Unusual cold tolerant Fishes for outdoors.

[RichardM]

Hi all,

New to UKaps, I'm interested in more unusual cold tolerant Fishes for keeping outdoors - Aphanius mento or round tail paradise fish especially. But I also hear you have to have the right strain/locality to be fully winter hardy in UK, can people shed some light on this please?
I gave up asking questions on those Facebook groups...

Thanks all.

R

 

[shangman]

I was given some aphanius mentho by @killi69 a few years ago, he had a beautiful huge colony in one of his ponds. I put them in a tub outside in my garden and I never see them really, it’s too full of plants and don’t get much sun.

In the very cold winter 2 winters ago, I assumed they died like my rice fish, but this summer I topped up the tub with some spare rainwater which had mosquito larvae in it and suddenly I saw loads of movement and flashes of blue ! So they’ve survived very well, if a bit shy.

@Courtneybst was given some too and I think they still do well for him with no intervention

 

[RichardM]

Thanks for replying shangman, I'm surprised your Japanese Medaka/Rice fish didn't survive as meant to be incredibly hardy.
I plan on having heavily planted ponds and tubs, shy fish aren't a problem for me.

 

[Tyko_N]

Not really unusual, but what about common minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus)? Manageable size, nice colours and outgoing personalities (I met some up i the Swedish mountains that would nibble yours even). The main drawback would be that they need plenty of oxygen and a fair amount of swimming space, so are more suitable for a shaded pond than a tub in full sun. You wouldn't have to worry about cold winters though.

 

[louis_last]

Axolotls. Not a fish but ticks the box for unusual and can thrive outoors in the UK in unheated ponds.

 

[Maf 2500]

Axolotls. Not a fish but ticks the box for unusual and can thrive outoors in the UK in unheated ponds.

Wow - I did not know that this was possible - can they really survive the winter?

 

[RichardM]

Wow, I did not know that this was possible - can they really survive the winter?

Yes, they then only breed seasonally & spawn under the ice.

 

[shangman]

Thanks for replying shangman, I'm surprised your Japanese Medaka/Rice fish didn't survive as meant to be incredibly hardy.
I plan on having heavily planted ponds and tubs, shy fish aren't a problem for me.

Yes I was surprised (and sad!) too. That winter there were two very cold snaps, they survived the first so I thought they were ok, but the second cold snap wiped them out. Now I bring them in for the winter and put them out again in spring. Actually need to do that this weekend… good reminder

When it comes to unsuaul fish, you might try contacting WildWoods Enfield which have fantastic knowledgeable staff and sell both aquarium and pond supplies. They are usually very happy to order something unusual if they don't already have it in stock and they ship too (you have to phone them or contact on Facebook).

 

[RichardM]

Axolotls. Not a fish but ticks the box for unusual and can thrive outoors in the UK in unheated ponds.

Hi, I've done this first when I lived in the West of Ireland. Had to leave my Axolotls behind because of import/Brexit restrictions. One female is at least 18 years old and lived it's whole life in ponds. Better slime coats, grew larger and no health problems compared to aquarium kept animals.

 

[RichardM]

Not really unusual, but what about common minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus)? Manageable size, nice colours and outgoing personalities (I met some up i the Swedish mountains that would nibble yours even). The main drawback would be that they need plenty of oxygen and a fair amount of swimming space, so are more suitable for a shaded pond than a tub in full sun. You wouldn't have to worry about cold winters though.

Hi, yes I do like our native Minnow. But I'll be relying on the vegetation to do all my filtration & no technology to give them a flow.

 

[louis_last]

Hi, I've done this first when I lived in the West of Ireland. Had to leave my Axolotls behind because of import/Brexit restrictions. One female is at least 18 years old and lived it's whole life in ponds. Better slime coats, grew larger and no health problems compared to aquarium kept animals.

I've been really tempted for exactly this reason. I know a guy who breeds them outdoors here and they are the biggest, healthiest axolotls I have ever seen. They almost look like a different species than their runty tank raised cousins.
Only reason I haven't done it is that I'd feel bad about them eating all the newts and other amphibians that use the pond.

 

[castle]

Not really unusual, but what about common minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus)? Manageable size, nice colours and outgoing personalities (I met some up i the Swedish mountains that would nibble yours even). The main drawback would be that they need plenty of oxygen and a fair amount of swimming space, so are more suitable for a shaded pond than a tub in full sun. You wouldn't have to worry about cold winters though.

Need a proper filtered pond, a tub won’t do - in winter they go down to the deepest pools they can find. Not tolerant of freezing waters, I tried to keep them a few times without success (indoors) outdoors pretty sure they are still in my neighbours pond 👍

 

[castle]

Btw rice fish will not survive a proper winter; I had some go down to -10 but were in a greenhouse and it was above freezing in there, the tub outside they all died. That is a terrible sentence.


I have a huge number in my greenhouse pond now, my dodgy hydroponics project was a complete success and not. 👍

 

[RichardM]

Yes I was surprised (and sad!) too. That winter there were two very cold snaps, they survived the first so I thought they were ok, but the second cold snap wiped them out. Now I bring them in for the winter and put them out again in spring. Actually need to do that this weekend… good reminder

When it comes to unsuaul fish, you might try contacting WildWoods Enfield which have fantastic knowledgeable staff and sell both aquarium and pond supplies. They are usually very happy to order something unusual if they don't already have it in stock and they ship too (you have to phone them or contact on Facebook).

Thanks for the head's up 👍

 

[RichardM]

I've been really tempted for exactly this reason. I know a guy who breeds them outdoors here and they are the biggest, healthiest axolotls I have ever seen. They almost look like a different species than their runty tank raised cousins.
Only reason I haven't done it is that I'd feel bad about them eating all the newts and other amphibians that use the pond.

 

[louis_last]

Look at the size of those gills!

 

[Courtneybst]

@Courtneybst was given some too and I think they still do well for him with no intervention

Yes! Chiming in on what's already been said; I've kept Japanese Ricefish and Aphanius mento outside and all year round for about 2 years now.

Contrary to @castle 's experience, even under a thick layer of ice (recorded temperature of -7c) or extreme 40c heat, they've done just fine. Not that their experience is invalid, but the more people who contribute, the more we'll collectively understand.

What their kept in will also play a big role. The Ricefish are in a pond with a very small surface area (1m x 0.5m) but it's 4ft deep. The Aphanius tub is probably a 1m circle and the body of water is less than 50cm deep, so they are the real troopers.

 

[castle]

To be fair @Courtneybst you’re probabaly right, I suspect it was either lack of oxygen or total freezing that got the colony I spoke of above. Medaka survive 0c (non frozen) so there is no reason they won’t survive that in our ponds.