425nm Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I seem to find myself running into a lot of folks who have "ponds", quotes because the bodies of water in question rarely exceed 100 gallons. Plus many of these folks don't want to overwinter goldfish/koi in the pond nor do they want to maintain a large enough indoor aquarium for carp. Are there any smaller subtropical alternative pond fish that could survive Edmonton's pond season? Barbs perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 The reason goldfish and koi work so well in ponds is b/c you can see them from the top - they've been line bred for their vibrant color and have a relatively wide body. There are loads of other fish we have in the hobby that will work in Edmonton ponds (mid-Jun to Sept), but they're dark on top and hard to see from above. A lot of plecos (most BN species, commons) and corys (especially Peruvian) would be fine; any of the cichlids from southern SA (gymnogeos come to mind); a lot of the mid-sized barbs; livebearers... All of these will likely survive; whether or not they'll be enjoyed by the owners is debatable b/c they probably won't see much of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Do a pond of gars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Always wondered if a pond of Archer fish would be possible, brackish water should take care of most pathogens Archer fish the bugs hmm just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madagascariensis Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Probably most of the subtropical fish species. On another note, have you considered rosy red minnows? Yes, the little pink fish you normally stick in oscar tanks and have them disappear in a few minutes. They are a colorful form of the North American native fathead minnow, and will survive all seasons outdoors. I've got a thriving colony going with minimal effort for 3 years now. And they only grow to 3 inches or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syno321 Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 The one summer that I kept a small pond I kept Scleromystax (Corydoras) barbatus, Odessa barbs, and swordtails. They fared well except that the swordtails had a tendency to jump, lessening their numbers over time. I checked the temperatures over the summer and they flucuated between 59 and 83 degrees. The only effect that the flucuations had was that when it was cooler their activity decreased notably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Guppies worked real well. There's a thread about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realevil1 Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Piranha would be neat.. or just some red hook silver dolars I always wanted to build an in ground pond like 1000 gal and have Arapaima and Red tail cats Edited January 20, 2014 by Realevil1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 whether or not they'll be enjoyed by the owners is debatable b/c they probably won't see much of them. Exactly the reason I didn't put trout in my pond like I had planned, you just wouldn't see them. I keep thinking about it more and more now that I've seen the trout pond at the Bass Pro Shop at Crossiron Mills. Now that's spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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