Native British pond fish

[ian_g]

What native fish can be found in British ponds?

Many thanks,
Ian

[Dorts]

My list of fish that would be naturally native to an average size pond, say up to 2 acres, would be:
Common Carp
Crucian Carp
Pike
Perch
Roach
Rudd
Tench
Stickleback (3 & 10 spined)
Common Eel
I can think of no others, other than those that may have been introduced.
Dorts.

[ian_g]

That's brilliant, Dorts, thank you.

Strangely enough, I've started to write a series of short stories aimed predominantly at the childish adult market, lol.

The stories revolve around a pond, with several main characters and the storylines are actually interactive so I need to know as much about ponds and pond life as I can!

[Dorts]

Ian
There are a couple of, now rather old books on pond life you may like to seek out.
Pond & Stream Life, & The Observers book of Pond Life.
Both by John Clegg, who was curator of Haslemere Museum in Surrey for many years.
He was a lovely man, particularly keen on introducing the young to this branch of natural history, which is reflected in his work.
Dorts.

[Dogghound]

It depends how native you mean. Carp are not native to the British Isles. Are you planning on introducing fish into a pond or just stories?

[Jason Claxton]

What about the Bleak,that is another one isn't it?.

[Dogghound]

And Dace, Minnow, Chub, Barbel, Gudgeon, Common Bream, Silver Bream, Stone loach and Ruffe. Could have bullhead too but these are mainly found in streams.

[diggleken]

interesting question - some of the above species are largely river fish though, but are often introduced by anglers to ponds/lakes.
In addition to Dorts list I would say Bream and of course the lowly but lovely Gudgeon and Ruffe should be added - often found in ponds.
There is much crossover with still/moving water, so its not that simple to reply.
Catfish, Zander, not natives, trout and so on are all in there too................!
Cheers
Ken

[ian_g]

Just stories, with a good element of authenticity.

The market I'm aiming at is probably from 10 upwards, depending on how intellectual they are and how adult their humour is. When I say adult, there are no swear words or smuttiness.

I've almost finished my third story now and will hopefully be contacting some reputable publishers to see what they think

[JAYS]

Likely to be found in small ponds:
Crucian Carp
Pike
Perch
Roach
Rudd
Tench
3 spined Stickleback
Common Eel
Ruffe occasionally found but in my experience it prefers rivers.
Bronze (or common) Bream
Gudgeon
10 spined stickleback : very rare
Silver bream : very rare

Common/Mirror Carp : often found, although not native

Dace,bleak, barbel, grayling, chub, stone loach , bullhead, minnow, brown trout: All these are really river fish. Brown trout often found also in large lakes and lochs.
Of course you will find most of these species in ponds where they have been stocked, usually by anglers.
Other commonly introduced species: orfe, wels catfish, zander, rainbow trout.