Fish

STOCKING YOUR POND

So by now you will have your pond installed and filled with water that you have treated. Your pond will have all those wonderful plants and your filter and pump will be doing their jobs. So whats next then..

FISH! Yes that’s right its time for the wonderful fish to be added, there is a BUT though. After you have filled your pond and done your planting and if your pump and filter a running, you’ve treated the water and tested it. Then the next thing to do is wait, You need to be patient for at least a couple of weeks, preferably a month. This will allow everything in the pond to settle down and the plants to start growing.

While you are waiting is a good time to actually checkout some fish to see what types you think will best suit your pond. The choice of fish is up to you, there are many different types to choose from and over the coming posts I will be taking a look at some of them.

One thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to over stock your fish pond, there is a rule of thumb that says 1 inch of fish to 1 sq ft of pond surface. So measure your ponds length x width to get the the sq footage of the surface.

When you do get your fish back to your pond they will be in a plastic bag, you need to float the bag with the fish in on the pond for about half an hour. Then when you open the bag let some of your pond water into it to mix with the water the fish is already in, then wait a few minutes. This will let the fish get used to your pond water. Now you can let the bag go gentle on its side whilst keeping it open and let the fish swim into its new home.

This is the best bit, the point that you know all the work you have put into your pond has been worth it. So enjoy it.