Advice please?

[Swarf]

After cleaning out a cement lined pond 25X20 and 3 feet deep i would be grateful for some advice on keeping a few fish.
There have been gold fish in there in the past and these survived with no feeding at all, or their descendants did, for years until the heron got them and the pond went wild and stagnant.
I have now cleaned it all out and want to put a few fish back in.
I have seen and like the more dynamic Oarf and would be grateful for a few tips.
I have read that a pump and fountain are needed to oxygenate the water. Is this needed or would my roof drain constantly running into the pond do that ?
I attach a photo. Any tips most welcome. Kris.

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forums! That is a nice pond you have. I have never had orfe, but as you mentioned, research indicates a large fish that likes oxygenated water so a pump would seem to be indicated for best conditions. I am not sure how your roof drain would run constantly?

 

[Lisak1]

What a pretty pond!

Most ponds and fish benefit from moving water, so even an aerator would help.

I do wonder about that path leading to the pond - do you get runoff into the pond when it rains? It looks like it's just dirt from the picture.

 

[poconojoe]

Nice! I like the unique stepping stones pathway that crosses the pond.
You can easily make a filter/fountain without breaking the bank.
You could set a small pump (550 gph or so) inside a bucket with a piece of pvc screwed into it's outlet. Cover the pump with lava rock for filtration. Have the pvc go up and end just below the water surface. The water will shoot up creating a small fountain which will help with aeration. Keep the handle of the bucket up and tie the pvc to it. You can stick a pole through the handle if you need to pull the bucket out for cleaning.

 

[Swarf]

Nice! I like the unique stepping stones pathway that crosses the pond.
You can easily make a filter/fountain without breaking the bank.
You could set a small pump (550 gph or so) inside a bucket with a piece of pvc screwed into it's outlet. Cover the pump with lava rock for filtration. Have the pvc go up and end just below the water surface. The water will shoot up creating a small fountain which will help with aeration. Keep the handle of the bucket up and tie the pvc to it. You can stick a pole through the handle if you need to pull the bucket out for cleaning.

Thanks for that reply and detail of pump . I was hoping that I could get away with not having a pump or filtration system at all.
When I had a few gold fish they never got fed nor did I have any aeration. I suppose that is why they grew very slowly.
I would like to know if Golden Orfe being a more active fish needs this aeration ?.
I did find out that they thrive better in a shoal. I am guessing that's 4 or more... chris.

 

[poconojoe]

I don't know anything about orfe, sorry. But my bucket idea is a simple filter/fountain combo that can easily be built as small or large as needed.
You could get an aerator with an air stone, but it will probably cost you more. Plus you would have to protect the air pump from the weather. I built a small simple wooden "house" for my aerator.

 

[Jhn]

Eventually, you will need a pump or aerator to keep the dissolved oxygen level up in your pond if you keep orfes as they get larger. They get over 2 feet and are very active, which means they will have a higher need for oxygen than the smaller, less active gold fish.

Your pond is large enough for them, but they are easy targets for herons as they stay near the surface. They are the first to get eaten in my ponds when the heron shows up, until I put a wide weave net over the pond.

 

[Tula]

Lovely pond I don't see how you'd avoid some type of filtration and aeration if you plan on keeping fish.

 

[j.w]

@Swarf

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum. Very nice pond.

Gold fish are tough. They can survive pretty lousy water without filtration etc.

 

[Swarf]

Eventually, you will need a pump or aerator to keep the dissolved oxygen level up in your pond if you keep orfes as they get larger. They get over 2 feet and are very active, which means they will have a higher need for oxygen than the smaller, less active gold fish.

Your pond is large enough for them, but they are easy targets for herons as they stay near the surface. They are the first to get eaten in my ponds when the heron shows up, until I put a wide weave net over the pond.

I did a bit of research on oarf but it looks like not enough. Thanks for telling me that they grow to 2ft or more !.
I was thinking that as a faster fish they could escape a heron.
So I take your warning and as I would prefer not to cover the pond I think I shall go back to keeping a fish that spends most of the time under a lily leaf, the simple old gold fish.

 

[Swarf]

Welcome to our forum. Very nice pond.

Gold fish are tough. They can survive pretty lousy water without filtration etc.

That's right, my few survived all sorts over the years. No feeding by us, and some freezing winters.
We did try some small fish food but they didn't eat it. There was some of that Canadian pond weed in there though that may of helped with the aeration.

 

[sissy]

welcome and yes that is a really pretty pond and hoping to see what will happen once you get it back up and working .Water of your roof may or may not be good .Lots of stuff gets washed of a roof and can cause bad water .

 

[WaterGardener]

I agree that run-off from the roof is not a good idea.

I keep some orfes. They do get big and they love to hang out where there is a lot of oxygen, like at the bottom of the waterfall. They prefer a higher level of oxygen than some other fish, so that added air would be necessary for them.
They are fast, but I'm not sure they could avoid a heron, especially with their size.

 

[addy1]

I agree that run-off from the roof is not a good idea.

I think it might depend on where you live. We are rural, farm land around us, not right next door. I have been using gutter water to add water to my pond for 9 years now, no issues at all. Healthy fish, frogs, tads, bugs etc etc

I have gutters coming from a shingle roof and others coming from a metal roof. They feed water right into the pond.