Sticklebacks

[Edd]

If i indroduced sticklebacks to my 4 by 5 feet pond would it spoil the natural ecosystem because i no that if you introduce goldfish it ruins the natural state of the pond and it doesnt develop, but sticklebacks are small and are also native to britain so will they spoil the ecosystem, also will i need a pump and if i do decide to get some how can i get them to introduce ,
please help thanks,
Edd

[aeshna5]

Sticklebacks will obviously eat some of the invertebrates in your pond, but you can still have a varied ecosystem with them.

You shouldn't need a pump if you have a well balanced pond with plenty of pondweed- ideally anative species.

[motnworb]

They will also eat tadpoles of newts, frogs and toads, they will especially impact on newts.

I do a fair bit of ecology survey work and we generally find that if any fish (even small natives like sticklebacks) are present in a pond then newts are either totally absent or in very small non-breeding numbers.

If you've built your pond with wildlife in mind then its best to leave fish out of it. They wouldn't get there naturally.