Very Large Pond Stocking

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badisbadis101

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 16, 2008
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Houston
I am going to dig a roughly 50' x 75' pond this summer. The depth will probably be about 5 feet at the deepest. It will not have a liner, but i live in Houston, texas, and the soil here is clay. I plan on stocking it with a few koi (like 5), some gambusia, some sunfish, a few largemouth bass, a couple texas cichlids, and probably 3 or 5 chinese high fin sharks. I have heard some people say that you should not keep koi with native fish, and others saying that you should not keep cichlids with koi. Is this true? Also, i would like to keep the water relatively clear, so that i can at least see the fish in the shallows (i plant on having the edges of the pond about 2 feet deep for 5 or 10 feet out, and then sloping it down to about 5 feet in the middle). Also, if i stock it relatively lightly, do i need a filter or anything? Or will aquatic vegetation be enough? I am worried that a filter would stir up the bottom, making the pond murky. Any suggestions/advise/answers?

Thanks in advance for your help!:D
 
Such a big pond and you are stocking it this lightly? You can put more fish in it!

Also no catfish? You should put some catfish in there!

What is the weather in Houston like during the winter? How will you heat this in the winter or maybe you won't heat it?

You could have lots of plants to filter your pond but what about in the winter time when the plants die? Also do you plan on any water changes or top off for evaporation?
 
The idea is for it to be a low maintenance, kind of naturalistic pond. The reason for not having catfish is that the large ones tend to muck up the pond, at least from what i have heard. As for putting more fish - i probably will over time - and ideally the fish will breed.

There is going to be no heating, as in my little 1,000 gallon pond, the water NEVER drops below 45F in the winter, and i am keeping only cool water fish in the pond. If i was gonna heat it, i would have put in arowanas, arapaimas, pacu, etc :D Besides, i could never afford to heat it.

Finally, in houston, most plants do not die in the winter (some do, but most do not). That is also the reason for lower stocking. Water changes will come in the form of rain. It rains frequently enough here (at least once a month, sometimes 2 or three times a week).

Also, if there are any other coldwater species of more exotic fish, tell me, as i would like to include them. :D
 
but dude you could go into a Amazonian Type pond with monsters form the amazon only....you could have lots of Arapaima Gigas in your pond like more than 10+ also you want to have those Black and Red Bellied Pacus in their too =] I know it may seem like its a big idea and the filtration wont go with low maintenace but you know its going to be the best pond in your area!!! lol well its your choice of fish and let us know what else your planning =]
 
i would go with amazonian IF i could heat it, which i cannot. So it will have to be coolwater, and i can only stock it with fish that can tolerate water down to about 50F. So that rules out most amazonian fish :(
 
another question - how many high fin sharks should i have? I was thinking either 3 or 5, as they are pretty expensive. Would that be okay? Also, how big should i grow them out before introducing them?
 
if you fill the pond with native plants it should be fine might want a little mechanical filtration like a small pond filled with gravel ,have the water flow up through that then plant with reads for a little extra bio and you should be good .:headbang2
 
If the bass are not big enough to eat the Koi, you will not need to concern yourself with the kinds of fish , as the koi will keep a mud bottom churned-up so you can't see any fish. At least on a very similar pond I saw in Houston.
 
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