Tropical Fish Outdoor Pond

Snowgrrl83

AC Members
Dec 22, 2005
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Ottawa, ON
Hi everyone,

I was reading the Aquarium Fish magazine Feb. 06 issue and stumbled upon an article about a tropical fish pond.

Any of you have ever tried this? Do you use a heater in there aswell?? and filter?

I have this old rustic bathtub in my yard... and gave me an idea to give my fish a 'vacation' from the tank.... though im not sure how to set up a pond..never made an outdoor pond.
 
I have tried this and done well with Live bearers, but have had problems with MN nights during summer dropping below 60 degrees and killing my stock.
But if you live an area that keeps warmer nights you should be ok. I usually keep stuff outside from July 4th-Mid Sept.
Check out this article by Dr. Ted Coletti. TAKE IT OUTSIDE: A SUMMER VACATION FOR YOUR LIVEBEARERS
 
Great article!! Thank you, it was just what I was looking for!! I cant wait to set up this bathtub....

I think I will try some feeder guppies that i have here and if they do well, for a month we'll try some other tropical fishies...
 
Like the last post stated where you live can make a big difference in how difficult it is to keep the fish outdoors. Not only do you have to make sure the water stays warm enough, you need to make sure you do not cook your fish. The materials used for a pond, weather or not it is in the shade and other things can affect temp. You also have to contend with predators, parasites, and disease. It might be really easy for a heron to see fish inside a bathtub (like fish in a barrel), if you do not have some good cover for them. However, I have seen some really neat (well maintained) tropical ponds.

PS: You also have to make sure the pond dose not flood, if it does you could release non-native fish into the environment.

If you do go through with it let us know how it goes!
 
Being in a national park and in Canada temperature and wildlife will be a factor. We occasionnally get a bear walking through our town or some elk. I have never seen herons in the area and ducks in town are rare. The only thing i'm worried about is the bear... he hasent came anywhere near our birdfeeders yet though...

The tub has an overflow hole and im not too worried about them being 'introduced to the environment' because im at least a few blocks away from the river.
Thanx for the concern...

I guess ill never know until i try it out.
 
Well good luck with that bear. Do you have racoons uup that far? Mostly just wondering, but those can be a problem too.
 
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