How shallow can a pond in central Texas be for fish?

[Ednamae]

My house is being rented by a family with a 5 year old and I plan on filling the bottom of the pond with bags of "pond pebbles" from Home Depot to make the pond less of a drowning hazard...the tenant wants the pond and will sign a hold harmless. It is shaded by an ash tree. I am thinking 12" or so....would minnows fry?
Also, I plan on just throwing entire bags of rocks in the bottom and putting a layer of rocks on top for aesthetics...I know this will be a maintenance problem but cannot figure out what else to do. Thanks for any suggestions. The pond is raised 2" above the ground with a rock retaining wall. Do you think 5 is too young to risk 12" of water?

 

[tbendl]

Truth be told kids can drown in 6" of water. Have you considered instead of putting the rocks in the bottom to make it shallower, installing a heavy duty net that would keep them out? Just a thought

 

[sissy]

I wouldn't really throw them in and bags will decompose and if there is a pump you could ruin it with the pieces of bags .You could put rocks in there and between put plants that love water and that will help clean the water ,You don't want a mosquito breeding ground

 

[sissy]

Cannas ,elephant ears and anyone on here that has a bog can suggest plants and that will help fill the area in more .It depends on the parents on how they teach the child .You could also buy 1 of those pool alarms that sound off in the house or fence it in with a locking gate with and alarm .

 

[tbendl]

LOL Sissy, I don't think he meant the bag with the rocks, just the rocks. Silly sissy.

 

[sissy]

I don't know about that when I read entire bags and then rocks on top sounds like the whole bag will go in .So now wondering

 

[tbendl]

Hmmm I thought he meant rocks in the pond and rocks around the edge for aesthetics but now you have me scratching my head. Hehe.

 

[Ednamae]

I meant the ehole bag so it could be removed easier. Plastic. I suppose it would deteriorate.
I used a sprinkler type fountain pump to add oxygen to the water and the fish did fine until winter and I dont know what happened. Cat or heron maybe becaus I never saw floating bodies.
I have a metal grid I could put over the pond. It would be ugly but maybe the safest thing.

 

[tbendl]

Hahaha I'll be darned Sissy you were right! I agree with Sissy about putting the entire bag in. I would go with a net or grid to keep the young kids out but if the parents are willing to sign a waiver or something then I would maybe talk to them and see what they feel would work.

 

[Ednamae]

How shallow can I make it and still have minnows? It gets hot here. But I see minows in the shallow pebbly edges of creeks.
The house they are at has a small pond, too. And both mom and grandad said kid would be fine. I think if I fill in the deep center Of the pond I will decrease the odds of a freaky accident.
If I make it too shallow for fish then I may as well fill it in for the time being.

 

[tbendl]

I don't know about fish since I don't have any but I know Texas gets hot in the summer and I would think the depth helps control the water temp to a degree. I'm sure someone with fish will chime in. Good luck

 

[Dave 54]

As has already been said a child can drown in less than 6" of water , there is a way of making your pond safe without part filling the pond in , you could if you wish have 5ft of water underneath a UK firms pond Safety invention :-

http://www.pondsafety.com/

A grown man can even stand on this invention its that strong when its in place , I think they do export this too so you cpu;d email them tell them what you want the shape and depth of your pond etc then all that has to be done is fit it
I think you'll agree its a freat idea it allows large fish to live underneath it and you can feed them through the diamond shaped holes
At £2-300 UK it is a little expensive but think of it this way what price your childens safety ???

Dave

 

[Priscilla]

One of my ponds is shallow, about 18 inches (maybe) its a small round Rubbermaid one, its full of guppies. No issues with the temp, they love it warm - love it too much, having too many babies in there. I have a lily pad for shade in there. I live in the Caribbean, so its hot all year round.

I have small kids around my pond. My boys were 2 and 5 when I put it in (big pond). They know not to play near it without me around.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

One of my ponds is shallow, about 18 inches (maybe) its a small round Rubbermaid one, its full of guppies. No issues with the temp, they love it warm - love it too much, having too many babies in there. I have a lily pad for shade in there. I live in the Caribbean, so its hot all year round.

I have small kids around my pond. My boys were 2 and 5 when I put it in (big pond). They know not to play near it without me around.

You may live where it is warm year-round, but you have not seen HOT until you live in parts of Texas.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Gravel over 2 - 3 inches thick on the bottom of a pond is asking for trouble. Anything over this amount may quickly become anaerobic and pose problems in water quality, not to mention the odor that will be created. Additionally, considering that you are in Texas, unless this pond is amply shaded, the water temperature will be too high to support much in the way of animal life with a 12" depth.