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- Jun 11, 2023
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Hello everyone! I am new to the pond world and want to make sure I am doing right by my pond and the animals in it. I have some questions about what to add to the pond, but first here is what I currently have going on with it:
I am currently cycling my pond and do not have any animals in it yet and the plants were recently added. Here is my current set up:
- 100 gallon Galvanized steel container with a pond liner to avoid it seeping zinc into the water. I have this situated on my covered patio, which gets mixed light.
-Seachem black flourite gravel substrate
- Pennington Aquagarden in pond 5 in 1 filter and water pump
- HiTauing 500W aquarium heater (to keep temp more consistent, I live in Colorado and there are many temperature swings throughout the day)
- Seachem Prime used to dechlorinate and I am using Seachem Stabilize to help the cycling process.
- Water spangles, water hyacinth, water lettuce on the surface
- Hornwort and Java Fern below the surface
- A rock cave and log cave on the bottom
I plan to eventually add a few shubunkin/comet mixes to the pond when it is fully cycled.
Here are my questions:
1. Am I crazy for wanting to add shrimp to this tank? I really like the thought of having them help clean the tank and I like the idea that they do not produce a ton of waste like some bottom feeders. If I did add shrimp, I would add a bunch of java moss and a ton of hiding places. I would also add the shrimp before the fish so they can get established first. I would likely want to get some Amano shrimp and Cherry shrimp. The Amano would hopefully be big enough to deter the fish from eating them and the cherries would hopefully breed and some of the babies would be good for the goldfish to eat. Any thoughts on this idea??
2. If I am not too crazy for adding shrimp, how many would you recommend adding at a time to avoid ammonia spikes? Any thoughts on how many total of each shrimp type I should add? I of course would wait until my pond is fully cycled before adding any animals.
2. I am thinking some Mystery snails might be a nice addition to the pond as I have read that they can work quite nicely with shrimp. Good idea or bad idea? Should shrimp or snails be added to the tank first?
3. I plan on insulating the outside of my tank in the winter, using the heater and using a deicer to combat the cold, I know gold fish can be quite hardy so I am not too concerned about them. I have read that shrimp and snails can be hardy too, but I am concerned the Colorado winter weather might be too much for the Amanos, cherries and mystery snails. Any thoughts? Should I set up an indoor tank for the winter for these guys?
Thank you all for your advice!
I am currently cycling my pond and do not have any animals in it yet and the plants were recently added. Here is my current set up:
- 100 gallon Galvanized steel container with a pond liner to avoid it seeping zinc into the water. I have this situated on my covered patio, which gets mixed light.
-Seachem black flourite gravel substrate
- Pennington Aquagarden in pond 5 in 1 filter and water pump
- HiTauing 500W aquarium heater (to keep temp more consistent, I live in Colorado and there are many temperature swings throughout the day)
- Seachem Prime used to dechlorinate and I am using Seachem Stabilize to help the cycling process.
- Water spangles, water hyacinth, water lettuce on the surface
- Hornwort and Java Fern below the surface
- A rock cave and log cave on the bottom
I plan to eventually add a few shubunkin/comet mixes to the pond when it is fully cycled.
Here are my questions:
1. Am I crazy for wanting to add shrimp to this tank? I really like the thought of having them help clean the tank and I like the idea that they do not produce a ton of waste like some bottom feeders. If I did add shrimp, I would add a bunch of java moss and a ton of hiding places. I would also add the shrimp before the fish so they can get established first. I would likely want to get some Amano shrimp and Cherry shrimp. The Amano would hopefully be big enough to deter the fish from eating them and the cherries would hopefully breed and some of the babies would be good for the goldfish to eat. Any thoughts on this idea??
2. If I am not too crazy for adding shrimp, how many would you recommend adding at a time to avoid ammonia spikes? Any thoughts on how many total of each shrimp type I should add? I of course would wait until my pond is fully cycled before adding any animals.
2. I am thinking some Mystery snails might be a nice addition to the pond as I have read that they can work quite nicely with shrimp. Good idea or bad idea? Should shrimp or snails be added to the tank first?
3. I plan on insulating the outside of my tank in the winter, using the heater and using a deicer to combat the cold, I know gold fish can be quite hardy so I am not too concerned about them. I have read that shrimp and snails can be hardy too, but I am concerned the Colorado winter weather might be too much for the Amanos, cherries and mystery snails. Any thoughts? Should I set up an indoor tank for the winter for these guys?
Thank you all for your advice!
