Stocking Question

[Culchie]

I'm in Northern Virginia. Live in a subdivision. I was just wanting to know what fish and other aquatic life would I want to introduce to my pond. And what WOULDN'T I want to introduce. And what wildlife will my pond attract naturally. Thanks.


Wayne

 

[koiguy1969]

Culchie...i think i would stick to the carp family...koi & goldfish. altho a couple of chinese high finned sharks would be a nice addition. they eat algeas, and are hardy as well. goldfish dont grow as large as koi and are less destructive. they also dont make the wastes that koi do so you can keep many more in the same volume of water. goldfish come in a few varieties that can be as nice looking as koi. commons, comets. sarassas, and shubunkins. some comets, sarassas, and shubunkins can really resemble koi. sarassas look like kohaku with their white bodies and red markings.
ive been told and agree, that its not a good idea to introduce any indigenous fish to the pond. they may carry disease and or parasites that koi, goldies, or any other domesticated fish may not have immunities to. centuries of inbreeding, cross breeding, and mans general intervention may very well have compromised the immune systems of the fish as welll.

 

[Culchie]

Thanks KoiGuy. What about non-fish ?? Like small turtles, salamanders, frogs etc....

 

[koiguy1969]

frogs are a nice addition...they eat bugs and flying insects...they also eat fish eggs and fry so they will help to keep the ponds fish population in check....as tadpoles they will also eat algeas....when they get big enough the occassional mouse etc.. can be on the menu. i dont like turtles myself, they can be quite dirty, and create alot of wastes.

 

[CountryEscape]

My pond had the following find it with no help from me: red eared slider turtle baby, bull frogs, leopard frogs, Northern Cricket Frogs, and late in the year, infant alligator snapping turtles. The alligator snapper babies were removed and put back in my farm pond, the others were allowed to stay. Besides the aquatic additions, your pond will be a welcome site to dragonflies and birds will enjoy it if they can drink safely from it. Just sit back and watch the new creatures arrive, small and large alike! Some have pictures of deer drinking from their ponds, so depending on where you live, all sorts of animals may frequent your pond.

 

[taherrmann4]

Frogs will show up naturally no need to buy or capture them. Mine showed up within a few months of building the pond and I don't live close to any water well at least 1/4 miles.

 

[Culchie]

I will wait awhile to see what shows up. I may get snails and toads. But I don't know where frogs would come from.

 

[addy1]

They just show up, it is weird how they do that. I had frogs almost as soon as water got into the pond. Just saw one of my frogs come out of hibernation, did the bottom of the pond to the top swim last night.

 

[sissy]

They frog radar and will find you and after awhile you will be wishing they didn't .My tad poles last year clogged up both of my filters and it just looked all black and wiggly in them .I am hoping this year will not be as bad but then i wish for that every year and it gets worse .

 

[taherrmann4]

You build it they will come! Kinda like the movie Field of dreams.