i guess it was kind of confusing. Let me start off with something a little simple and go from there.

I live in South West Florida and i want to build a pond. I have no dimensions yet. What sort of fish could i put into the pond that will be healthy in the Florida climate? also will i be able to winter fish in the pond? I mean it gets no where near freezing.

I was thinking maybe oscars..but reading a couple of the other pond posts i was thinking something less carnivourus so i can us the pond to breed fish. (thats an entirely diffrent question hehe)

thanks in advance, Alex

 

[rjl420]

well, there are always the typical pond fish: Koi, Goldfish etc... but if your looking for something different you could try stocking it with local species. but a lot of your stocking options are going to depend on the size of your pond. I know a few people who have housed oscars, managuese and other tropical fish outdoors, but they were all wintered indoors. if it's ok to winter your fish indoors, than your options are almost as vast as a tank. but if you want the to overwinter without adding (expensive) heating equipment, I'd stick with koi/goldfish or a local species setup, both of which will overwinter just fine in S. Florida.

 

[demon_surfer]

if i was to put a pair of Koi in the pond to be its main inhabitant and then use the pond to breed say fancy guppies, would the koi mess with the guppies or their fry? ive heard they can become predatory if hungry . well not exactly predatory but that they wouldnt think twice about sucking up a guppy or three

 

[rjl420]

well, just so that you know. a single Koi should really have upwards of 400 gallons just for himself at adult hood, so a pair of koi would do just fine in a pond that was close to 800 gallons.

I raise mosquito fish along with my koi, the koi may inadvertantly get a fish or two in their mouth but you would never notice with how fast mosquito fish multiply. guppies are actually tropical, so they would do fine in the summertime, but may need overwintered indoors for the fall/winter.

 

[125gJoe]

Oscars

I had Oscars in my pond a couple years ago. I thought central Florida would be warm enough in Winter - Not.

The Oscars didn't make it... I had a pair in the pond and they bred. I've never seen such an aggressive fish! They would try and bite your feet if you walked close enough to the pond!

If I lived farther south, I'd have Oscars in the pond. They are a unique fish, and fun to watch and feed. They seem to know and sense a person, unlike pond Goldfish.