Category: Pond Fish

A pond in your garden is an excellent way to relax and feel close to mother nature. And the best way to make a pond more lively and fascinating is by adding some pond fish. Fish are the most popular animals in a pond, and rightly so.

Of course, there are many different types of fish. Nowadays Koi are the most prominent ones, but there are lots of other fish species.

Some are bottom dwellers, such as sturgeon or the green or golden tench. They like to plow through the mud with their snout and feed on aquatic insects, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans.

Others prefer to stay close to the surface, as they feed on insects, larvae and other small animals which live in this area. Some examples are goldfish, golden orfes or mosquitofish.

Of course, you have to keep the size of your pond in mind, when choosing your fish. Big fish such as koi or sturgeon don’t belong in a small pond. They would only suffer, might get ill or even die when they don’t have enough room to swim freely.

Some fish are really tough survivors, which can get by with bad water conditions, a low oxygen content in the water, or extreme temperatures. Other need more care and require regular checks of the water quality.

Pond owners often prefer colorful fish, which stay close to the surface. This is understandable, as they want to see their gorgeous fish. But the combination of bright colors and proximity to the pond surface makes them also more attractive to predators, such as cats, raccoons or herons. If any of these animals live in your neighborhood, you may have to take some protective measures.

But even then, when it comes to pets, pond fish are usually some of the easiest. You don’t have to walk them several times a day; they don’t make any noise, they hardly ever need a doctor and only occasionally some form of medication.

But you can still bond with them, especially when you feed them regularly. Feeding the fish is also always a great joy for kids. Some fish such as koi can even be trained to take the food directly out of your hand. Some of them even like to be fondled by their owner.

And the best thing is, you can have more than one kind of fish in your pond (provided it’s large enough, of course). If you choose fish species of similar proportions, there shouldn’t be too many problems. During their mating season, most fish become more aggressive, as they want to protect their eggs and their fry. So they may attack other fish, to chase them off. This behavior is only natural. And once the baby fish are more mature, peace and tranquility will return to your pond.

So take a look at our articles and learn which species are best suited for your garden pond and how to feed them, and take care of them.