New rubbermaid container pond! Help

[Dave 54]

It may well be an idea your Mum buy a book on fish health so that your Mum better understands how to look after her fish as there is lots to learn about keeping them alive nd well .
Did you know that if properly looked after goldfish can live up to 40 years , koi can and do live in excess of 80 years we have one koi 24" who is this year 28 years old .
The book I suggest you buy is this The Manual of Fish Health ISBN 0861013869. Dr Chris Andrews Adrian Exell, Dr Neville Carrington.
This is a very good starting out book that teaches you everything you need t know about keeping your fish healthy you can get them for next to nothing on Amazon
We hope this helps you both grow into the hobby

Dave

 

[alice]

Yeah i ment for lowering the fountain pressure not the actual pump it's self. Should we get a bigger container? I know the water temp is chilly which is why they are hiding under the rock + everything that is going on. I got my mom a pond book, I think she has gone out to shop for a bigger container for the fish.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Yeah i ment for lowering the fountain pressure not the actual pump it's self. Should we get a bigger container? I know the water temp is chilly which is why they are hiding under the rock + everything that is going on. I got my mom a pond book, I think she has gone out to shop for a bigger container for the fish.

If you reduced the flow from the fountain you have reduced the overall circulation in this water feature and as a result have reduced the rate of filtration. Restore the flow through the fountain and observe for a day or two, the problem may rectify itself.
A larger volume of water is always better!

 

[alice]

But if i lower the water from the fountain it goes out of the container :/

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Then get a larger container or remove the fountain head.

 

[alice]

All the fish for now seem to be happy and eatting.

 

[alice]

Should I only keep one or two plants in?

 

[Lisak1]

Those are water hyacinths - if they are happy in your pond you'll soon be asking "should I keep 20 or 30?" They multiply very quickly.

Do you have a particular concern about the plants? Or a reason why you think two might be too many?

 

[alice]

Someone told me that it was too much to soon to add to a small pond :/ i have a baby koi and 2 baby goldfish

 

[Lisak1]

No. Your plants won't hurt anything. They may not thrive in your pond, but time will tell. I have a medium sized pond and I can't get hyacinths to grow in it for anything. But they love my patio pond and pondless waterfall.

 

[CountryEscape]

Keep the plants, they will probably help with your water more than hurt it. The fish are the concern, not so much for the immediately present, but for the near future. I have a 55 gal aquarium in my house, and I would not put even one koi in there, unless it was very temporary (month or less) and it was a baby. That's what people are concerned about with your one baby koi. It will be fine for a while, but will soon outgrow the tub, likely by end of summer, if not before. The goldfish will grow slower, and tend to stay size of environment they are in. The koi will grow slower than if it was in a 3,000 gallon pond, but it will still outgrow too fast.

 

[alice]

Okay, thank you! I told my mom how quickly the koi grows and she said well I guess we better prepare for the koi! So we will be upgrading to a bigger pond !

 

[alice]

How big should we go? If my mom wanted to add another koi ( not to this container- the upgraded one) what would be ideal, and size ect?

 

[MitchM]

My suggestion,
1 - decide on a location.
2 - look around and find a pond design you like.
3 - decide on a budget.
4 - discuss your plans here so the community can give you some feedback which will save you some money and having to do some work twice.

 

[alice]

Also, last night I'm pretty sure the raccoons are figuring out we have a pond.. Will they be safe in this set up? They have a hiding spot