temporary newbie

Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
5
Country
Canada
Hello:

My friend just passed away and I told the family I would look after his fish pond while the house is up for sale. I don't know anything about ponds or fish so am looking for help.

All I know about the pond is it is about 60 square feet, no pumps or electrical anything and he adds water as needed. He added 5 gold fish a month ago and they may be a few survivors from the previous year lets say maximum 10 fish. They are the little fish about 3 inches long some are gold some are red. The pond has many plants more than 1/2 the space is plants

Family found what we think is fish food, they are small brown round pellets that don't smell of anything (I thought fish food smelled fishy). Unfortunately it is in a plain clear plastic bag, I'm assuming he purchased it bulk. We are rural and it may be up to a month before I get to "town" to get this fish food verified.

My main concern is feeding them, does this sound like fish food and how much and how often should I feed them.

thanks in advance
OGD
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
pellets can be fish food and not all fish food smells fishy ..Welcome and glad you are there to help
 
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
6,208
Reaction score
4,963
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Hardiness Zone
6 A
Country
United States
Welcome. I'm sorry about your friend, very nice of you to look after his pond. Sounds like fish food to me. You could try tossing in a few pellets and see if they are interested. If you decide to not feed them, they'll probably be ok too, as they'll forage for food in the pond and eat bugs etc. It's worse to over feed than underfeed.
 

Mmathis

TurtleMommy
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
8,087
Location
NW Louisiana -- zone 8b
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
Hello and welcome, even if it's only temporary -- who knows, you may like it and decide to build your own pond :) Sorry to hear about your friend, though. and it was nice that you offered to help out.

I say do as Tula suggested and toss a few pellets in the water and see what the fish do. They can survive on what's in the pond, so you don't want to over feed them. If you do feed, just give them a little bit at a time, but not every day.
 
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
6,275
Reaction score
2,817
Location
Plymouth
Hardiness Zone
7a
Country
United Kingdom
So very sorry for the loss of your friend the contents of the plastic container may well be pelleted food try them on a few and see how they go .
If they refuse then I'd change the food for new and then feed your fish as much as they can consume in 5 minutes , do not leave anything floating net them out if necessary .
You can feed up to three or four times daily however thats down to you .

Dave
 
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
7,046
Reaction score
7,233
Location
Water Valley, Alberta
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
2a
Country
Canada
I would feed very sparingly, if at all. If there are lots of plants in the pond, then there will be plenty of natural food for the fish to eat.
If you feed too much, then you could have an algae problem on your hands which would take away from the attractiveness of the house for sale.
 

Mmathis

TurtleMommy
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
13,893
Reaction score
8,087
Location
NW Louisiana -- zone 8b
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
You can feed up to three or four times daily however thats down to you .

Dave
Dave, just so you know, most of us don't feed our gold fish as often as koi people feed thier fish -- especially in garden ponds. It probably has to do with the level of filtration [koi ponds tend to have more]. There's usually enough algae [bugs, etc.] in the pond for the gold fish to fend for themselves. I might feed once a day. Some on here only feed every other day, less often, or not at all. Again, it's preference, but keep in mind that @old grey dog says there are no pumps or filters in this pond.
 
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
6,275
Reaction score
2,817
Location
Plymouth
Hardiness Zone
7a
Country
United Kingdom
Dave, just so you know, most of us don't feed our gold fish as often as koi people feed thier fish -- especially in garden ponds. It probably has to do with the level of filtration [koi ponds tend to have more]. There's usually enough algae [bugs, etc.] in the pond for the gold fish to fend for themselves. I might feed once a day. Some on here only feed every other day, less often, or not at all. Again, it's preference, but keep in mind that @old grey dog says there are no pumps or filters in this pond.
So true Maggie I sometimes tend to forget that we are two differing aspects of the same hobby I made a mistake "sorry @old grey dog", I had my koi carp head on forgive me my mistake .


Dave
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
Thing is that he would not want to over feed any way and cause water quality problems .Since he more than likely does not have a water test kit .I only feed my koi 3 or 4 times a week there is plenty for them to eat in the pond and koi produce a lot of waste if you over feed them and then you end up with water quality problems and the bigger the koi the worse it could be for there health
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
5
Country
Canada
Thank you to everyone who replied. It feels like I am honouring my friend by taking are of his birds, plants & fish. He was here for 40 years so I feel his presence.

I will try a few pellets every other day and see how it goes, my dog loves to go down to the pond.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
good luck and may your memories of your friend always be with you
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,589
Members
13,042
Latest member
lucaryan

Latest Threads

Top