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I live in Houston, I have a little 100 gallon hard liner pond that I bought at a big box hardware store, it's been in the ground since 2006. It has an external canister filter fed by a pump in the pond, a submerged halogen light. Plants are anacharis and a potted frogbit.
The fish are native ones I catch from local creeks and detention ponds. There is always a population of western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), they overwinter well and reproduce, though I add to the population usually once or twice a year to make up for predation by herons, etc. I also usually have sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna) from late spring- fall. They reproduce as well, though don't seem to last as well as the gambusia, not that many make it through the winter, though I don't see them killed off, I think they may be easier for the predators to spot, especially the males with their colorful tails, so probably get picked off. There is a sunfish (Lepomis sp.) that has been living in there 2-3 years that has gotten pretty big. I'm unsure of the exact species, but judging by body shape and the margin on his fins, I'd guess he's a green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). I also have two Texas sunfish (Herichthys cyanoguttatus) I just caught this last weekend. We'll see how well they last the winter, because despite the common name, they're really only native to the southern part of my state, south of the Nueces River. Though Houston's winters are mild, they're still colder than the Rio Grande valley, and a shallow pond doesn't have deeper warmer water for them to retreat to.
Besides the aforementioned herons, my pond seems to be a magnet for wildlife. All sorts of birds from cardinals to doves drink from it, both red and blue dragonflies reproduce in it, and it is the breeding hotspot for Gulf coast toads (Bufo valliceps) in my neighborhood. The loud gutteral mating calls at night can be a little annoying at times, and this time of year we always have plenty of tadpoles. I also see what appear to be either southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus) or pickerel frogs (Lithobates palustris) swimming in the pond in the summer, and either green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) or squirrel tree frogs (Hyla squirella) living in the ginger plants planted around the pond. The Carolina anoles (Anolis carolinensis) and Cuban anoles (Anolis sagrei) also seem to enjoy hanging around the pond.
The fish are native ones I catch from local creeks and detention ponds. There is always a population of western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), they overwinter well and reproduce, though I add to the population usually once or twice a year to make up for predation by herons, etc. I also usually have sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna) from late spring- fall. They reproduce as well, though don't seem to last as well as the gambusia, not that many make it through the winter, though I don't see them killed off, I think they may be easier for the predators to spot, especially the males with their colorful tails, so probably get picked off. There is a sunfish (Lepomis sp.) that has been living in there 2-3 years that has gotten pretty big. I'm unsure of the exact species, but judging by body shape and the margin on his fins, I'd guess he's a green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). I also have two Texas sunfish (Herichthys cyanoguttatus) I just caught this last weekend. We'll see how well they last the winter, because despite the common name, they're really only native to the southern part of my state, south of the Nueces River. Though Houston's winters are mild, they're still colder than the Rio Grande valley, and a shallow pond doesn't have deeper warmer water for them to retreat to.
Besides the aforementioned herons, my pond seems to be a magnet for wildlife. All sorts of birds from cardinals to doves drink from it, both red and blue dragonflies reproduce in it, and it is the breeding hotspot for Gulf coast toads (Bufo valliceps) in my neighborhood. The loud gutteral mating calls at night can be a little annoying at times, and this time of year we always have plenty of tadpoles. I also see what appear to be either southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus) or pickerel frogs (Lithobates palustris) swimming in the pond in the summer, and either green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) or squirrel tree frogs (Hyla squirella) living in the ginger plants planted around the pond. The Carolina anoles (Anolis carolinensis) and Cuban anoles (Anolis sagrei) also seem to enjoy hanging around the pond.
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