Shadehouse "pond"

[Leafmite]

I was very into the pond thing for around thirteen years before I gave away fish, lotuses and lilies. Now, I have a half-barrel tub with two goldfish and a miniature lily and a few underwater plants. It isn't a real pond but I have fun with it.

I have never heard that goldfish do not eat mosquitoes. We live in an area where mosquitoes are a terrible problem but I have never found larvae in my pond or tub. When my children were raising tadpoles and I found mosquito larvae, I put a few baby goldfish in with the tadpoles for a couple of hours and they quickly took care of the problem.

The only reason I can think that goldfish wouldn't be very active is if it gets too cold or if there isn't enough oxygen in the water. When water gets too warm, it can deplete the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. With goldfish, you might need to add some lilies or other floating plants to keep the water underneath cooler. There are some great underwater plants, too, that will help keep the levels of dissolved oxygen more normal. Goldfish can take some extra effort to keep happy.

Good luck with your pond!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I was very into the pond thing for around thirteen years before I gave away fish, lotuses and lilies. Now, I have a half-barrel tub with two goldfish and a miniature lily and a few underwater plants. It isn't a real pond but I have fun with it.

I have never heard that goldfish do not eat mosquitoes. We live in an area where mosquitoes are a terrible problem but I have never found larvae in my pond or tub. When my children were raising tadpoles and I found mosquito larvae, I put a few baby goldfish in with the tadpoles for a couple of hours and they quickly took care of the problem.

The only reason I can think that goldfish wouldn't be very active is if it gets too cold or if there isn't enough oxygen in the water. When water gets too warm, it can deplete the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. With goldfish, you might need to add some lilies or other floating plants to keep the water underneath cooler. There are some great underwater plants, too, that will help keep the levels of dissolved oxygen more normal. Goldfish can take some extra effort to keep happy.

Good luck with your pond!

The first year I had the pond I added 6 goldfish right after completing it in May (hot season.) Within a couple of weeks I was netting several quarts of mosquito larvae per week and throwing them into the flower beds. As soon as I added a dozen mosquito fish, the larvae disappeared, never to return. I have hundreds or thousands of mosquito fish now.

I think the goldfish don't eat mosquito larvae when it's too warm. Gas solubility in water goes down as the temperature increases, so there is a lot more oxygen in cold water than warm.

Goldfish are best in cool water, but mostly stop feeding when it's under about 55 F / 13C. My pond is above 85 F / 30C during most of mosquito season. It's great for water lily flowering! The pond is 100% covered with lily pads.

I have hornwort in the pond, which produces a lot of oxygen. I can watch the bubbles being released and trickling up to the surface, like a trail of bubbles in champagne. But at those temperatures, the goldfish hang out at the bottom. I often don't see my koi for over 6 months.