# keeping fish in a pond outside??



## millar (Apr 10, 2006)

hi, i dont own any fish but i was thinking about building a small pond in my garden and putting fish in it, but... i dont know if its safe to do so incase my neighbours cats eat them. i was also wondering what kind of fish i could use for the pond.


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## lr85ninety (Jul 15, 2006)

you can put a net over a pond that will detere cats, you can keep goldfish and similar species, orfe, tench things like that but if its only a small pond best avoide koi carp as they need depth and a good head of water to live properly. It's worth going to an aquatics center and having a look at there coldwater section


hope that helps


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

Think its better planning out your pond before deciding on your fish, especially if its going to be a small one, could only really reccomend goldfish, shabunkins ect can be quite expensive keeping fish out doors, you will need both a pump and a filterbox (can now be bought all in one) Also will you be getting a fibre glass pond, or creating it by liner ? Agen its not the cats you need to be worrying about as they shoudn't be a problem, its Herons, so as lr85ninety says, buy a net for the top, its the best protection out the lot :wink: good look !


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## chriscollier (Mar 24, 2006)

Cats really aren't a problem unless the fish are a real easy target as they dont like water that much. And I dont like nets as it makes the pond look abit crap. We've just staked out some canes and tied string round the pond at a height of about 2ft. This is because herons like to land and then walk into the pond, but with the string they cant do this so they don't bother. For a small pond the only options really are goldfish varients, minnows and gudgeon, but with a bigger pind you could go with carp, koi, rudd, orfe, tench and even sturgeon if the pond is big enough


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## millar (Apr 10, 2006)

well i live in scotland where there are no herrons {as far a\s i know anyway} but thanks, by the way it will b e a small pond with a plastic lining and the filter comes with so i wont need to hunt for one, thanks for your replys.


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## 16-BIT (Apr 17, 2006)

when i lived with my parents we always had koi carp in our back garden. me and my dad built it ourselves it was 12ft long 6ft wide and 6ft deep with a 4ft shallow end. had its own under pond sump goin into a seperate tank which then was pipid into the drain for cleaning, a full gazebos stule framework over it with netting to keep birds out. 

took us 2 weeks of my summer hols to make it to make it but i was damn proud! ill try and get some fotos off my old dear next time i speak to her


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## millar (Apr 10, 2006)

cooooool :shock: . unfortunately the pond wont be 6ft deep


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

millar said:


> well i live in scotland where there are no herrons {as far a\s i know anyway} but thanks, by the way it will b e a small pond with a plastic lining and the filter comes with so i wont need to hunt for one, thanks for your replys.


Plastic lining? :? do you mean like the ready made fibre glass ponds? Aswell when you say your getting the filter, are you getting both the filter box and pump otherwise the filter on its own is pointless !


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## 16-BIT (Apr 17, 2006)

its actually easier and cheaper to make ur own filter box.


we use da very large plastic tub with a pipe goin in from pump at top of one end and a pipe comin out of bottom at other end and filled it with differnet gradients of foam, gravel etc then it trickled back into the pond.


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

I gather your home made one hasn't a u.v in it ? Its what seems to make filter boxes sell these days !


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## 16-BIT (Apr 17, 2006)

yes we installed a uv filteration in the pipe from the pump to the main filter


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## millar (Apr 10, 2006)

[/quote]Plastic lining? :? do you mean like the ready made fibre glass ponds? Aswell when you say your getting the filter, are you getting both the filter box and pump otherwise the filter on its own is pointless ![/quote]

yeah, thats it, fibre glass, and erm... i'm not sure about the pump the guy just said it had a filter and it was suitable for keeping fish in, it was B&Q.

thanks for that i will ask him when i go back. :wink:


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## jamtheman (Oct 5, 2006)

i would go for carp myself, also if there are herons, just get a plastic heron and put it by the pond, herons never hunt in company...


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## Andyman (May 16, 2005)

Thing with a plastic heron is it needs to be moved every other day, otherwise the heron itself catches on that the one below it is fake, a net tends to do a better job !


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## shirley ingham (Oct 30, 2006)

Don't listen to B&Q. Go to an aquatics place for advice. You need not only a pump but a biological filter, which can be made as previous stated with or with out a uv clarifier (your choice). Don't just rely on the filter on the pump. Use the internet or get a good book from the library.
Watch out!!!! it can be very addictive so research a lot first then build a pond which you think suits your requirements. We have just enlarged ours from 1,000 galls to 2,000 galls & are planning an extension. The new one seemed big enough at first.
We have 10 koi, one is 20-30 yrs old but started off with comets ,golden rudd,shubunkins etc & worked our way up. One tip is to buy brightly coloured fish like white or orange or you will not see them as they reflect the colour of the pond. Our pond is still in the development process.


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