pond fish

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by markbugman

A big thanks to all on whats turned into an interesting discussion.
My conclusion after some more research is to have a wildlife pond with NO fish and then construct yet another pond which will have sticklebacks in it. It will be interesting to see how both ponds develop over the coming years.I have managed to source some sticklebacks from a friends pond.I have also decided to give the minnows a miss and make do with whats in my fish pond.
Regards
Mark

Sounds like a fine plan! I think stickleback work quite well in a tank too (so long as you can keep it cool) if you want to watch the courtship/ breeding activity etc too.

They also may be able to hold their own in your existing fish pond with the other fish helping to control their numbers.

[Billabong Karen]

What a fascinating discussion! Very helpful too - I was considering sticklebacks, but after your wise words have decided to leave well alone for now. Thank you everyone for your contributions - really very useful for new pond owners.

[King Edward]

Originally Posted by markbugman

My conclusion after some more research is to have a wildlife pond with NO fish and then construct yet another pond which will have sticklebacks in it.

One further thought - be careful if you transfer plants etc. from the fish pond(s) into the non-fish one, as it's easy to inadvertently transfer small fish fry or eggs at the same time. Especially with Sticklebacks, which are small enough that you might not notice their presence for a while.

I moved (at least) two small Goldfish this way into my new wildlife pond, and haven't yet been able to fish them out (shouldn't be too long before I get them).