Pond fish survival

[DustWolf]

Hello,

I'd appreciate some advice from you guys about this pond and what the fish in it need to survive.

My neighbor has this fish pond in front of the house which seems to have gone unmaintained for a number of years. The neighbor has since died and his family rarely visits. I don't own the pond, but I also can see that there are fish in it and I don't know if they need assistance to survive. I'd be willing to invest a little to make sure they survive.

I don't know anything about fish, ponds or otherwise, so I would really appreciate it if you guys could advise as to whether there is anything I'd have to do for these fish to survive. Like is there some supplemental food I should give them or anything.


I made a few photos of the pond to give you a better idea of what it's like and what the fish are like. The water level in the pond is constant since I got here (1+ year), but I don't know the mechanism by which it is regulated. I think it might be collecting rainwater. It's quite deep (my 40 kg dog once fell in).

The previous years the pond had some water lilies, but I don't know if they'll regrow this year as they haven't come up since the pond froze.

LP,
Jure

 

[Lisak1]

This appears to be a small water feature. Honestly if the fish have made it thus far, I'd assume they're just fine. Pond goldfish don't need food - they can happily survive on the microscopic creatures and algae that inhabit and grow in the pond. If the pond seems to be collecting debris- leaves, dead organic material, etc - it wouldn't hurt to scoop that out, but otherwise I'd just leave it be.

 

[addy1]

Agree leave it be, they are happy.

 

[j.w]

@DustWolf

 

[GBBUDD]

I think @Lisak1 IS SPOT ON i'd pull out any large amount of leaves if theres only a few i'd leave them be but pull out any build up of sticks or old dried up plants. other5 wise it doesn't look horrible it appears theres only a couple fish ? Your ok in my book for getting involved all too many refuse to reach out and help.

 

[DustWolf]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Will abide by your recommendations.

LP,
Jure

 

[WaterGardener]

My concern would be the KH level of the water. If there is not adequate KH, the pH could fall, causing the water to be acidic which could be fatal to the fish. KH normally falls over time so it would not be unusual for it to be low in this situation.

KH test kits are available at pet stores. The liquid type test is more reliable than test strips. If the KH Is too low, it is easily raised by adding baking soda to the pond.