Adding fish

[ieesha05]

How long till I can add fish to my pond ? I’ve had the filter running for two weeks I have also added some tetra aqua safe and tetra sage start bacteria.

 

[WaterGardener]

How large is your pond? What type of fish are you planning to have?

Ideally, you would need to cycle the pond before adding fish. Please look up fishless cycling and get a bottle of pure ammonia, no additives, and testing kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH. The API Master Test Kit has most of that. The KH kit has to be purchased separately.

The nitrogen cycle can take a couple of months to complete. Once you have the beneficial bacteria well established in your system, then you can add fish

If you have a larger sized pond and add a very few small fish you may get away with adding them before cycling. But you should keep a close eye on the water parameters and have some Prime handy to use if needed to bind the harmful ammonia and nitrites.

 

[Lisak1]

Are you testing the water?

 

[WaterGardener]

If there is no source of ammonia, why test?

 

[Mgessert]

I started my 300 gallon pond with one goldfish the first summer, then about three months later added two more, testing weekly.

 

[Lisak1]

If there is no source of ammonia, why test?

That was kind of my point... without fish (or an ammonia source) the pond could sit forever without cycling. So if you aren't testing, you aren't cycling.

 

[WaterGardener]

Wouldn't testing without an ammonia source would be the same as testing your tap water? Not bad information to have, but it doesn't really relate to cycling in my mind so I don't understand what you are saying.

Without some source of ammonia, as you said, that cycle will never begin and the test results will always be perfect. That could give a false sense that the pond is safe for fish, but it isn't since it has never cycled.

 

[Lisak1]

Wouldn't testing without an ammonia source would be the same as testing your tap water?

Exactly. My point to the OP - what is accomplished by allowing the pond to sit with no ammonia source? If you were to test it, what would you find? Same thing you would have found two weeks ago or two months from now - tap water. When you understand what's supposed to happen you know you need that ammonia source.

Maybe I've been here too long or spend too much time with high school aged humans - sometimes I like to spur people to re-think their question. It appears @ieesha05 understands that SOMETHING is supposed to happen before fish are added, but the actual biological event isn't clear.

 

[WaterGardener]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was sure you understand this, but the testing remark really threw me! Maybe an indication that I'm way past those high school years.

 

[dinm]

When I built a pond, I added like 6-7 goldfish immediately, alive 9 months later after several water changes & expansion, extremely hardy fish, Koi I put a few months later after building it, still alive, though I think 2 didn't make the winter, don't remember whether I added 5 or 3, since 3 Koi I only have in the pond.

But probably better to do a water test, I recently expanded the pond, the fish in it are still alive, but I added a few small Koi, didn't make it past 7 days, they all got ulcers for some reason (stress presumably, poor quality of water). I am looking to add some different Goldfish varieties now, but I am not doing it on a whim, rather doing a water test first then taking action from there.

 

[WaterGardener]

Doing a water test first will tell you what your water is like now. Adding more fish will change those results, so it's important to keep checking by testing to see if the water quality deteriorates with those additions. Then you will know if and when to make adjustments to insure your fish survive.

 

[jgrandmont]

I would say you're good to go for adding fish. When I built my pond almost 3 years ago, I think I only waited about a week before adding some goldfish. All are still alive and healthy. As someone else in this thread has stated, goldfish are extremely hardy.

 

[rubyduby]

I would say you're good to go for adding fish. When I built my pond almost 3 years ago, I think I only waited about a week before adding some goldfish. All are still alive and healthy. As someone else in this thread has stated, goldfish are extremely hardy.

I have to second this...I had my pond built two years ago. The man who built it added Microbe;-Lift beneficial bacteria to start it up and said I could put fish in right away..I am on city water...I waited about a week and put in four shubunkins...Now I have about 25. All are healthy and about 6" long. Maybe I was just lucky. I have never had any kind of algae overgrowth. My water has always been crystal clear.
All of my test results are spot on also...Of course everyone's situation is different, but I must say goldfish are VERY hardy

 

[GBBUDD]

When I built a pond, I added like 6-7 goldfish immediately, alive 9 months later after several water changes & expansion, extremely hardy fish, Koi I put a few months later after building it, still alive, though I think 2 didn't make the winter, don't remember whether I added 5 or 3, since 3 Koi I only have in the pond.

But probably better to do a water test, I recently expanded the pond, the fish in it are still alive, but I added a few small Koi, didn't make it past 7 days, they all got ulcers for some reason (stress presumably, poor quality of water). I am looking to add some different Goldfish varieties now, but I am not doing it on a whim, rather doing a water test first then taking action from there.

One of the most common sources for ulcers are city water and not enough dechlorinator , or pH way too low as well as kh and gh. Like after rain events

 

[WaterGardener]

in other words, poor water quality!