Need help with outdoor pond

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Matt724;4964263; said:
oh... hey. yeah that's me... sorry/ thanks for calling me an expert :) I've been waiting for that for a long time here on MFK.

well, here's my flowerpot pond so you can check it out and see if it's real: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=400997

check it out yea?
Click to expand...

You have mechanical filtration on it- That is pretty much a fish tank..

The OP did not add mechanical filtration.

And as flowerpot, I thought it was something of a terra cotta pot.
 
The parrot's feather has been grown pretty well. I trimmed a bunch of it. The Water Hyacinth's have gotten a little yellow but still alive. It's been cold out and with the rain they have not taken off yet. I think once April and May come around things are gonna start growing pretty good. I threw in some aquarium liquid fertilizer too. Everything is pretty good really. There is a little algae on the side that rubs off really easy. I got a few freshwater clams I may throw in since they eat the green water (algae). I don't have it yet but I hear that is really the only algae I should be concerned with cause it can suffocate the fish. So I may throw in some clams as a preventive. I only have 3 though and do not know the species.


Fish are gonna be added soon. I may do a little rearrangement and try to add more anacharis and get rid of like half of the parrots feather. Cause I hear parrots feather steals oxygen rather than give oxygen like anacharis. I also may add a DIY filter. I have everything basically to build it. My only concern is it would generate too much water movement, and then that would work against me since these fish and insects prefer still water. The pump I am thinking about using is rated at 85 GPH so we will see. Once I get the fish I will take some pics. Then I will update it again after a few weeks.
 
Here's a mini update-

I added a flagfish to the pond. Water is still pretty clear in the pond. There is 2 types of algae; one is this algae that grows on the walls and rubs off easy ad the other is a squishy algae. The algae on the walls seems to be disappearing slowly. I pulled out some of the squishy algae, it's nothing major but since the flagfish was not eating it I took it out. Plants are growing well. I am not using any filtration just yet either. I cut about half the parrot's feather down to only a few inches high, the Iris is growing a little even sent off 2 tiny runners inside the pot. I pulled them out and planted one next to the pond.

The Water Hyacinth's are getting greener leaves and new leaves are coming out. The Anacharis is the only thing not doing too well. I barely see any new growth. Maybe the Parrot's feather is out competing it. Here is a few pics, I even included a pic of the flagfish. I will do a much better update within 2 weeks. That is when I expect the sunfish to be in the pond. I also will probably be making a video and will post that as well.

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Got the fish today; there is 2 males and 5 females. I only ordered 4 females and they gave me an extra. I took a few crappy pics, these were the bestI could get. I also trimmed plants on the other side of the pond, as you can see the side I cut earlier has just about grown back. I will get a video up soon. If it is sunny tomorrow I will make a video.


Fish are tiny, all 1/2- 3/4 inches. One of the females is a little under 1/2. I acclimated them for close to 40 mins. The guy told me his PH was 7.4 so I wasn't taking any chances. Every 5 mins I added a little water to their bags to adjust them to my PH. I tested the water yesterday and ammonia and nitrate were at 0. When I released the fish they immediately started hiding under the water hyacinths and in the parrots feather. I hope when I make a video they can be seen.


Plants are growing great. I may take the Iris out and replace it. I gave some of the parrots feather to some other guy for their pond. I am gonna give him some water hyacinths too. I cut them up and have about 9 total now. I think I may need to add some fertilizers soon though. I can see a little yellowing which means nutrient deficiency. Anyway, here are the pics. Top pic is females, bottle 2 are the males. (Crappy, I know)

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Nice going man glad its working out for u! You always don't need filters Thailand breeders just throw the fish in the pond with a couple of pond plants and breed quality Aro's... Sometimes tho when UNDERstocked the plants Don't get enough food and start to die id like to see what happened if your case. Less stalk more plants but you also add fertilizer in your case
 
It's nothing serious. I got a bottle of seachem potassium I might use. The parrots feather is pretty much like a weed, even the water hyacinth. So they really suck out nutrients. But it's just a tiny bit of yellowing in some of the leaves. So the deficiency isn't too bad. Also, adding a filter is still an option. I am just waiting to see. I mean if water parameters are good and the water is still clear enough where I can see things I won't use it. I do waterchanges on this pond too. These fish live in these type of conditions. Still/stagnant/low oxygen water.
 
I also have some snails in the pond. Must of came in on the plants. They are either trapdoor or typical pond snails. Can't tell, have not really examined them. I was tkaing some of them out just so they don't get crazy with breeding. But I was reading how small snails are part of these fishes diet, so I am leaving them in. I also bought some fairy, seed, and clam shrimp eggs. I have baby brine shrimp eggs too. I will be hatching these to feed to the fish periodically, and especially if they have babies.
 
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