huge pond, advice needed for a newb

[jimjam]

Hi,

I have recenlty moved into a property which has a very large and lovely old natural pond. The circumference is about 54.6m and it's 3m at it's deepest point.
The pond looks very healthy. It has lilys and plants around the edge. It's a little wild haven.
I get ducks and moorhens.
The previous owner said that there used to be some fish in there, and years ago did a spot of angling there. But I've seen no sign of any fish myself.

I'd like to keep some fish.
I'm not too concerned about the cost, but would like to see some nice specimens.
If it were your pond, what would you stock it with?

Obviously no chance of filtering a pond of this size. But are fish going to polute a pond like this if I keep them? Or is the pond large enough that I wouldn't have to do anything with it?

FYI I'm usually only about at weekends so I can't feed anything during the week.

Where do I start?

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[addy1]

Since it is a natural pond the fish will have plenty to eat. How cold does your area get? Koi are more touchy about about cold water, goldfish shubunkins do better in cold water. Koi are raised in mud ponds by some breeders. They do poop a lot, make more waste then goldies and shubies.

If you have natural fish, no clue what they would be there, they may eat whatever you put in. But if you have seen none you may be ok too.

Oh and welcome!

Post some pictures we love to see other ponds.

 

[stroppy]

if you get ducks and moorhens you probably get visits from herons ..so i wouldnt go with koi maybe a few goldfish to see how it goes ...welcome also and we do love to see photos :0)

 

[jimjam]

It does get cold here in the winter. Last year was unusually cold and we had a spell over a couple of weeks where it got down to -8c. The pond froze over a couple of inches thick.

 

[addy1]

My goldies survived 8 inches of ice on the pond for months, I was not aware I even had any fish in the pond. Agree stroppy he probably does have herons

 

[jimjam]

I'll post a pic when I get home tonight. There is a line stretched across one side of the pond presumably to deter herons.
What about golden tench? Would I ever see them if they were introduced?

 

[addy1]

no clue jimjam, maybe someone on here can tell you.

 

[vertigo72]

Im sure Koi could thrive in there, as long as you dont put 100s in there and if they dont breed out of control. -8C is nothing, mine survived -25C winters just fine in a pond half that deep.

Now wether or not you'd ever see them is something else. Particularly Koi can be "domesticated" and be taught to eat out of your hard, but how you'd go about getting to that point in such a pond, I have no idea. Chances are youd introduce them and never see them again, and feeding would be pointless too, chances of them actually noticing would seem tiny.

Just thinking out loud here, what you might try, is put some nets or something around a small area of the pond. Introduce them there, feed them there, and "train" them (ie, let them get used to you). Then perhaps after some months you could set them free and who knows, maybe they will return, but I wouldnt bet a lot of expensive fish on it :bouncycig:

Edit: alternatively, you could build a much smaller pond, and put your koi in there. Pump water between them, and use the big one as giant biofilter. Im sure you could think of lots of ways to make that look pretty nice too.

 

[koiguy1969]

yeah..theres alot of variables in your question as well....
is there a liner ? is a natural pond or man made? is there any ciculation in this pond? any aeration? if its natural is it in any way part of a larger water system? is it spring fed or fed by any other water natural water source? if its volume is maintained by a river stream or any other ground level water source it would probably be illegal to have koi or any other species of fish that may find its way into your areas natural waterways thats not indiginous to your area.

 

[j.w]

jimjam
How fortunate for you to inherit a nice natural pond on your property. You can prolly put any kind of fish you like in there but the main concern to me would be predators. Raccoons, herons, owls, weasels etc. all have their sneaky ways of managing to get into ponds especially since yours seems to be home to some wild critters already. I would not put a lot of money into expensive fish especially till you find out how some goldies or ? will do in there safely. There are all kinds of ideas out there for keeping the varmints out but most say a net is the safest way but nets take away from the beauty. Best of luck on your venture :bouncycig:

 

[jimjam]

I've posted a pic in my gallery, hope you can see it
To answer koiguy, the pond was dug out of clay 400 years ago to build the house next door, and about 15 years ago the silt was dug out of it again and breathed new life into it. It's not part of any natural water system or spring. There is no circulation or aeration.
The pond is actually a tear drop shape, with an enclosed area to the back of the picture which is much overgrown with overhanging trees and bushes. It's warming up now and water lilys are just emerging. It's about 50-100cm deep around the edge and 3m deep in the middle.
How about starting off with some golden rudd? Maybe 6 or 12? I’m guessing.

 

[addy1]

Why not, had to look it up....................Rudd are a native fish, so very acclimatised to the 'great' british weather

Sounds like it would work well for you

 

[wvairman]

I'll post a pic when I get home tonight. There is a line stretched across one side of the pond presumably to deter herons.
What about golden tench? Would I ever see them if they were introduced?

Golden Tenches, you wouldn't see them very often but I would like to get my hands on some here in the US anyway. I haved searched for months...

 

[wvairman]

I've posted a pic in my gallery, hope you can see it
To answer koiguy, the pond was dug out of clay 400 years ago to build the house next door, and about 15 years ago the silt was dug out of it again and breathed new life into it. It's not part of any natural water system or spring. There is no circulation or aeration.
The pond is actually a tear drop shape, with an enclosed area to the back of the picture which is much overgrown with overhanging trees and bushes. It's warming up now and water lilys are just emerging. It's about 50-100cm deep around the edge and 3m deep in the middle.
How about starting off with some golden rudd? Maybe 6 or 12? I?m guessing.

Rudd, Roach and orfe are nice pond fish there.

 

[jimjam]

Will I need to feed these Rudd and Orfe, or can they survive in a pond this size on their own?
And if so, how often?
I'm only there to feed at weekends if needed.