Once you have your backyard fish pond built, filled with nice plants, a nice exterior edge is done the pond is still missing one thing. Fish! What fish should you put in your fish pond? Well, hopefully you already had this planned before you started the construction of your fish pond, but if you didn't here are some of the best and most popular fish you can populate your pond with.
Koi Fish
One of the most popular fish is the koi fish. The koi fish is the first fish that comes to mind for most people that have looked into getting a fish pond. They are beautiful, elegant, very good sized, and they just had that completion feeling to your fish pond. Koi normally attain lengths of approximately 2 to 3 feet and weight up to 35 lbs. Because of their large size, they should only be kept in large ponds of at least 1000 gallons. Koi need very good water quality to remain healthy. Sophisticated filtration systems should be used to maintain this water. Koi that have been well cared for have a life expectancy of around 50-70 years and have been known to live to be over 200 years old. These fish can literally be life long friends.
Goldfish
The second fish that populates the most ponds is your typical goldfish. Don't judge to quickly the goldfish come in many different types and colors and can very well complete a pond almost like a koi fish can. These goldfish will get bigger than the ones you put into your home aquarium. Goldfish are also a hardy fish so throw the misconception of them dying with in two days out the window. These fish are an excellent edition to any fish pond.
Shubunkin
Shubunkin is a type of single-tailed goldfish. The Shubunkin is a hardy fish, and has a mottled pattern of white, black, and orange. It may also be called the Speckled or Harlequin Goldfish.The ideal setup for the Shubunkin is a pond of at least 180 gallons with a gravel substrate, rocks, and hearty plants. This fish will grow in proportion to the size of its surroundings. They like to eat the roots of plants and will dig to get to them, so provide large rocks around the base of the plants to protect them. Adequate filtration should be provided in order to maintain proper water conditions.
Mosquito Fish
Mosquito Fish are a small guppy-like fish growing only 1-3" in length. Yes, this fish specializes in eating mosquitoes and mosquito larva. Other fish will eat mosquito larva but not as often as the mosquito fish. Nobody likes mosquitoes so one could imagine how great of an edition this fish would be to your backyard fish pond!
Plecostomus
Plecostomus are a type of catfish and are often introduced into the pond as algae eaters. They do little more than other pond fish in this respect. These fish are tropical and will not survive the winter in an outdoor pond. Despite purchasing this fish at 3" long and thinking that you can bring it in to an aquarium for the winter, they will quickly grow in a water garden. Full grown plecostomus reach 24" in length. These are great addition to your backyard pond but would need to be in a warmer climate during the winter (depending where you live) and aren't recommended to put in the same pond as Koi fish.
There's five fish I would seriously consider populating my fish pond with. It's great to have fish in your pond for a number of reasons. They complete the ecosystem that you are creating in your backyard. To me the also give that wow factor to your pond like the star on top of your Christmas tree. Every pond should have fish swimming around in it. The fish represent the life in your pond.
I love building ponds and spreading the word on just how beautiful ponds can be. Whether you just want a little water feature or an eye catching fish pond these additions can complete your backyard. For more information about fish ponds and everything to do with them, visit [http://www.myfishponds.com].
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