Help finding the right fish for new pond

I'm building a set of two decorating ponds in my back yard. This is the
setup: Top pond is about 50Gal, water slides down from this pond through a
small waterfall into the bottom pond which is about 120Gal. I want to put
two or more fish on the bottom pond. Things to consider a the fish have
to control the algae and mosquito population in the pond, they have to be
low maintenance and resilient fish since the ponds are outdoors and
temperatures are quite hot around here. Any recommendations? do Japanese Koi
and plecos get along? can they survive on the same type of water? any other
type of fish that feeds on mosquito larvae (in addition to the supplemental
food I would provide of course).


--
OrSoBoT
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I dought there would be many mesquitoes since they like still, stale, nasty
water with decaying vegetation in it. But, for all the other weird things
that will like your pond....get a few
sunfish....perch....guppies.....swordtails....catf ish......zebra
danios.......whatever......and a turtle...

"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
I'm building a set of two decorating ponds in my back yard. This is the
setup: Top pond is about 50Gal, water slides down from this pond through a
small waterfall into the bottom pond which is about 120Gal. I want to put
two or more fish on the bottom pond. Things to consider a the fish have
to control the algae and mosquito population in the pond, they have to be
low maintenance and resilient fish since the ponds are outdoors and
temperatures are quite hot around here. Any recommendations? do Japanese
Koi
and plecos get along? can they survive on the same type of water? any
other
type of fish that feeds on mosquito larvae (in addition to the
supplemental
food I would provide of course).


--
OrSoBoT
Remove "spam" from the e-mail address to reply

Thanks Jim, I think I'll try a couple of plecos and another couple of the
cichlids to see how they like the environment.

"Jim Brown" wrote in message
news
Plecos should do well. The koi may get too big and the water may be too
warm for them.
Presuming the pond will have a black liner, skip black or dark fish.
Consider albino or gold colours. Platies are one of the first to come to
mind. If you want one or two bigger fish, any cichlid should be
considered.
But skip the turtle. They are prone to eat fish, and create a heavy
bio-load on the pond.
Enjoy whatever you put in, and don't be afraid to change the fish if your
interest falls.

Jim

Stan wrote in message
...
I dought there would be many mesquitoes since they like still, stale,
nasty
water with decaying vegetation in it. But, for all the other weird
things
that will like your pond....get a few
sunfish....perch....guppies.....swordtails....catf ish......zebra
danios.......whatever......and a turtle...

"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
I'm building a set of two decorating ponds in my back yard. This is
the
setup: Top pond is about 50Gal, water slides down from this pond
through
a
small waterfall into the bottom pond which is about 120Gal. I want to
put
two or more fish on the bottom pond. Things to consider a the fish
have
to control the algae and mosquito population in the pond, they have to
be
low maintenance and resilient fish since the ponds are outdoors and
temperatures are quite hot around here. Any recommendations? do
Japanese
Koi
and plecos get along? can they survive on the same type of water? any
other
type of fish that feeds on mosquito larvae (in addition to the
supplemental
food I would provide of course).


--
OrSoBoT
Remove "spam" from the e-mail address to reply

if you do have a mosquito problem, there should probably get mosquito fish
in it. If you live in the us near a river they can be found near the slow
moving parts of it. Some lfs even carry them.


"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
Thanks Jim, I think I'll try a couple of plecos and another couple of the
cichlids to see how they like the environment.

"Jim Brown" wrote in message
news
Plecos should do well. The koi may get too big and the water may be too
warm for them.
Presuming the pond will have a black liner, skip black or dark fish.
Consider albino or gold colours. Platies are one of the first to come
to
mind. If you want one or two bigger fish, any cichlid should be
considered.
But skip the turtle. They are prone to eat fish, and create a heavy
bio-load on the pond.
Enjoy whatever you put in, and don't be afraid to change the fish if
your
interest falls.

Jim

Stan wrote in message
...
I dought there would be many mesquitoes since they like still, stale,
nasty
water with decaying vegetation in it. But, for all the other weird
things
that will like your pond....get a few
sunfish....perch....guppies.....swordtails....catf ish......zebra
danios.......whatever......and a turtle...

"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
I'm building a set of two decorating ponds in my back yard. This is
the
setup: Top pond is about 50Gal, water slides down from this pond
through
a
small waterfall into the bottom pond which is about 120Gal. I want
to
put
two or more fish on the bottom pond. Things to consider a the
fish
have
to control the algae and mosquito population in the pond, they have
to
be
low maintenance and resilient fish since the ponds are outdoors and
temperatures are quite hot around here. Any recommendations? do
Japanese
Koi
and plecos get along? can they survive on the same type of water?
any
other
type of fish that feeds on mosquito larvae (in addition to the
supplemental
food I would provide of course).


--
OrSoBoT
Remove "spam" from the e-mail address to reply

In alt.aquaria Justin Grantham wrote:
if you do have a mosquito problem, there should probably get mosquito fish
in it. If you live in the us near a river they can be found near the slow
moving parts of it. Some lfs even carry them.

If you live in the USA, do not take your mosquito fish from the river. You
could introduce all sorts of pathogens into your pond that way. Also,
depending on where you live, it might even be illegal to do so. Instead
call the local mosquito abatement/control department (look them up in the
phone book). They're likely the ones that introduced the fish to the river
in the first place. Last I checked, most mosquito abatement agencies
provide mosquito fish for either free or a very modest sum for backyard
water features like ponds. The fish you've seen in the pet store are
probably wild guppies. While these are related to the mosquito fish (and
will interbreed), I believe the mosquito fish is a bit more voracious when
it comes to eating mosquito larva.

Now as for what the original poster could put in the pond, it is a bit
small for koi. A couple of goldfish might work instead, but, take the pond
temperature at both the surface and bottom if possible on a hot day. If
it's over 75-80F even at the bottom, goldfish should be ruled out as well.
Also, consider the winter temps. If you put in tropicals to survive the
summer heat, you may need a tank inside the house to hold them over winter
if the winter temps get too cold.

Uhmmm.... here in South Florida we do have a BIG mosquito problem, but we
learned to live with it ;o)
There are lots of canals around this area, but I really don't want to take
any fish from these canals, I rather get them from the LFS. I've heard these
fish can carry some diseases that would kill the other fish in the pond.
I'll go check my LFS this weekend, thanks for the tip.

"Justin Grantham" wrote in message
news:flYOa.18353$Ph3.1315@sccrnsc04...
if you do have a mosquito problem, there should probably get mosquito fish
in it. If you live in the us near a river they can be found near the slow
moving parts of it. Some lfs even carry them.


"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
Thanks Jim, I think I'll try a couple of plecos and another couple of
the
cichlids to see how they like the environment.

"Jim Brown" wrote in message
news
Plecos should do well. The koi may get too big and the water may be
too
warm for them.
Presuming the pond will have a black liner, skip black or dark fish.
Consider albino or gold colours. Platies are one of the first to come
to
mind. If you want one or two bigger fish, any cichlid should be
considered.
But skip the turtle. They are prone to eat fish, and create a heavy
bio-load on the pond.
Enjoy whatever you put in, and don't be afraid to change the fish if
your
interest falls.

Jim

Stan wrote in message
...
I dought there would be many mesquitoes since they like still,
stale,
nasty
water with decaying vegetation in it. But, for all the other weird
things
that will like your pond....get a few
sunfish....perch....guppies.....swordtails....catf ish......zebra
danios.......whatever......and a turtle...

"OrSoBoT" wrote in message
...
I'm building a set of two decorating ponds in my back yard. This
is
the
setup: Top pond is about 50Gal, water slides down from this pond
through
a
small waterfall into the bottom pond which is about 120Gal. I want
to
put
two or more fish on the bottom pond. Things to consider a the
fish
have
to control the algae and mosquito population in the pond, they
have
to
be
low maintenance and resilient fish since the ponds are outdoors
and
temperatures are quite hot around here. Any recommendations? do
Japanese
Koi
and plecos get along? can they survive on the same type of water?
any
other
type of fish that feeds on mosquito larvae (in addition to the
supplemental
food I would provide of course).


--
OrSoBoT
Remove "spam" from the e-mail address to reply

Thanks for the info on the mosquito fish. The temp on the ponds will be on
the mid 80's all year long. For the very few days that the temp drops below
70 here on S. Fla., I can arrange to put the fish in one of my indoor tanks.


"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
In alt.aquaria Justin Grantham wrote:
if you do have a mosquito problem, there should probably get mosquito
fish
in it. If you live in the us near a river they can be found near the
slow
moving parts of it. Some lfs even carry them.

If you live in the USA, do not take your mosquito fish from the river. You
could introduce all sorts of pathogens into your pond that way. Also,
depending on where you live, it might even be illegal to do so. Instead
call the local mosquito abatement/control department (look them up in the
phone book). They're likely the ones that introduced the fish to the river
in the first place. Last I checked, most mosquito abatement agencies
provide mosquito fish for either free or a very modest sum for backyard
water features like ponds. The fish you've seen in the pet store are
probably wild guppies. While these are related to the mosquito fish (and
will interbreed), I believe the mosquito fish is a bit more voracious when
it comes to eating mosquito larva.

Now as for what the original poster could put in the pond, it is a bit
small for koi. A couple of goldfish might work instead, but, take the pond
temperature at both the surface and bottom if possible on a hot day. If
it's over 75-80F even at the bottom, goldfish should be ruled out as well.
Also, consider the winter temps. If you put in tropicals to survive the
summer heat, you may need a tank inside the house to hold them over winter
if the winter temps get too cold.