sos

[doobry]

i introduced some gf a week ago to my pond ,( dont blame me as they were a present to me) horse before the cart
they seem to be fine at the mo
and the bio filter is up and running 24 -7 with some media that came with it
i now realize it should of been "cycled first"for safety of the fish,
and ive no water plants what so ever barr a lily stump with no foilage and some stringy bits , i think the correct word is a rhizome with roots?
so its basically a container of fresh water with fish in it,
how long will /should it take a 110g pond to cycle ?or does the water have to be monitored for changes in the meantime?

 

[Lisak1]

I wish I had a dollar for every one who posted "I know I shouldn't have done this, but what do I do now?!?"

Read up on the nitrogen cycle - without fish (or the addition of ammonia) your pond isn't going to cycle. Many people cycle a pond with fish, knowing that they may sacrifice the fish. Others object to the idea that any fish should suffer and die to get a pond going, so they use ammonia. The important part of cycling a pond is testing the water - without water testing, you have no idea what's going on. Unless you toss some fish in and hope for the best.

Also - people should not gift living creatures to other people. Sorry, just a strong opinion of mine. Too often we've heard "my friend (or parent or neighbor) came by and tossed some additional fish in my pond. They meant well, but now I have a disaster on my hands". Not cool if you're the fish that's living through the disaster. (I feel the same way about gifting dogs, cats, chickens, turtles, birds... you name it. Caring for a living creature is a big commitment. No one should make that decision for someone else in the name of a "gift".)

 

[doobry]

yas im aware of the nitrogen cycle now ,and the person who gifted me the fish isnt ,it was a good will gesture. so what did i do
as i couldnt leave them in a plastic bag,i put them in the pond ,as i said already they look happy enough ,swimming ,eating,a week later
in clear water with no erratic behaviour
will the media in the filter not be already housing the good bacteria by now as i also added the water from the bag
to help things along

 

[mrsclem]

Doobry- do you have a test kit? This is something that will help you figure out whats up with your water, especially after you add fish.

 

[Ray G]

Doobry - Couple of things - how many fish? I assume not many in the plastic bag? How big are they?
If not many fish they will produce small amounts of nitrogen in your pond and the filter will get some of it. I assume you neutralized the chlorine in the water? If the fish are fine then everything is probably fine. Dont add more fish at the moment. You can get stuff to seed the filter with good bacteria from an aquatic supplier. that stuff does work. Basically if you only have a few small fish in your pond and they are happy and the water is filtered and the chlorine is neutralized then everything should be ok. Watch out for predators for the fish if they are small.
Ray

 

[snoozer]

I think you should be ok. I did the same thing with my first little pond which was 150 gallons. The goldfish in my current pond are the descendants of the of the 10 fish, yes, i put 10 fish in only 150 gallons, that survived my lack of knowledge. I had no real plants but did have a 2 inch willow branch the i put in the pond so the frogs could get out. By the end of summer that branch had foot long roots and was full of branches. Sit back and enjoy your pond.

 

[addy1]

Keep a eye on your water tests. Ammonia etc. I just put 12 small fan tails in my hot tub pond, but it had mature bacteria, plant filters etc.

 

[Lisak1]

Keep a eye on your water tests. Ammonia etc. I just put 12 small fan tails in my hot tub pond, but it had mature bacteria, plant filters etc.

Hey! Where are the pictures of the new babies?!?

 

[addy1]

Hey! Where are the pictures of the new babies?!?

lol in my got mad at a fish thread...............

 

[mgmine]

Doobry don't over think things it will drive you to do things that aren't necessary. Don't add anything to the pond just let it be. Remember these are goldfish. The same thing that you had as a kid that you bought for 10 cents and immediately stuck them in a small bowl. They lived until the water got so dirty that they couldn't survive. Same thing now. Just keep the water clean and enjoy them swimming around.

 

[doobry]

thanks for the replies its a 110g pond with 8 by 1" goldfish and a new bio filter and pump turning about 600 gph per hr 24 7
i believe the chlorine diminished over the week so its probably n ot a concern now (im open to correction on that)
and im sure the filter will get colonized with good bacteria from the fish

 

[Ray G]

Little fish. Should be fun to watch them grow. If the water has been circulating and aerated in the last week you are probably correct about the chlorine going. If the water was just sitting there the chlorine will stay in the water longer. Keep an eye on the little fish and keep them away from predators!
Ray