FISH FOR POND
- Thread starter abominus
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I think it is going to depend on how well fed the RTC is and how big the pond is, as to whether or not you can make big barbs work. I don't see the specs on the pond so some of these may be bad advice for your situation. I think a nice shoal of tinfoil barbs would probably be able to work given enough room. Golds will be even easier to see. I have seen people go the other way with really small fish like gold barbs or rosy barbs. The RTCs tend to ignore them and 100 or so make a nice school. Any of the dawkinsia barbs probably split the difference on these two strategies. I have always enjoyed albino channel cats as they stay active and being white are easier to see. For the pacu I would have done albinos. Adding a few to the shoal will help you spot all of them.
As for the black labeo sharks you won't confuse them with the other sharks. They look pretty distinct and don't have any red. I have seen them in ponds the problem is you don't see them in the pond unless you have a light-colored liner. I have seen some people do things like Mbuna which is an odd mix in your pond, but they can probably breed faster than they get eaten. Boulengerochromis microlepis is another African cichlid that could probably hold its own. They get to almost 3ft. You would be one of the only people keeping them at full size. Gold giant gouramis also come to mind as a big fish. If you have enough structure gold gouramis might work and breed faster than they get eaten. Most people don't see what a huge gold gourami looks like and it's a nice fish. Albino common plecos are interesting in a pond. Albino Megalechis cats are pretty cool. I am not sure if their armor will protect them from the RTC or not. It is like a massive albino cory adults are 6-7 inches. They make bubble nests and can be very prolific. Nice swordtails could also breed faster than the rate of consumption. If you did go the cichlid route, I would think Dovi could hold their own, but I don't think you will see them from above unless you get the red dovi.
Maybe not a good recommendation from a visibility standpoint, but in a monster pond I always wanted the big catlacarpio barbs.
Pics are not mine
As for the black labeo sharks you won't confuse them with the other sharks. They look pretty distinct and don't have any red. I have seen them in ponds the problem is you don't see them in the pond unless you have a light-colored liner. I have seen some people do things like Mbuna which is an odd mix in your pond, but they can probably breed faster than they get eaten. Boulengerochromis microlepis is another African cichlid that could probably hold its own. They get to almost 3ft. You would be one of the only people keeping them at full size. Gold giant gouramis also come to mind as a big fish. If you have enough structure gold gouramis might work and breed faster than they get eaten. Most people don't see what a huge gold gourami looks like and it's a nice fish. Albino common plecos are interesting in a pond. Albino Megalechis cats are pretty cool. I am not sure if their armor will protect them from the RTC or not. It is like a massive albino cory adults are 6-7 inches. They make bubble nests and can be very prolific. Nice swordtails could also breed faster than the rate of consumption. If you did go the cichlid route, I would think Dovi could hold their own, but I don't think you will see them from above unless you get the red dovi.
Maybe not a good recommendation from a visibility standpoint, but in a monster pond I always wanted the big catlacarpio barbs.
Pics are not mine
I can't help but question the whole temperaure-control aspect of this pond...or lack thereof. Insulating it will slow the rate at which it heats or cools, but insulation itself can't make the water warmer; an actual heat source is required to do that. Even a submersible pump and/or some types of lighting will produce some heat, although likely not enough to heat your water more than a degree or two.
There are two aspects to maintaining tank water temperature. The first is actually adding heat energy and the second is controlling the rate of heat loss. The better a job you do of the second part (i.e. insulation, covers, etc.) the less energy needs to be utilized to heat the water...but it still needs to be heated.
Your location is not subject to the same cold weather that many of us experience, but if your low temps are in the single-digit range this is a problem which will continue to reappear throughout the cold season, which is just now getting into its coldest part of the year. Trying to keep tropical fish in an unheated outdoor tank at temperatures which can drop 20 Celsius degrees below those they require is simply not practical; you may have success for a period of time, perhaps even an entire season in a mild year...but then the next one comes. Success for a week, or a month, or a year...still becomes failure when the next cold snap hits.
IMHO, you must either be careful to choose temperate-zone fish, or else heat your pond. The difficulty you may experience in sourcing an aquarium heater in your area is unfortunate, but that is immaterial to the fish. They...at least the ones you keep buying...require warmth.
There are two aspects to maintaining tank water temperature. The first is actually adding heat energy and the second is controlling the rate of heat loss. The better a job you do of the second part (i.e. insulation, covers, etc.) the less energy needs to be utilized to heat the water...but it still needs to be heated.
Your location is not subject to the same cold weather that many of us experience, but if your low temps are in the single-digit range this is a problem which will continue to reappear throughout the cold season, which is just now getting into its coldest part of the year. Trying to keep tropical fish in an unheated outdoor tank at temperatures which can drop 20 Celsius degrees below those they require is simply not practical; you may have success for a period of time, perhaps even an entire season in a mild year...but then the next one comes. Success for a week, or a month, or a year...still becomes failure when the next cold snap hits.
IMHO, you must either be careful to choose temperate-zone fish, or else heat your pond. The difficulty you may experience in sourcing an aquarium heater in your area is unfortunate, but that is immaterial to the fish. They...at least the ones you keep buying...require warmth.
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you are 100 percent correct. Here in ksa, we face cold only for three months, but you are correct, i must be prepared. so i think i will add a 1500 watt heater before adding any other fish. this heater along with the insulation, should hopefully keep the water warm enough.
BTW i don't plan on buying adult fish, i will buy small ones, grow them out in my aquarium and then add to the pond. until they grow, the winter shall have passed
my pond is a 1700 gallon one. its basically a kiddie pool with light colour liner. I have one regular pacu and two ID sharks, but they don't seem to grow(mostly because of poor genetics like victor said)
the pacu stays at one spot and isn't any fun. should i add more to make it school?
the RTC is a baby and i am still growing it out. the shopkeeper told me albino pacus, peacock bass, doviis and stuff like that won't be shipping any more. so below are the only choices. Note: all will be juneviles
Hornet cichlid
More RTC babies
More pacu babies(regular ones)
Arowana(however i am not confident that i would be able to take care of it due to its sensitivity)
Flagtails
Lemon finned barbs
Tinfoil barbs
Oscars
Red devil cichlid
However i am afraid the choices after the arowana might get eaten by the RTC once it gets big enough
But then next winter comes...
A 1500 watt heater will certainly help, but it won't really suffice. If you do some research, you will find formulae which allow you to calculate the amount of energy required to heat a given body of water, based upon the volume of water and the amount of heating required, i.e. the amount of difference between ambient temperatures and the desired temperature. The simplest of these don't take into account things like insulation, shape of the container, etc. but they provide a useful starting point.
I will say that in my basement, which drops down to a lowest mid-winter temp of about 50F, a 360-gallon tank with a 500-watt heater will not experience a temperature increase of even 10 Fahrenheit degrees. This is a plywood tank, lightly insulated on a couple of sides, covered at all times and not exposed to any wind movement (moving air robs heat energy very quickly). It also contains a total of three submersible pumps...2 in the tank, one in the sump...all of which generate some heat.
You have a volume of water that is almost 5 times greater, exposed to outdoor winds, subject to a low temp that is about 5 Fahrenheit degrees colder, and are attempting to heat it with only 3 times as much energy. Not even close to being enough; insulation will help, but I don't think you have any hope of success.
You need more heat or different fish. You have lost a catfish whose natural range straddles the equator; the literal definition of a tropical fish. Buying another one and raising it indoors for one winter season simply means that next fall you will have a big-ass tropical fish that needs heat but may be too large to bring indoors. You need to think long-term, not just one season ahead.
the problem is the temp here varies a lot. sometimes the lowest temp in the winter is 15 degree celsius while sometimes its 7. So if a 1500 watt heater won't be enough i will order a another one. BTW the temp right now gets 10 in night and 19 in day, and only by covering the pond, my pacu and two ID sharks have started to swim more and got back to eating, slowly,
hows this one? it does not have any glass encasement or protection like that and can melt the liner. so instead i will add it in a extreme heat proof container with holes and then add the container in it. buts its super cheap
No, the problem is that it gets down to the mid-40F range. That's the number that determines how much heater capacity you need; a thermostatically-controlled heater automatically turns off when temps rise above the set point, and then turns back on when they drop below.
Of course your fish become gradually more active as temperatures gradually grow warmer. That's actually not a good thing; a fish that barely eats because it is experiencing a temperature that is near the bottom of its acceptable range will have its metabolism slow back down if temperatures drop again...as they certainly will at some point as the winter progresses. So it stops eating again and its minimal metabolism will not digest the food in its stomach, which will simply decay. Dead fish.
I just saw your latest post, with a grocery list of warmwater fish you are considering, so I will bow out now. Good luck.
Edited: Now I just saw your newest post; you can't be serious. That is a handheld heater designed for kitchen use, to boil water for tea!
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