Fish for patio pond

[tam]

I've just got a 90ltr (30 cm deep) tub and set it in a raised planter. I was contemplating the same question. Trying the ricefish eggs might be interesting. The other option I've thought about is albino white clouds (to make them a bit more visible) or just some male endlers. They could be fairly easily be rounded up in autumn and put in an inside tank without upsetting anything as they are small unfussy fish... although catching them back out of a planted tank in spring might be more difficult.

As an aside - I've had cherry shrimp outside over the summer that did well too.

 

[Stu1407]

Really interesting thread. Out of curiosity and to be honest because I also quite fancy one how do you filter a patio pond?

 

[mort]

Really interesting thread. Out of curiosity and to be honest because I also quite fancy one how do you filter a patio pond?

If you have enough plants then you don't need filtration but some do add a sponge filter. In general it is small, unmessy, fish that are kept in tubs but if you wanted goldfish or larger bodied species, filtration might be needed.

 

[Conort2]

I would have said endlers, el Tigre are a beautiful wild strain but they won’t survive the winter outside.

H Formosa used to be a common fish to put in patio ponds with the fish club crowd but they’re very timid.

The fish shop I used to go to as a mite used to have a stone cow trough full of wild sword tails. Don’t know much about how suitable that was long term but we used to have snow.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It doesn’t have to be a species that can live outside all year. It just makes life easier if it does. I do have room to over winter small species indoors.

 

[zozo]

Really interesting thread. Out of curiosity and to be honest because I also quite fancy one how do you filter a patio pond?

I did build this in 2018, a patio pond planted (Helophyte) sump...

More details about the build are here

Tho made a minor change along the way. And it's still working like a charm today going into its 5th season. 🙂

Journal - Mission Bathtub 2022 Extended Edition

Last year it was better late than never, but the winter was rather easy on us this time, fortunately, this year it's a very early start, there was no need to drain the tub and even the fish stayed happily outdoors all winter. And the plywood filter box still is doing a great job. Best of all...

ukaps.org

 

[Stu1407]

Thanks Marcel, I'll have a good look at it.

 

[Conort2]

From Germany by any chance?

The UK luckily. I’ll update this thread when I get them and report hatching rates etc. The fry seem to be pretty large and robust straight out the eggs so should be ok to raise if the eggs are viable.

The other option I've thought about is albino white clouds

I was also thinking these as a lot of species will just disappear on the Black liner.

Was thinking kohaku swordtails would be nice and contrast really well but I don’t really have room to over winter them and swordtails can get pretty aggressive. Not sure if there is a kohaku platy now?

 

[aec34]

I’ll update this thread when I get them and report hatching rates etc.

Watching this keenly! I’m also after medaka but am struggling to find any locally.

 

[dean]

What about small native fish
Sticklebacks or minnows ?
What about Bitterling ?

Such a small pond should be well insulated if we get a cold winter to stop it freezing


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Conort2]

What about small native fish
Sticklebacks or minnows ?
What about Bitterling ?

Such a small pond should be well insulated if we get a cold winter to stop it freezing


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

All great suggestions but I think this will get too warm in summer and they’d be a struggle to see against the black liner.

I will definitely have to keep an eye on this, winters have been mild here but I do have the option to stick the fish indoors if necessary.

The medaka eggs arrived the other day, the fry can clearly be seen inside and are wriggling so I don’t think it’ll be long until they hatch. All of them currently look viable which is promising.

Cheers

 

[Conort2]

Little update on this, managed to raise six medaka of the fancier variety. Some yellow tiger Lame and some marbled. Hatch rate was great and the fry fed and seemed healthy but dwindled until I was left with six sizeable fry. The fry were pretty aggressive to each other so not sure if that was a factor or not, anyway six is plenty for this patio pond and they should breed.

I also added some White Cloud Mountain minnows from a local aquatic shop, terrible condition and to be honest I shouldn’t have bought them but I felt sorry for them. Proceeded to lose over half even after a heavy course of medication (something I rarely ever do!). The remaining minnow are hard to find in the pond but they appear to be happy as I’ve started to notice fry, you can just about make one out in the picture. The plant growth has also exploded. Pretty happy with how it’s turned out and it’s attracting lots of insects which is always good. Plus there’s lots of froglets now in the flower beds.
Cheers

 

[tam]

I added four albino white clouds to mine (5th keeled over in the bag) the others have done fine though. They do show up against the black tub. However, I do find they stay in the bottom six inches - they don't really come up to the surface - where as in a tank they tend to be more upper level dwellers. Is that an outside tub thing in general or they need more surface cover or has anyone found other species a bit bolder?

 

[tigertim]

I added four albino white clouds to mine (5th keeled over in the bag) the others have done fine though. They do show up against the black tub. However, I do find they stay in the bottom six inches - they don't really come up to the surface - where as in a tank they tend to be more upper level dwellers. Is that an outside tub thing in general or they need more surface cover or has anyone found other species a bit bolder?

Same with my WCM in a small outside pond, don't really see them much tbh except the odd bit of darting about, i also have 3 Paradise fish in there as well, they bask at the top when the suns out, but other than that they don't do a lot either and are a drab grey/blue tinge colour not like the pictures you see online.

 

[Conort2]

I added four albino white clouds to mine (5th keeled over in the bag) the others have done fine though. They do show up against the black tub. However, I do find they stay in the bottom six inches - they don't really come up to the surface - where as in a tank they tend to be more upper level dwellers. Is that an outside tub thing in general or they need more surface cover or has anyone found other species a bit bolder?

That’s exactly what mine do, I bought five normal and five gold. Think Ive got two gold left and three maybe four normal. Impossible to see them now with the green water.

I’m happy I added the medaka, they’re fearless and spend most of their time up near the surface. They’re starting to develop some decent colour now so can’t wait to see them full grown. I’d love to get some proper red medaka, has anyone seen any on their travels?

 

[Garuf]

That’s exactly what mine do, I bought five normal and five gold. Think Ive got two gold left and three maybe four normal. Impossible to see them now with the green water.

I’m happy I added the medaka, they’re fearless and spend most of their time up near the surface. They’re starting to develop some decent colour now so can’t wait to see them full grown. I’d love to get some proper red medaka, has anyone seen any on their travels?

You mean like a goldfish?
If so I’ve seen what in the right light could be called red but is more like a dark orange it was called “Rot Flamme” on the label.

I really like the black lamé ones but here we only get the white ones.

 

[Conort2]

You mean like a goldfish?
If so I’ve seen what in the right light could be called red but is more like a dark orange it was called “Rot Flamme” on the label.

That’s the one, I want something that really stands out against the dark liner. There is also a variety that look like mini tancho but I imagine the chance of getting g those in the uk is close to impossible.

Cheers

 

[tam]

I’m happy I added the medaka, they’re fearless and spend most of their time up near the surface. They’re starting to develop some decent colour now so can’t wait to see them full grown. I’d love to get some proper red medaka, has anyone seen any on their travels?

That's interesting. Maybe that's the way to go then. I think the kids would really like some slightly easier to spot fish. I need to move a tank around and then maybe have a go at the eggs as I haven't seen them available in any LFS. It is a shame there doesn't seem to be the colour options available here.

Has anyone tried male endlers/guppies - I thought that might be the other option just for summer.

 

[aec34]

This feels like a daft question given tubs are oustside, but do people use rainwater or tap to fill/top up their tubs? I schlepped up and down the garden to fill mine from the water butts and now am wondering if this decision may affect fish options?

 

[Conort2]

This feels like a daft question given tubs are oustside, but do people use rainwater or tap to fill/top up their tubs? I schlepped up and down the garden to fill mine from the water butts and now am wondering if this decision may affect fish options?

Tap to fill and then RO to top up as we haven’t had much rain recently.

It shouldn’t affect your options, what was you planning on keeping? Add some gh booster if you’re worried.

 

[aec34]

Nothing fancy @Conort2 - most likely medaka. Just occurred to me that rain water means soft/low calcium etc and totally not what I’m used to in my indoor tanks.