restocking the little pond

In June last year I dug a small pond in the woods where a spring emerges from the hillside.  I stocked it with a few goldfish and minnows – see my post on the little pond and by July I was sure the frogs had eaten all of them.  Then later in the year I noticed one fish, about 6 inches along, and then two fish and in January, the same two fish and a small fish.  Somehow a couple had survived and apparently propagated.

In my post in February this year I mentioned the frogspawn in the pond and, it would not surprise me if the surviving fish snacked on some of the frogspawn – what goes around comes around.  All was good until we recently had really heavy long lasting rains.  The spring became a gusher and the 3 fish may have opted to explore the overflow pipe rather than endure the silted waters of the pond.  It appears they are no longer in the pond though they can be skilful at camouflage.  Today I purchased a conical filter for the 4″ overflow pipe and 10 small goldfish at 14 cents each from PetSmart and a small aquatic flower for the shallow end.

the 10 goldfish are in a plastic bag container of water which was filled with oxygen.  in front is the aquatic plant
the 10 goldfish are in a plastic bag container of water which was filled with oxygen. in front is the aquatic plant

The pond outflow pipe now has a conical filter to prevent the new residents from taking off.

the pond with outflow pipe and filter.  it's about 3 feet deep at its deepest
the pond with outflow pipe and filter. it’s about 3 feet deep at its deepest

And if you look carefully you may spot the little group of ten.

pond goldfish
the 10 goldfish are in the center towards the top of the picture

 

2 thoughts on “restocking the little pond”

    1. Unfortunately with the drought in 2016 the pond dried up and I lost the fish. Subsequently the aquifer recharged and the pond refilled. Our walks in the woods always include a detour to visit the pond and see the frogs and other life and, as mentioned in my Aug 27 post, a water snake which took up residence there for a while.

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