i live in western washington. pond is about 200 gal (not a monster i know)but has a lot of flow from a good size water fall with a big pump so it wont freez over completly but will get cold. what are some fish i can look at that can take the winter here.
help with stocking new pond
- Thread starter shane.s
- Start date
What kind of fish are you interested in?
You will be limited to fish that can take the cold, so that limits your options to fish such as sunfish, bass, perch, smaller catfish, and trout. The pond size will also limit your number and size of fish, so the previously mentioned fish would work good for your pond.
Personally, I like smallmouth bass since they have a lot of personality and nice coloration/patterning plus they tend to be more cold hardy than largemouth bass. You could try stocking one or two bass with a small school of sunfish such as bluegill; a small catfish such as a bullhead could also be stocked.
What are the dimensions of the pond and average summer water temperatures (or at least average summer air temperatures) so that I could give you some more specific help.
You will be limited to fish that can take the cold, so that limits your options to fish such as sunfish, bass, perch, smaller catfish, and trout. The pond size will also limit your number and size of fish, so the previously mentioned fish would work good for your pond.
Personally, I like smallmouth bass since they have a lot of personality and nice coloration/patterning plus they tend to be more cold hardy than largemouth bass. You could try stocking one or two bass with a small school of sunfish such as bluegill; a small catfish such as a bullhead could also be stocked.
What are the dimensions of the pond and average summer water temperatures (or at least average summer air temperatures) so that I could give you some more specific help.
Its too small for a smallmouth bass, or any bass, also the trout is not going to work... Could you be ok with a large colony of panfish.
Hmm... good point about the trout; I was thinking more about the average adult size around where I live, not the potential to get huge that they have.
The bass could work if you had just one since a 120g tank is considered fine by some for a single bass, but you wouln't be able to get more than that.
However, the colony of panfish is your safest bet.
The bass could work if you had just one since a 120g tank is considered fine by some for a single bass, but you wouln't be able to get more than that.
However, the colony of panfish is your safest bet.
There is nothing wrong with keeping goldfish. These are better alternatives than a koi that would take over your 200g. If you opt to keep goldfish, comets, shubunkins and common goldfish are your best bets. Watonai and wakins also work quite well. The only difference is watonais and wakins are doubletails. How cold does it get there?