Page 2 | do you have a pond in your garden

HoraceCope · 2026-08-18T05:09:07+00:00

i notice a couple of ponds around where i live are completely empty understandably given the drought. what happened to the fish or dont people necessarily have fish in their ponds

justintimeforxmas · 18/08/2026 22:29

We have a pond and I’ve been topping it up using the hose. Not loads but enough to keep everything alive. It’s a wildlife pond and is full of newts etc. However definitely had less dragonflies this year.
Lot of animals use it to have a drink including all the local cats (who obviously have freshwater in their houses but prefer to drink from the pond), our chickens and lots of wildbirds. I’m sure during the night , other wildlife drops by too so I think it’s quite important to keep it at a healthy level.

miaCara · 18/08/2026 22:34

We were delighted to find that our tiny pond has dried up and we can finally clean it all out . Its been a nasty looking place for some time and even the frogs didnt spawn in there any more.

We used to have some fish in there but a heron found it and ate them all. 😏

Once the silt has been cleared out we will let it fill up with rainwater and then see how it goes.

ThatBliddyWoman · 19/08/2026 10:37

bitontheobtuse · 18/08/2026 16:31

When I was a kid, my dad knew somebody with a large house and he dug a massive pond in his garden. He didn't stock it with anything. Within a couple of years it was full of life - all sorts of pond weed, amphibians etc, plus fish, and a fisherman told him that fish eggs had been unwittingly carried into the pond by waterfowl who'd arrived with the eggs stuck to their legs and undercarriages.

Nature finds a way.😍

I have pond skaters and backswimmers in mine, no idea how they got there. At first all I had was mozzies, which I didn't get rid of as I know dragonflies eat them and I love dragonflies! I have lacewing fly eggs on some of my flowers too, I know they like being near ponds.

Plenty of merit to a pond without fish.

ThatBliddyWoman · 19/08/2026 10:39

TheeNotoriousPIG · 18/08/2026 17:02

I don't have a pond in my garden. If I did, I suspect that DDog would refuse to come indoors ever again 😂She is quite the water baby! Big puddle? No problem for the Splash Queen!

Also, my visiting heron would probably go fishing in it.

The one at work has hardly any water in it. It's a wildlife pond.

My dog LOVES puddles, streams etc but has absolutely no interest in my pond!

vicryl4 · 19/08/2026 10:54

Grumpynan -the photo of your pond looks lovely. I have added a couple of solar powered aerators along with the existing electric one. It has helped my small pond with oxygenation.

squashyhat · 19/08/2026 10:56

justintimeforxmas · 18/08/2026 22:29

We have a pond and I’ve been topping it up using the hose. Not loads but enough to keep everything alive. It’s a wildlife pond and is full of newts etc. However definitely had less dragonflies this year.
Lot of animals use it to have a drink including all the local cats (who obviously have freshwater in their houses but prefer to drink from the pond), our chickens and lots of wildbirds. I’m sure during the night , other wildlife drops by too so I think it’s quite important to keep it at a healthy level.

Same here. Ours has been lifesaver for insects in the drought - bees (both bumble and honey), wasps and hornets all using it as a water source, plus the usual dragonflies and damselflies as well as the water dwellers, frogs, newts and birds. I'm sticking to the hosepipe ban apart from topping it up occasionally and very pleased it's raining today.

Thegreatwhitestillalive · 19/08/2026 11:03

We are not in drought area but I would still be topping mine up. We have tiny one with attached bird bath and it's fun to watch it. Get quite a few creatures in considering we are inside of an estate. No fish, it's just watering hole/public bath/frog housing. We are looking to make it bit bigger next season

mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork · 19/08/2026 11:15

Manzana · 18/08/2026 06:24

I have a small pond with two fish, I leave tap water in a couple of buckets for a few days then put into the pond, and repeat. The water level is not up to the top but is reasonable, if i did nothing there would be no water. The chlorine in tap water evaporates after a few days, hence the buckets.

Ditto (but i think I have 3 fish on my small pond, 1 big yellow toad and usuallly some newts). Mine needs a bucket of water every other day as we have had high temps (London). We are allowed to do this if it has occupants even though we have a hosepipe ban. If not my fish and other animals would definitely have died weeks ago.