Fish for my cold water pond? (SW ONT, Canada)

[simko]

Hi Everyone
SO my pond has sat since march cycling with some plants in it and some bullfrogs have moved in.. It is about 1100 gallons and at its deepest point it is 5' deep but it is 1' at the shallowest point. The top 2-3" of water freeze in the winter and i use a trough heater to melt some for gas exchange, usually creates an 8" circle of water.

Anyways, i was wondering if i could get some suggestions for stocking... ideally i would want something that is plant and frog friendly and can be fed pellets, insects etc. I either want one or two "wet pets" that I can interact with, or perhaps smaller fish that i can get as a shoaling species?

any suggestions here?

 

[fishguy1978]

White cloud minnows because they eat mosquitoes and can winter over. I buy the feeder WC and grow them out before tossing in the pond.

 

[simko]

White cloud minnows because they eat mosquitoes and can winter over. I buy the feeder WC and grow them out before tossing in the pond.

FG
Thanks for the advice! White clouds seem like a great option.... retailers nearby are sold out, ... do thety go under a different name when sold as feeders?

 

[fishguy1978]

FG
Thanks for the advice! White clouds seem like a great option.... retailers nearby are sold out, ... do thety go under a different name when sold as feeders?

No, same name. You could do feeder guppies. I don't know that they would winter over but would be a good option for mosquitoes control

 

[jjohnwm]

White Clouds are cool water fish, but would they actually survive winter outdoors? Might want to check further into that.

The thing about White Clouds, guppies and most other small fish is that they are close to invisible in a pond, viewed from above. I'd suggest getting some Rosy Reds, a colour variant of Fathead Minnow. Their pinkish-orange colouration makes them very attractive and visible from above, they won't bother your plants, will eat mosquito larvae, will definitely survive your winters, don't get too big (maybe 3 inches) and best of all, they breed like mice without any help from you. When you get too many...that's when, not if...you can either use them as feeders yourself or maybe trade them in to a local shop.

Regarding Bullfrogs: they are pretty territorial, to the point where I doubt you would have more than one in a small pond like this. Yours are more likely to be Green Frogs (smaller but similar appearance), or some other species. We introduced a Bullfrog to a backyard pond we had in Ontario years ago; by the end of the summer, it had eaten all of its competition (i.e. all other frogs, regardless of species) and had been observed capturing and eating at least a couple Goldfinches, a Hummingbird and a smallish (20 inches or so) Garter Snake. These are very serious frogs; ours was named Godzilla.

 

[ZIPLOCKEDBRZ]

Brown or Brook trout

 

[jjohnwm]

I grew up in SW Ontario; I guarantee you that unless the OP is taking some extreme measures to prevent overheating and to add oxygen, his pond will be far too warm for trout throughout much of the summer, especially for Brookies.

 

[fishguy1978]

My white clouds winter over.

 

[simko]

White Clouds are cool water fish, but would they actually survive winter outdoors? Might want to check further into that.

The thing about White Clouds, guppies and most other small fish is that they are close to invisible in a pond, viewed from above. I'd suggest getting some Rosy Reds, a colour variant of Fathead Minnow. Their pinkish-orange colouration makes them very attractive and visible from above, they won't bother your plants, will eat mosquito larvae, will definitely survive your winters, don't get too big (maybe 3 inches) and best of all, they breed like mice without any help from you. When you get too many...that's when, not if...you can either use them as feeders yourself or maybe trade them in to a local shop.

Regarding Bullfrogs: they are pretty territorial, to the point where I doubt you would have more than one in a small pond like this. Yours are more likely to be Green Frogs (smaller but similar appearance), or some other species. We introduced a Bullfrog to a backyard pond we had in Ontario years ago; by the end of the summer, it had eaten all of its competition (i.e. all other frogs, regardless of species) and had been observed capturing and eating at least a couple Goldfinches, a Hummingbird and a smallish (20 inches or so) Garter Snake. These are very serious frogs; ours was named Godzilla.

I misspoke, and I am sure you are right, likely two Green Frogs, dew worms are the largest things I have seen them eat.
I will look into fathead minnows!

 

[simko]

Brown or Brook trout

Probably not coldenough, and I don't think i would be able to provide them with enough flow