The Great Fish Scam

(miss mandy) wrote:

Hello miss

mm I recently inherited (with the new house) a 72 gallon garden
mm pond. I thought it may be fun to put in a few water plants
mm and 2 or 3 of the $0.50 gold fish that I used to have as a
mm kid. So off to the fish store I went. What a shock I got.
mm The man at the fish store started listing off the the
mm equipment I would need. $80 filter, $115 pump, hoses,
mm special food, $30 fish .... My $0.50 fish idea is
mm really starting to get expensive. Which sounds strange to
mm me because, when I was a kid, I had goldfish that lived in a
mm little bowl on the counter for years.

You made the mistake of asking a salesman for advice.

Two goldfish in a pond that size would be Ok, as long as you added
some oxygenating plants. You won't need a pump or filter if you have
enough oxygenators and don't overstock the fish.

Also keep half the pond in shade, a small pond can get *very* hot in
warm weather, and this reduces the oxygen in the pond which will lead
to the fish "gasping" at the surface of the water. If that happens,
playing a garden hose over the surface will cool the water /and/ add
oxygen, but is only really a temporary measure as it'll upset the
natural balance to add new water to an established pond.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/