Pond Management

Many times ponds they are created purely for aesthetic reasons without much thought to creating an environment in which different fish species can thrive. This article is intended to shed some light on how to create a pond that will support healthy fish populations as well as give you something beautiful to look at everyday.

The most important factor in the quality of your pond will be the plant life that is present. This includes what kind and how much. Plants such as water lettuce add little value to your pond and can even overgrow the plants that you need to flourish. It is necessary to figure out how to control the growth of unwanted plants before introducing your desired ones. Herbicides can be a quick fix, but sometimes fail to produce long term results. You can also remove unwanted vegetation manually by physically removing unwanted growth where possible. Another solution is also to introduce grass carp into your pond. They will eat many different types of vegetation and can live for up to 15 years. Once you have an idea of how to control the undesirable plants in your pond, introducing helpful plants like bulrush and arrowhead are beneficial both practically and aesthetically. They provide food as well as cover for fish not to mention they also look good. They help control the growth of undesirable plants as well by using nutrients that would otherwise go to algae or unwanted vegetation. Don’t forget that the desired plants must also be controlled. Over vegetation can also hinder your fish populations.

Fish attractors offer additional fish coverage and can help to create flourishing fish populations. Fish use these attractors as protection, places to capture prey, and sometimes as places to reproduce. There are a couple different options when looking to add fish attractors to your pond. You can create more natural attractors by anchoring old brush and trees in your pond. While this may be a more economical solution, natural decay will make replenishing these types of attractors a necessity. Investing in artificial attractors made from PVC or other non-biodegradable materials will last longer and may prove to be a better solution depending on your situation.

When the time is right to stock your pond, there are a few things to keep in mind. If there is already an abundance of a certain type of fish in your pond, you obviously don’t need to stock that type of fish. Also, if there is a small amount of a particular species, you should tackle the issue that is causing scarce fish populations. More often than not, this is due to lack of or overabundance of vegetation. Remember, vegetation is probably the most important factor in creating flourishing fish populations. Once any previously issues have been addressed, you need to consider food supply. You must have an adequate food supply in place to grow and sustain all fish species.

Fish feeders are the best way to provide food to your fish. These are usually battery powered with the battery being charged by the sun and are typically durable and require little upkeep. Options for feed are plentiful. Catfish chow is a good all purpose feed that is not only used by catfish but for other species such as bluegill. Doing a little research into the best feeds for the fish in your pond is ideal. Also, sinking food is probably the more preferred type of feed as this reduces the amount of food lost to birds or other animals. You will often find fish feeders mounted on docks or piers. This is not always the case as some people will have their feeders mounted on the water either floating on pontoons or hanging on PVC pipes that have been embedded in the pond.

If you have invested time and money into your pond you probably don’t want your fish dying due to low oxygen levels. This is especially an issue in the hotter months when higher temperatures reduce the oxygen-holding ability of water. Fountain aerator systems may look great, but only provide oxygen to the surface of the water which won’t help much in sustaining a healthy fish population. A diffused aeration system is the ideal solution as oxygen will be provided through the entire pond from the bottom to the top.

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