It’s finally happening, but it’s actually happening

[The Masked Shadow]

Darters would be fun, but not sure about the habitat. Don’t they need fast, running water and lots of hides? Sunfish are aggressive from what I’ve heard.

I have small fish ideas like a shoal of Red Shiners, or a couple Dojo Loaches, but maybe a group of fish that could get a good size. Something uncommon in the hobby, resilient to cold water, and reaches 1+ feet.

The dimensions at the moment are roughly an 11’x7’ and 3.5-4’ deep, which is around 2k gallons.

kendragon thebiggerthebetter

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Maybe a group of royal clown loach? They do well in similar temperatures to koi.
Only caveat is that they prefer fast flowing water. So there will have to be powerheads in parts of the pond to give them that (alongside calm spots to rest ofc).

 

[celebrist]

Chinese high fin?

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Chinese high fin?

I second this. Tench, Rudd, and Orfe might also work well, although they might be a bit difficult to find.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Expect upwards of 2-2.5k gallons.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

As of now there will be light flow from a water fall. I’ve glanced at a couple fish that I think would be cool to have, though seem a little far fetched.

-European Perch
-White Sucker
-Yellow Perch

Don’t Chinese High-fin Sharks get massive? Is there another species like them that get smaller? I like the ideas Fallen_Leaves16 , thanks!

 

[neko1]

sunfish are also beautiful. I used to have a black bullhead catfish. they stay quite small (30cm )and will do well in cold temperatures

 

[The Masked Shadow]

A concern about catfish is the spines in the fins. They could puncture the pond liner, and I don’t want to take that risk. As for sunfish, are they aggressive?

 

[Friller2009]

A concern about catfish is the spines in the fins. They could puncture the pond liner, and I don’t want to take that risk. As for sunfish, are they aggressive?

Lay a tarp over the pond liner as protection for it, The tarp itself isn't waterproof but it'll help protect the liner. If you have a substrate as well, you wouldn't reallly need to worry about them puncturing it, and the tarp would protect the sides

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Lay a tarp over the pond liner as protection for it, The tarp itself isn't waterproof but it'll help protect the liner. If you have a substrate as well, you wouldn't reallly need to worry about them puncturing it, and the tarp would protect the sides

Not sure how that would work. I looked at suckers as an alternative to catfish, not plecos, but fish like White Suckers or Bridgemouth Suckers. Does anyone know anything about them?