New pond

[Matt Bird]

Hi all still a newbie really here and I’ve just got a new bungalow, has this small pond in the front, apparently some fish in but not sure what and wanting to know what you think about the vegetation????

 

[Lisak1]

Dude. That's a muck hole, not a pond. Way overgrown. If there are fish, they are not in a good situation.

 

[j.w]

Hi all still a newbie really here and I’ve just got a new bungalow, has this small pond in the front, apparently some fish in but not sure what and wanting to know what you think about the vegetation????

Looks like some Iris plants, can't tell about anything else and I see no fish. If the fish are orange then most likely goldfish. You got some cleaning to do. I'd take all the plants out to start and then take a net and scoop out the gunk. Any fish will have to wait till your done getting the muck out. Then lower the water level, catch the fish and try to save a bunch of the water in buckets or a kiddy pool. Put the fish in those while you do the rest of the pond cleaning. That old pond water is what the fish are used to and need to have as much of it left as possible. Don't scrub the walls, leave all that good stuff on the sides and bottom. When all looks pretty good add back some of the buckets of water and some clean water from your water supply. If city water that has chlorine or chloramine in it you will need to add a liquid amount of a chemical that gets rid of that stuff while adding the new water. If water is from a well, it should be good. Any more questions ask away!

 

[Matt Bird]

Thanks for that it’s a great help, was a lil old lady’s house before we bought, I’ll get cracking on the clean up.

 

[Matt Bird]

Dude. That's a muck hole, not a pond. Way overgrown. If there are fish, they are not in a good situation.

I get that was the advice to sort I was looking for….

 

[GBBUDD]

for me , it's to small to keep any fish outdoors unless you do minnows. even gold fish will out grow in a couple years and the bright orange color will be a dinner bell for racoons mink heron even a cat. i'd make it a nice rain garden and build a proper pond

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

Clean it out and let us know what you find.

 

[bagsmom]

I'm so weird. I saw your photos and excitedly thought "Now that is an OPPORTUNITY!" I second what everyone else said. Get a cheap little kiddie pool or rubbermaid type storage tub or two. I'd use a bowl or something to put some of the existing water into one of the tubs, for any fish you find. Start hand-pulling the plants. I bet it will be STINKY! Be aware that the iris can form crazy-strong clumps -- but avoid using anything sharp or pointy in there if you can help it. If you get. a hole in your liner, you will no longer have any sort of pond. (You will have a slow-draining bog or rain garden, which can be fun too -- just not for fish!). JW had fantastic advice!
I see you are in the UK. For fun, you should look up YouTube videos from The Pond Advisor -- Mark Wilson. He seems like a super guy who really enjoys educating people about the fun of pond-keeping and water gardening. His older videos are geared towards simpler, smaller ponds. In recent years, he has joined the Aquascape universe. I think you will learn a lot and enjoy them, too!
I'm with Addy - be sure to let us know what you find!!!!!!

 

[GBBUDD]

LOOKING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL, STINKY MUCK and more muck , lots of roots lots of bugs and worms a couple who knows what fish