Small pond, many fish

[Fishwatcher]

Hi all! I've established a small pond and my two initial fish have populated it with many lovely babies. They are gold fish so seem to be hardy. There is pond grass, Java moss, duckweed and small lillies. Algae builds up slightly occasionally which I scoop out by hand, every day I oxygenate the water with a garden hose which also serves to keep it topped up. (I put my thumb over the end and the fish love playing on the stream of bubbles. They seem to be fine for oxygen, showing no sign really. I'm wondering though, would it be beneficial to put an air stone in with a gentle pump, it's just under a meter deep. Does anyone have any immediate thoughts or concerns? I'm very much new to this but I'm in love! I'll convert a video to gif to show you the pretties feeding

 

[Fishwatcher]

Feeding time. Ps, that last photo is a couple of days old, I have completely weeded and cleaned up around the edges and planted a few plants that don't drop leaves..

 

[CeeJayH]

Welcome, it's obvious that you're now addicted to ponds, but so are the rest of us here.

I think the only long term solution will be to reduce the population. Babies grow rapidly, and will overload a very small bio-system. (I presume you don't have any filtration installed).
Chris

 

[Fishwatcher]

No filtration; no pumps.

How many fish could be happily sustained in this pond if I install a diffuser?

What kind of filtration would suit this system?

The pond is 6 months old and the water is almost crystal clear so it didn't occur to me.

What do I do with the extra fish? I have chickens that I'm sure could eat some..... I was thinking of putting some fish in a large blue pot too..

Is there a simple rule of thumb for ideal populations?

 

[addy1]

What size is your pond? The water does look great, you may want to do water tests now and then to check ammonia etc levels.

Filtration will help with the fish load.

 

[Fishwatcher]

I'll take a sample to pet barn tomorrow they do free full tests. I might buy a air pump too. I'm not sure of the price size in liters or gallons. If I had to guess I'd say 30-40 gallons? Maybe 35?

That's 132liters if you're normal

 

[addy1]

That's 132liters if you're normal

Laughing! love the if you're normal!

That is not a large pond, the goldfish can overwhelm it as they have fry and grow. I had 10 small goldfish in a 55 gallon / 208 liters tank with a 100 gallon capacity canister filter. The water was a pita to keep clean. They are all out in the pond now, I was overwintering them, one winter in the house, never again.
With your clear water the plants you have in the pond are helping a lot and also adding the water. Do you have chlorine in your water? if so if you add a lot you need to make sure to use dechlor. Chlorine can kill them fast.

 

[Fishwatcher]

I googled it; there is "less than a milligram per liter"

 

[addy1]

I do not know the level which can cause issues, our water comes from our well which has its own issues, low ph and soft.

 

[Fishwatcher]

I guess I'll learn how to test the chlorine level and treat the water appropriately

 

[addy1]

Get a liquid test kit, they are not expensive and do a good job. API makes a nice one.

http://www.amazon.com/API-Pondcare-Master-Liquid-Test/dp/B0002DJNN0

 

[Fishwatcher]

do you have experience with fish in large pots? i have a 15 gal pot and i really want somewhere to put some of these fish!

 

[Becky]

Hey there, just wanted to say welcome to the forum

 

[Fishwatcher]

thanks Becky!
Ill also correct my older post here.
ok sorry for the confusion.
Im fairly certain this is my pond:
http://www.ukwaterfeatures.com/Shop/p-7284-Start-250L-Pre-Formed-Pond-133cm-x-105cm.html

250 Liters or 66 gallons.
sorry for the confusion there!

Im estimating that about 4 fish could live to full size and comfortably with an oxygen bubbler.
I will look into a filter.

 

[cas]

I'm wondering though, would it be beneficial to put an air stone

Lovely little pond! Welcome to the forum.
To answer your original question, I think the fish would benefit from the air stone.