What does your pond look like ... Today?

[brokensword]

Today my pond is doing well! I put it in a year ago. It is 13 feet long and 8 feet wide, runs 12 to 28 inches deep and holds about 1100 gallons. This pond is in central Florida and our "winter" weather slows plant growth and the water lilies have gone dormant. My yellow bellied slider turtle, "Big Bertha," loves her log. There are about 20 fish in the pond and several frogs. I built the waterfall four months ago. To filter the pond I have a 1250 gph submerged filter and a 2700 gph pump connected to a external canister filter and a waterfall. The sound of the waterfall is very pleasant. I used a 22 inch spillway at the top. I am enjoying it immensely!

Gonna have to enlist you to the turtle pond subchapter of GPF! Seems to be a few more of us lately! Pond looks great! A different challenge in the SUTHIN states than here, up north! Hopefully your 20 fish don't include koi as what you have is about right for ONE of those, let along 19 more! Post up more turtle pics when you can! (of course, the fish, too; no bias here, no, nuh uh!)

 

[JBtheExplorer]

A little snowy today.

 

[j.w]

A little snowy today.

View attachment 145214

You need more snow

 

[Turtlehead]

Here are some pictures of the fish and some short videos of the fish and the turtle. I do have one koi and 19 or so comets (includesthree Sarasa comets and one Shubunkin and a bunch of goldfish offspring) A while back I had a small number of fish. (8-10 or so) and one day when I was taking a taking a nice nap on my lanai I was rudely awakened by a great splashing sound. When I arose I saw that a great blue heron had my large gold and white goldfish in his mouth and then down she went. I was not happy. This spring I noticed some small fish swimming around and they must have been her offspring. So I have been busy trying to “cull the herd” so to speak, but catching these wily fish has not been easy. I have been able to catch six or so small goldfish, but the “getting too large” koi has eluded me. She is a coy koi! I have left the net in the pond for a few days hoping to catch it when feeding, but no way, it sees me coming. Any ideas from anyone how to catch fish in a planted pond?

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Here are some pictures of the fish and some short videos of the fish and the turtle. I do have one koi and 19 or so comets (includesthree Sarasa comets and one Shubunkin and a bunch of goldfish offspring) A while back I had a small number of fish. (8-10 or so) and one day when I was taking a taking a nice nap on my lanai I was rudely awakened by a great splashing sound. When I arose I saw that a great blue heron had my large gold and white goldfish in his mouth and then down she went. I was not happy. This spring I noticed some small fish swimming around and they must have been her offspring. So I have been busy trying to “cull the herd” so to speak, but catching these wily fish has not been easy. I have been able to catch six or so small goldfish, but the “getting too large” koi has eluded me. She is a coy koi! I have left the net in the pond for a few days hoping to catch it when feeding, but no way, it sees me coming. Any ideas from anyone how to catch fish in a planted pond?

Only really reliable way to catch fish is to drain the pond down so they can't get away.

 

[addy1]

Very nice pond!

 

[Tula]

The only way I've ever caught my koi is by lowering the water level in the pond.

 

[Turtlehead]

Thanks for all the comments! In regard to catching some of the fish I think I will try to net them for awhile longer. If I lower the water level that low I will throw the water chemistry out of whack when I refill the pond, even if I use a water treatment. (Which I always do)

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Thanks for all the comments! In regard to catching some of the fish I think I will try to net them for awhile longer. If I lower the water level that low I will throw the water chemistry out of whack when I refill the pond, even if I use a water treatment. (Which I always do)

Get some sort of LARGE water containment vessel (we use an Intex pool) so you don't have to 'dump' the wonderful, mature water. You simply pump it into the holding pool/tank, catch the fish, then pump the mature water right back, so your desirable fish have no chemical stress put on them, what so ever.

 

[sissy]

Been so busy I am not sure how the pond looks . cut back the banana plants and took down the banana pods . I had 8 of them this year

 

[LuckyDog]

Thanks! I used to keep planted fish tanks up in New England so I had some experience with aquatic plants. I am also an avid gardener so a pond is a great combination of my favorite hobbies. Plants in Florida do grow fast! I have to trim some of my shrubs every 2-3 months!

With grey skies and nothing much growing, a British "patio pond" looks rubbish at this time of year, so believe me when I say your pond and plants look wonderful, so verdant and lush! I guess with the warmth your fish can be growing 12 months round?

 

[Turtlehead]

With grey skies and nothing much growing, a British "patio pond" looks rubbish at this time of year, so believe me when I say your pond and plants look wonderful, so verdant and lush! I guess with the warmth your fish can be growing 12 months round?

The fish don’t grow quite 12 months a year, but you are close. We probably get 2 months where the water temperature will fall at times into the 50’s and I stop feeding them. This year has been warmer than usual. My water temperature now is 71 degrees. A few weeks ago, though, the water temperature fell into the 50’s. “Colder” weather like that can continue through January. I live in central Florida which does experience lows normally in the high 20’s. The record here is 18 degrees. They used to grow oranges around here, but frosts on occasion, killed many trees and that became a thing of the past.

 

[LuckyDog]

The fish don’t grow quite 12 months a year, but you are close. We probably get 2 months where the water temperature will fall at times into the 50’s and I stop feeding them. This year has been warmer than usual. My water temperature now is 71 degrees. A few weeks ago, though, the water temperature fell into the 50’s. “Colder” weather like that can continue through January. I live in central Florida which does experience lows normally in the high 20’s. The record here is 18 degrees. They used to grow oranges around here, but frosts on occasion, killed many trees and that became a thing of the past.

It's quite the opposite here. The fish spend most of the year in somewhat chillier water, though we can have temps in 80s & 90s, it never lasts for long, rare to go over a week at a time and can swing quite low within a day. It's amazing how our "domestic" fish adapt so well to completely different parts of the world.

 

[addy1]

Right now my parrots feather is growing back like it is spring. The Taro I forgot to remove is sending up new shoots, so now in the house in a glass. We did drop to 19 a few nights. I am surprised it is still alive.

 

[brokensword]

Right now my parrots feather is growing back like it is spring. The Taro I forgot to remove is sending up new shoots, so now in the house in a glass. We did drop to 19 a few nights. I am surprised it is still alive.

the tuber was submerged and didn't get the full 19F hit; if it had been above, or not warmed by surrounding water, it would have been mush! And yeah, it was jus' sumthin I mush tell you! heh heh, okay, I'd done BETTER puns but I'm having an off day...