Learnt a lesson

[Tringa]

Over the months I have been on WAB I have seen quite a few folks saying that fish should be kept out of wildlife ponds. Got to be honest and say I thought they were going over the top.

We have a pond which is about 8 feet by 4. It has lots of water plants and about 9ish golfish. The pond has frogs, newts, the odd toad, pond skaters, and is visited by a damselflies.

I thought this is doing well; what is the problem with fish in a wildlife pond?

In May this year, because the water in our pond looked like pea soup, we emptied it.

We moved the fish to a plastic dustbin and removed about ten newts and close to 40 frogs(it was fun to prevent them trying to get back in).

We filled the cleaned pond with tap water, put the plants back in and bought a few more and then left it alone apart from using the pump to move the water around for a few hours a day.

The end result after a couple of months is wonderful.

We have newts in abudance, lots of frogs, pond skateters by the handful, lots of visiting insects. The pond has loads blanket weed but the newts seem to like it and the water is much clearer than it was before.

So I have now learnt a lesson. If you want a wildlife pond, keep the fish out, but keep your fish somewhere else because they are really nice.

Dave

[Pogo]

I have both a 10' by 5' mixed pond and a 4' by 3' wildlife pond, I have to say I enjoy them both equally, I'm not altogether sure what "lessons" there are to be learned.

[AshLee]

I do understand where you are coming from Dave. For me, there is something very special about a small pond that has never had fish. The whole food chain becomes more balanced, with a wider variety of species doing all manner of interesting things in (what eventually becomes) crystal clear water.

I love to watch fish too, but I have a relative with a carp pond, and a number of local village ponds for doing just that. That's not for me and my pond. I'd miss my wilderness too much.