Watching fish in a natural setting has always been particularly appealing
to me, so it probably didn’t come as a surprise to my parents when I decided to build
a pond in our back yard, located in Vancouver Canada.
I excavated a pit about nine feet by five, and eighteen inches deep, and lined it
with newspaper and then with 6 mil poly, which is available at any hardware store. (I
replace the liner every year. A proper butyl rubber liner would be ideal).
The first year was a disaster, or at least the
first part of the year was…. I stocked my pond with goldfish, but since it was
located in full sun, the stagnant water became too hot and depleted of oxygen, so the
goldfish did not survive. But I then threw in a couple of cichlids just to get them out of
the way, and to my surprise they thrived in the tropical environment. I decided to try
some other warm water fish outside, and they too did exceedingly well. Ever since, I have
stocked my pond strictly with tropical fish.
I have tried many types of tropicals in my pond, including zebra danios,
serpae tetras, rainbows, corydoras catfish, ghost shrimp, killies, kribensis, keyhole
cichlids, red devils, angelfish, and even discus. But my favourites are the livebearers,
and this year I have guppies, mollies, platies, and Ameca splendens. They breed
readily and that is why I like livebearers – it’s not uncommon for them to have
three generations of babies by the end of the season. The guppies are by far the most
prolific, and just a few pairs can produce several hundred fry by the end of the summer.
This year I am keeping killies and dwarf cichlids with the livebearers, and I suspect that
the killies are feeding rather heavily on the babies!
Depending on the weather here in Vancouver, I put the fish in my pond as
early as May, and bring them back inside sometime during September. On hot days the pond
seethes with activity but during cold snaps the fish become very lethargic. However, I
don’t think I have ever lost a fish due to the temperature dropping. This is really
something when you consider that during a hot day the surface temperature can climb into
the 90s and on a cold day it will drop down to the 50s. Surely fish in an aquarium would
not stand such large fluctuations of temperature!
One of the problems I have with my pond is that, since it is in full sun, the
water has a tendency to turn green with algal blooms. I find I can reduce this by keeping
about three quarters of the surface covered with floating plants. An added bonus of having
all those plants is that they provide excellent cover for new-born babies. The plants are
also the sole source of filtration and aeration.
All in all, the building and maintenance of my "tropical" pond has
been hassle-free and inexpensive. The only costs are those of the liner, water
conditioners, fish and plants.
Note: An article about the author, Ricky Grange, may be viewed in
Aquarticles' PEOPLE section.
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