# what kinds of fish can be kept in a pond?



## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

so, i have a pond that i think i will be setting up soon, but i have no idea what i should put in it. i dont really know how many gallons it is, so lets just say 20 gallons, because id rather give a fish extra room than not enough. so, what fish are good pond fish that would do well in a 20 gallon pond? i wold really like having more than one fish, but i know that isnt likely with only 20 gallons. i dont know if this is right, but it seems to me like small fish wouldnt do well outside, because of predators. (we do have quite a bit of feral cats around, i do have a dog and she chases them away but they come back at night im sure. im not sure if id be able to build some kind of enclosure to keep them out or not, so i guess just assume not.) any suggestions on what kind of fish i should get and what kind of care they need would be great :-D


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## trukgirl (Jan 28, 2010)

Not sure what to tell you about the feral cats?? I would be scared of putting any fish in there at all if the cats are a problem. For a 20g I would just go with some smaller goldfish. I'm not sure how the "fancy" goldfish would do, I would ask in one of the freshwater forums, or ask Lupin.


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## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

yeah ive been thinking what to do about them, i was thinking putting some kind of cage over the top of the pond at night, maybe something made out of chicken wire or something...i dont know, if i cant think of something good ill just grow plants in it i guess lol


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## trukgirl (Jan 28, 2010)

I would say chicken wire would work, as long as its somehow tied down or weighted down so the cats can't knock it off.


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## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

i hope so  now i just gotta figure out what to put in it lol


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Since the pond will be small you could do some Mosquito fish. You may even be able to get them for free depending on where you live in Cali. I'm in the Sac area and I believe local agencies were giving them away for mosquito control. You could also look into White Cloud Minnows.


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## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

have you ever had mosquito fish? i was thinking about them but i heard they stop eating mosquito when they mature, and will kill off other fish in the pond :/ their are minnows that you can keep in a pond?? i thought they were tropical! that would be awesome  thanks! i just hope that they have them somewhere around where i live when it comes time to get fish...


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I have endler's in my pond... As long as the temps stay above 70 at night, you should be fine with nearly any hardy tropical fish.


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## eileen (Feb 24, 2009)

Check out this section on( Ponds and waterfalls) for Unfiltered tub ponds by Tankmaster. I posted some pictures of mine on that thread. I have a 18 gal. unfiltered tub pond I live in San Diego California.

I set it up in May. I have water plants and I put a female Blue Wag Swordtail in it. When I first had it cycling I had some free Mosquito fish in it. It is in a 1/2 sun, 1/2 shade area. I checked on the swordtail and it is doing fine. The temps here are 65 degrees, 70's during the daytime. I rehomed the Mosquito fish and wanted to put something more colorful in it this year. I'm hoping to have baby swordtails soon in it as she had 40+ fry last month.

Last year I had endlers in the tub pond. They were breeding like crazy in that tub. Platies also do well in them. The Variatus kind. I did have Bumblebee platies at one time in an outside pond also. Goldfish are big waste producers so you must do a water change of 25% once a week. Platies and swordtails are real poopers also. Mollies might be good also but I like endlers as they are smaller then guppies and do really good.

I took down my tub pond in late October before fall/wintertime. All the fish did better then inside for breeding and all survived during the colder days. You just have to slowly get them used to the water before the weather turns hot and not have the pond in a all day sun spot and have some lilies or something to shade them from the hottest time of the day. I love Tub ponds. They will even work for people in apartments on a outside balcony deck. Just be aware that a small child can fall into one if left out in the front .


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

lunawatsername said:


> have you ever had mosquito fish? i was thinking about them but i heard they stop eating mosquito when they mature, and will kill off other fish in the pond :/ their are minnows that you can keep in a pond?? i thought they were tropical! that would be awesome  thanks! i just hope that they have them somewhere around where i live when it comes time to get fish...


No, I haven't kept mosquito fish. I would love someday to have a pond. Eileen, I may just have to try the tub pond idea. 

White Cloud Minnows are not really tropical fish. They're more of a cool water fish. Temp range for them is 60-74F.


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## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

wow tub ponds do sound awesome  thanks for all the advice you guys


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