separate fish in pond

[jmajid]

Still new to the pond... thinking about restocking some fish and have some fish that are about 10 to 12 inches long - goldfish and koi.
i was looking to restock with smaller fish, so that i could keep the cost down and also have them grow in my pond.
Is there a way to separate the smaller fish - say 2 inches long - from the larger fish - asm i right in thinking the smaller fish will be fish food for the larger fish?
i have some hiding spots - but the large fish use those...
can i use a net of some sort? i dont really have the space or equipment to build separate housing for the small fish at the moment...

thanks in advance

 

[dieselplower]

I guess I would get rid of the big fish first....

 

[jmajid]

thanks - but i want to add to the pond - not remove the fish i do have....

 

[Dave 54]

If the fish are over an inch and a half they shouldnt end up as fish food

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

Oh my bad... I thought you wanted to start over with smaller fish. I think what Dave54 said is pretty safe. If the pond has a fair amount of hiding spaces, the fish will probably be ok.

 

[jmajid]

dieselpower or anyone else :
is there a way to safely separate areas of the pond? with netting or something like that? any ideas?

 

[dieselplower]

If I wanted to seperate an area of my pond I would probably build a wall out of some cinder blocks or something like that. I would leave small gaps in between the blocks so that the water can flow through but not the fish. I was thinking cut a piece of plywood to fit but you dont want that glue in the plywood coming apart and making a disaster.

 

[Mmathis]

How big and what shape is your pond? Is it one depth, or do the depths vary? That might help with the available ideas.

 

[jmajid]

thanks dieselpower.
Mmathis: it is kind of a kidney shape and does vary in depth - about 24inches at the shallow sides and about 36" in the deepest area close to the bottom drain.
at the waterfall its about 24" also.

 

[brokensword]

jm;

I had a similar issue once as I wanted to have painted turtles AND fish, so I built a 'screen' divider. I made if out of gray plastic conduit (pvc, maybe?) so it would not give off anything and not rot. Using a torch, I bent the corners and fastened two layers of screening to it. Since I needed a trapezoid shape, I couldn't just use 'L' connectors, though you might. First layer was fiberglas screen (wanted to keep the babies from getting past) then I used plastic chicken wire over that. All attached with zip ties. This gave some structural integrity too as I have the flow of my pond coming from the bog to the stream, dumping into the pond and passing through the screen until it reaches the submersible pump once again.

The main problem I had was that due to some unevenness along the sides/bottom of the frame and pond liner junction, I had to wedge some foam to completely block any openings. I didn't get them all and some babies ended up on the turtle side, and though I was worried, most of them survived and account now for 80% of my stock. Took the frame out after I couldn't keep one turtle from climbing over/around (for a year or so, the two turtles kept to their side) and now, I have cohabitation despite a lot of nervousness at first. Seems I feed the turtles enough so that even though I do see some 'nipping', I haven't lost any that I can tell. At least the larger ones. And the smaller are faster, so...

Anyway, that's what I did and it worked well. I'd think keeping 2" fish separated would be easier than trying to keep babies from slipping past/through.

Inexpensive, durable, easy to build if you're a bit handy, and installation not too difficult (I used a couple of large rocks at the bottom, two on each side, and you can have the rocks lining your pond also extend out a bit to keep the top from wavering. Because I knew I was already going this route, I actually dug a channel on both sides to also help hold the divider). To make the 'top' more natural, I hollowed out a groove in a log and used it to cover the top of the frame.

I'll include a few pics (though none of the actual screen, but in usage)


Michael

 

[jmajid]

brokensword: wow - thats great - given me some things to use and think about!
the use of the wood log is really well thought out! i like that look!
my wife and i can certainly be handy enough to put something like together... so the next step is to ensure that "enough" water flows through it to keep it oxygenated...
the fiberglass screen - is that the same as you would use for windows?

 

[brokensword]

brokensword: wow - thats great - given me some things to use and think about!
the use of the wood log is really well thought out! i like that look!
my wife and i can certainly be handy enough to put something like together... so the next step is to ensure that "enough" water flows through it to keep it oxygenated...
the fiberglass screen - is that the same as you would use for windows?

Yes, got it from the hardware store, and you can get the plastic chicken wire from some place like Lowes or Home Depot. Glad to have nudged some ideas.

I've drawn up the basic design I used. The corners are bent/curved as I said using a torch and gently pulling the pipe over a contour of the correct diameter. I did this because using the L's would have limited me to a perpendicular structure and my pond is trapezoidal. You can either bend the pipe as I did or bent 'pre-formed' conduit 'L's too; just keep the heat away from the ends so you can join the pipe to the L's. I didn't use any epoxy; just friction fit. And I used plastic zip ties (from Home Depot) to attach the two layers of screen to the pole frame. If you think you'll be using foam for spaces you miss, maybe run a length of foam along the two sides and bottom, again using the zip ties. I already had my frame in place when I figured I had this problem but you can plan ahead and when you 'squeeze' your frame divider into place, the foam should take up the gaps you might miss. Just an idea.


btw, I have the water flowing INTO the window screening side.

 

[Lisak1]

You sound pretty set on your plan to separate your fish, but I will add another reassurance that your larger fish most likely won't eat the smaller ones especially if you are feeding at a rate that keeps them satisfied. Once our fry make it to about the half inch mark, they are pretty much past the "hey, you look like a snack!" phase. In fact, we rarely lose a fry once we can actually see them. They are very adept at hiding until they feel confident enough (and big enough!) to swim with the big guys. We have a few fish in our pond that are getting close to 12" long. Also, you will be AMAZED at how fast those little fish grow!

Good luck on your project!

 

[Shan]

When I first built my pond, I had intended to separate the fancies and small fish from the large single tails. I inserted a plastic garden stake into irrigation tubing and laid it over the pond. Then I attached extra pond netting with zip ties. I then placed slate on the bottom to keep it down.

I put in my fantail and two little comets, and they, of course, wanted to go to the other side. One little comet was even able to swim through the netting. So I took the pond divider out.

All the fish swam together just fine the first day. Then the little comets hid. For about two weeks. They eventually came out of hiding, and they are all fine together.

If I were to do it again, I would use plastic mesh. I currently use plastic mesh in my fish tank inside (my red cap oranda picks on my ryukin when he's floaty), and it works fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[fishin4cars]

2" should be fine with 12" adults, most stores sell at about 5-7" and those would most certainly be fine. But if you want to separate I use a PVC frame made of 1" PVC. zip tie plastic fencing with 1/2" mesh holes to the frame, I have pool noodles so mine will float but if you can make it where it will sit directly on the bottom you won't need the noodles. pretty cheap to make and it works great if you need to isolate a fish or later want to add another small fish or even breed goldfish in. Mine is 4' x 4' x 4' and I've even held a couple of 12" fish in it for helping to cycle my big pond and I didn't want to release them in the big pond in case one died during the cycle process. Everything went smooth and they were the first additions to the pond once it cycled. This cage so to speak also works great for keeping floating plants in and if your adults do breed the babies will hide in the cage where the big fish want get them, serves as multiple purpose. lol