pond with plants but no fish

[mikey]

Hello from a new member.
For the last 5 years, I've endured herons and raccoons and lost too many fish to count. I've decided to give up and just have plants in the pond and enjoy the sound of the waterfall.

Is there anything special I need to do to keep a balance in the water to keep it clear? Will the lack of fish do that for me? Is algae control the same as it would be if I had fish?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[j.w]

Hey Mikey are you the same Mikey that I know elsewhere? Welcome here if you are and if you aren't then welcome also. Somebody will help you with your plant question here soon I'm sure. Sorry you can't keep fish in your pond anymore but won't the raccoons go after the plants also. I have heard that they will with some plants like the lilies I think. So now you will have to put stuff in your pond to keep away the mosquitoes w/o any fish in there. Doggone heron and raccoons :beerchug:

 

[rdk]

This fall I built a fence pond cover on the plans of Doctor Dave. This winter I was attacked by a pack of racoons. They must have spent all night trying to tear it apart. The fish must have laughed at them. I also put pond netting over the fence. No bird would get through that. If there is a will there is a way to keep fish from these other animals. RDK

 

[DrDave]

Glad it worked for you.

 

[hap]

With no fish, I'd be concerned about mosquitos.

 

[koiguy1969]

misquitoe dunks ...problem solved... but a pond just isnt really a pond without fish.

 

[DrDave]

Your county health department will give you free, mosquito fish. They multiply like crazy and will keep the pond free of mosquitos. They school and are actually fun to watch. If you are not going to have other fish, these are the best bet for you.

 

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

If you have a desire to go back to goldfish or koi, you could put a netted cover on your pond like mine. It's made out of black pex pipe and adapters and covered with bird netting. I haven't had any predators since I put it on and we get raccoons regularly. Before I put the pond in I even awoke in the middle of the night one time to see a raccoon that had climbed my bird feeder pole staring in the window at me! The feeder was about 2 feet away from the window. The feeder is further away now as i put the pond under the window, but it is still about 5ft from the pond.

 

[Sweet Lew]

If there is a waterfall running into the pond, won;t that deter the mosquitoes? I've been told that they tend to stay away from running\moving water. I don't have fish in my pond for the same reason as Mikey and last year all I had in the pond were midge larvae.

 

[Daytongirl]

mosquitos only breed in standing water (tires, buckets, etc) so if there is a pump moving the water you will be safe. You might even attract some frogs, all on their own : )

 

[Ceallaigh]

Hi, new here and found this question. I do not have fish right now in my small pond, but I do have a water fall. Trying to establish water plants in the pond. I am not sure if I missed the answer to this question of Mikeys, "Is there anything special I need to do to keep a balance in the water to keep it clear? Will the lack of fish do that for me? Is algae control the same as it would be if I had fish?"

 

[Mmathis]

Hi, new here and found this question. I do not have fish right now in my small pond, but I do have a water fall. Trying to establish water plants in the pond. I am not sure if I missed the answer to this question of Mikeys, "Is there anything special I need to do to keep a balance in the water to keep it clear? Will the lack of fish do that for me? Is algae control the same as it would be if I had fish?"

This thread is 8 years old, so you won’t get a response. Why don’t you go to “introductions” and tell us a little about your pond, and then post some individual questions — you’ve asked a bunch here, but they will get lost in this thread. Better to start new conversations.

 

[skarppala]

The question wasn't 'What can I do about preditors or any such thing. Mikey just wanted to know if he needed to maintain his pond differently to encourage plant health and growth without his koi. I too am getting rid of my koi for a variety of reasons, but want to keep the pond and plants. The koi, of course, fertilize the plants. What do we do different to make sure the ecosystem remains. Mosquito fish are a good suggestion. Any others?

 

[Lisak1]

The question wasn't 'What can I do about preditors or any such thing. Mikey just wanted to know if he needed to maintain his pond differently to encourage plant health and growth without his koi. I too am getting rid of my koi for a variety of reasons, but want to keep the pond and plants. The koi, of course, fertilize the plants. What do we do different to make sure the ecosystem remains. Mosquito fish are a good suggestion. Any others?

Welcome @skarppala ! This is an old thread, so you may want to start a new one to get more responses. But I'll try to answer your question: What about goldfish? We're transitioning from a koi pond to a goldfish pond ourselves (not necessarily by choice, but it's a change we're ok with) and are looking at adding a bunch of shubunkins. They have lots of color variations and grow to a nice size.

I don't know that mosquito fish would produce enough waste to contribute to the ecosystem quite honestly, and I've read they are nearly impossible to get rid of once you put them in your pond. Rosy minnows are often mentioned as a fun fish for the pond - they school nicely and provide nice flashes of color and movement to the pond.

Just some things to think about!