Fish Pond Plants

[GotCrabs]

Just wondering what plants I can put in a fish pond with just gold fish in there, had a water lilly in there but the gold fish ate it though, haha, mainly looking at water surface plants, floaters.

 

Also, wondering if I put something like hairgrass still in it's pod/pot would they be OK or would the gold fish eat that as well.

[kizshrimp]

Goldfish will eat everything! You can use emergents like water iris or pickerel rush. True lotus Nelumbo nucifera might work and if there's varieties that grow here in southern Victoria then they'll grow where you are. 

As for proper submerged aquatics you simply need enough so the daily growth rate exceeds the goldfish populations daily feed rate. That's a lot of submerged aquatics! 

[GotCrabs]

Goldfish will eat everything! You can use emergents like water iris or pickerel rush. True lotus Nelumbo nucifera might work and if there's varieties that grow here in southern Victoria then they'll grow where you are. 

As for proper submerged aquatics you simply need enough so the daily growth rate exceeds the goldfish populations daily feed rate. That's a lot of submerged aquatics! 

 

Just not real keen on having soil potted plants in there, plus it's hard to get aquatic plants where I am for a pond.

 

I put frog bit in and they munch it with in a couple days.

[GotCrabs]

I honestly don't know what to put in the pond, it's not filtered either, no pumps or filter in there, just rainwater and have some clay caves in there wrapped in mosses.

[Callan]

You do have quite a few choices.  Elodea is a good pond plant and it has dual benefits in that it creates shelter, the fish will eat it, it self roots and I personally like the look of it. It will grow without potting and the simple trick to sink it is to put some rubber bands around the bottom and slip a pebble under the rubber band to sink it. Foxtail is another good under story plant and loves shade and has a softer look to the foliage. Milfoil comes in about 4 different varieties and is a very good oxygenating plant and likes to be in shallower water. Valesenaria comes in a few varieties as well and goes to the bottom of the pond. Val, Elodea and milfoil are all good oxygenating plants.

For the surface there are also a number of plants you can use such as Hysop, rotola and many others.  These plants like to be a water level or just below water lever. You can either buy float rings that the pots slip into and the plants float around the pond and stop the fish eating the main plant. I personally use one of these for my hysop and it has now grown to about a third of the size of my pond.

You could make your own using polystyrene because once the plant grows you wont see the ring anyway.

For height out of the pond you could use rushes which vary from 400mm - 2.5metres tall. You could also use lizard tongue or pickerell rush (excellent filtration plant)

I also run Mashwort which has a similar leaf to water lilies but the advantage it has is that it does not become dormant so therefore you still get surface coverage.

I also use duckweed because it has multi functions. It acts as a sunblock, absorbs nitrates (Helps prevent algea and green water issues) and the fish love to eat it.  The disadvantage it can take over but simply net it off and use it as compost. It is a great fertilser.

I have a few of these plants in my pond and I run all my ponds biologically. My water is crystal clear.

The only disadvantage running a pond biologically is that you do loose a fair bit of visibility because you need to aim up to 70% plus coverage of the water surface for it to work effectively.

Not sure what state you are in but I could and would be happy to give you some cuttings.(if interstate you cover the postage) Otherwise let me know and I can put you onto a person who does grow these plants and does send interstate.  Hope this helps and feel free to pm me if I can help you out.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Callan

[GotCrabs]

Well got a package from Callan during the week of some pond plants and what a package it was, I got Pickerel Rush, Marshwort, Hornwort, Elodea, Water Hyssop, Milfoil, Val, really liking the Elodea, Pickerel Rush, Marshwort and Val, I also put some Ambulia in there as well which I already had and so far all is going well, Goldfish seem to be happy with something new in there, gives them plenty to suss out and explore, they also don't seem to be coming to the surface much if at all from what I've seen to gulp some air, might sound odd but the water has cleared quite a bit as well.

 

So in other words I am more than impressed with what Callan sent me and am extremely grateful as well, not only has he provided me with a load of aquatic plants but also aquatic knowledge, Callan has helped me out quite a lot in the past week or so, again I'm very grateful, also helped with how to pot each plant, what to use, at what level to plant them at, I'm really looking forward to watching this progress in time, going to look great.

 

I've got 2 Comets, 2 Black Moores and 2 Shubunkin in there at the moment, all loving the new home, also ordered 10 White Cloud Minnows earlier as well which will add some life to it and will take care of the mozzies.

 

Cheers Callan!

[Callan]

No problem GC glad to have been able to help you out. Good luck with it all and I would say that all the oxygenating plants you have added is what has helped things progress so quickly. With all you have added I have no doubt you will have a beautiful, biologically filtered pond in no time and some very happy inhabitats.

[GotCrabs]

Cheers Mate, appreciate it all!