New pond advice

[Supermum]

Hello,
I have just ordered my first pond. It is 2.4m x 1.2m x 0.66m. With a Blagdon inpond 6in1 9000 submersible filter pump. I love Koi Carp but obviously my pond will be to small for those, are there any smaller fish with similar looks? Or any recommendations for other suitable fish, I obviously don't want to over stock it.
What kind of substrate should I be looking at using, also looking for recommendations for the best plants to go for. I am getting confused with all the information I am finding, especially because they go by water volume and I am unsure how to work that out. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum! Kudos for realizing the limitations of your setup. The best alternative to koi for a small pond are shubunkin goldfish. Usually for rooted and marginal plants, the water depth is the important measurement. Volume may come in with a large water lilly that would spread to cover a good portion of the surface. Looks like you have about 25 inches of depth.

I always like to have a water lily, but you need a lot of sun, 4 hours minimum for shade tolerant but usually 6 at least is mentioned. Have you seen any plants you might like?

I do not use substrate in my pond so I will defer to others on that recommendation.

 

[Supermum]

Thank you for your response.

I have looked at some oxygenating plants such as mares tail and water violets, but if I am honest I am not very clued up on plants. I do like water lilys though. I will have a look at some shubunkin. How many do you think would be the maximum I could have?

 

[Tish]

Thank you for your response.

I have looked at some oxygenating plants such as mares tail and water violets, but if I am honest I am not very clued up on plants. I do like water lilys though. I will have a look at some shubunkin. How many do you think would be the maximum I could have?

Hiya, I'm a newbie myself. Just wanted to say my shubunkin has more than doubled in size the first year. He's between 5 -6 in long now and very broad through the body. I understand the can grow to 10 or 12 inches. I prefer a bare bottom pond and use floating plants. Hyasinth, water lettuce and frogbit. Those wont survive the winter though ( in Canada} so must re-stock every spring.

 

[addy1]

That is around 500 gallons, I have shubunkin colored fantails in my 300 gallon pond. Slow to reproduce and pretty.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Mgessert]

I have had eight mature Shubunkins in 300 gallons for about three years, but do remove babies every season. I also test the water regularly, feed sparingly, and have lots of filtration.

 

[j.w]

@Supermum
I vote for a few shubunkin type fantails for you smaller pond.

 

[Lisak1]

I love the chubby fan tails - they swim slower so a smaller pond is great for them. They come in a variety of colors too!