Small pond and fish - Where do i start?

[cml24]

We moved into our new house recently, and it has a small pond. In the pond are some small fish, that all appear to be alive. I presume they are some type of goldfish, but I'm only basing that on the colour, the relatively small size, and the assumption they will be cheap common fish in the pond.

I'd like to keep them alive if possible, but have no idea where to start. The pond looks pretty overgrown, but thought, if the fish had survived four/five months over winter in it with no interaction from humans (whilst house was empty), I'd probably kill them by doing something.

So can anyone point me to a good website or two that could explain what i should do? What I should clear out, what if anything I need to feed them with, or anything I need to do to the water in terms of changing it, cleaning it, checking it?

Any help appreciated, as I have absolutely no idea!

[BobsPigeon]

Is there a pump and filter? I have a pond about that size in my garden and I do very little other than put the filters to the self clean setting every month for 10 minutes and top the water up in the summer if needed. There's about 10 fish in there has been for 10 years.

[anonymous-user]

That’s a good sign that’s there’s a proper cover over to stop leaves getting.

Is the pond frozen over ? Good tip to melt a wee hole for air , plus any leaves have got in , to help release toxins. Don’t hammer the ice as the shock waves can damage or kill fish. I used to use a hot saucepan. A tennis ball left in the water helps as you can then lift out and there’s your hole !

When i had a bigger pond I would catch the fish in a bucket with pond water , then empty half the water out. Then lift all the plants out and trim them , new compost etc. Also remove any debris from the bottom of the pond , and add some fresh gravel.

Then I just added fresh water ( just from the mains , i never had to treat it or anything) I would usually let it settle for a few hours then slowly sink the bucket in and release the fish.

It’s probably getting warm enough to start feeding fish a small amount?

[cml24]

Thank you for the replies. So, I cleared out some of the dead leaves from the area that didn't have the cover on.

I had a look at the pump and filter but it looks old and dead. So presumably I'll need a new one? How have the fish survived without one? They seem alright!

Struggled to take a photo of them, but they're quite small.

I guess I'll need to work out what sort of pump and filter is required now.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Unless you have young kids, I would get rid of the metal grate. You'll then get frogs and toads and stuff.

[Clifford Chambers]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Unless you have young kids, I would get rid of the metal grate. You'll then get frogs and toads and stuff.

And herons.

[irc]

With plenty plants and small fish you may get by without a filter.

Don't over feed. Uneaten food won't help the water.

In winter I cover most of the surface with 4" polystyrene sheets.This is after losing all my fish in 2010. No problems since.

Even if you don't get a filter an air pump is worthwhile.

I can recommend this one. Cheap, very quiet, seems solid build.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hailea-Air-Pump-Aco9602...

As a less unsighly n alternative to the grate for anti heron (one cleared my pond out pre 2010) I use thin twine stratched over the pond in a grid. 1ft - 18" squares. No heron thefts since.

Edited by irc on Wednesday 14th April 13:10