Help planning pond plants

[Cathpot]

Brand new pond with fish. Pond is in a wall, so it’s long and thin and just under a metre deep. DH made a few random purchases so there is a waterlilly in there - but it’s very fragile- lost 4 big leaves in transport - it being left along now but I don’t know if it will survive. He also bought some floating individual plants , but two days later nearly all are gone- not sure what’s had them! I’d like a variety of different plants - above and beneath the water- any advice welcome

How big is the pond?

By 'fish' I assume you mean goldfish which grow enormous if properly looked after.

A healthy mature goldfish should be 30cm long minimum.
The fancy variety should grow to at least large football sized.

You'll struggle to keep plants in a goldfish pond.
Goldfish are herbivores and will eat pretty much anything you plant, the only thing they don't tend to like too much is Elodia but I am fairly sure that Elodia is an invasive foreign species and your not meant to use it

There are two types of plants, aquatic which live in the water and randomly float and marginals which are planted in baskets and sit at various levels on the edge. This does not mean that they don’t eventually wander across the pond.
When you say the pond is in a wall, how wide and long is it and have you created shelves at the edge?
Some water plants are thugs, for example yellow flag irises will soon overrun a small pond, as will water buttercups.
There are several books on keeping and maintaining a pond, especially if you are keeping ornamental fish, as the Ph of the water has to be balanced otherwise you will get harmful algae growing.
My two ponds are established wildlife ponds, one deep with some fish, which I hardly see and a shallower one with no fish. However, both need to be gently and carefully maintained.

Hi, thanks for replies. Attached is pond photo- landscaping still to be finished. It’s all one depth so we will need to hang marginal type plants from hooks- or put on bricks .The pump has an algae filter on it and a bubble maker and is at the far end from the bit with the water feature. DH went slightly rogue and bought fish solo and before I’d sorted the plants out , fish man told him the species he chose would be fine-and stay smallish, but yes I am wondering about eventual sizes. I was vaguely planning plants that come out of the water at the ends and some floating ones in between.

I think the fish man is most likely a liar...

That pond is lovely and long, but it's not wide enough and only barely deep enough for the fish species commonly sold as pond fish.

The fish usually sold for ponds; Koi, Goldfish, Orfe, bottom dweller I can't remember the name of will all grow too big for that pond.

That pond to me only looks suitable for something like native sticklebacks.
I would be very surprised if that is what your DH has bought..

I thought fish grew to the size suitable for their environment. I know people who had fairground goldfish who lived for years in their bowls. Our goldfish need and a lot survived so we have about 20 fish in a smallish pond but I have noticed the babies who are now 3 years old are not growing that quickly. We have lilies and water mint and some lovely grass/reed type plants, one is curly . We have irises but as previously mentioned you have to control the spread. You need some oxygenating pond weeds and then maybe just a few Lillie's. Get some pond snails to keep it clean and see what happens. I love my pond and spend a lot of time sat beside it

Photos

I thought fish grew to the size suitable for their environment. I know people who had fairground goldfish who lived for years in their bowls*

Certain fish species can temporarily pause outer growth so they stay smaller but the stunting is intended as a short term survival tactic and very bad for their health.

Stunted fish usually die very young, Goldfish for example have a lifespan of around 40 years, Koi over 100!

Yet many people think goldfish only live 5 years or so because that's how long every (stunted) goldfish of theirs has lasted in a bowl.

The stunting can cause the internal organs to grow too big amongst other problems.

You might need also to consider putting some stones in, up to the edge so that any wildlife that get in can also get out.

Right. Will need to rethink a few things by the sounds of it. We can put a shelf in at either end reasonably easily for wildlife. Fish are tiny right now but might need a new home in the future. We don’t have to have fish in there long term. DH is away but when he is back I’ll research the species and see what we are dealing with . vbdfamily, that looks lovely, and I do like sitting next to the sound of water already even if ours is a sort of outside tank. When the tiling is done and the rockery planted it will soften it.

Fish are tiny right now but might need a new home in the future

Do you have a photo of the fish?
I might be able to identify them for you?

I reckon your DH has got a bit ahead of himself getting the fish before some plants are established, the water has settled down and you can check whether it gets warm or not. DHs do sometimes 'go rogue' with good intentions! Some plants which shade the surface will almost certainly be helpful. That can be marginal types but also perhaps (if the one he got doesn't recover) a mini water lily - it looks a bit small for a full sized one to me and maybe something like water crowsfoot. I don't know how fish-resistant they are though.

Agree about a mini waterlily! Normal ones can get HUGE! Mine takes over a third of the pond and will get bigger.

You can get "floating" plant baskets which sit on the top of the water and will float about the pond. (you can also "anchor" them to the bottom of the pond by a weight so they stay in one place) You can also get plants pockets and baskets that you can hang over the side which will save their roots being dined upon. Some places also do gravel effect pond liner strips which you could drape into the pond (all artistic like) to help pond critters in and out of the pond or get marginal draping plants that go into the water.

Best bet is to google pond suppliers for ideas and plants , you can get some gorgeous plants like reeds and other flowering plants which not only look lovely but, if you are lucky enough to get dragon and damsonflies visit your pond, means in a couple of years the nymphs will climb out and onto those to hatch out.

Are you planning to decorate round the pond with rocks? If so these will provide great hidey holes for toads and frogs.

Definitely need some snails, I have 2 large species, one ramshorn and one large pond snail which both grow huge and provide their own entertainment for you. Beware you don't need many to start with as they breed like underwater rabbits.

I currently have 3 normal fish (1 white goldfish, 1 white fantail and 1 shubumkin) plus minnows and sticklebacks (both the minnows and sticklebacks have been bonking like mad over the last 4 years so many little babies which are lovely to watch) The minnows are fascinating to watch and some of the breeding adults are huge buggers!

I was always under the impression fish only grew to the size of their environment but in our old pond (which is the same size as my current one and isn't huge) ) we started off with about 5 normal goldfish and ended up with a pond full and none were small. Some we had for about 10 years and grew HUGE (like big fatty happy fish)

1 metre deep should be ok for normal pond fish to survive the winter but if he has gone bonkers and got koi you are screwed!

You are complete right Errol, well meant but now makes things more complicated . I might have a chance to go to the garden centre today and see what they have. Water has been in and circulating a couple of weeks and seems to stay cool as surface area is relatively small, but I’ve put a couple of paving slabs across ends for shade for now. Fish are currently hiding but there are 3 types and two look suspiciously goldfish-y, a white and red one and an orange one. The other one is very dark possibly with a stripe.

badcat that’s useful about the snails- I basically need to do lots more research and have ended up rushed into it. Not helped by the fact he’s home Monday and I leave for a school camping trip Tuesday. I feel confident the fish are ok for now and it will get sorted but I clearly don’t know enough at the moment!

@Cathpot I got all my fish, plants and snails online, most do next day delivery and were in excellent health and all survived. Waterlilies are hardy little buggers so yours should be ok. Tie his hands together so he can't buy anything whilst your away! :)

Also don't freak out too much, the fish will be ok! Take your time in picking and choosing things for your pond, that's half the fun of it.

Thanks badcat ! I’ll look into online shops

Fish are currently hiding but there are 3 types and two look suspiciously goldfish-y, a white and red one and an orange one. The other one is very dark possibly with a stripe

The gold and white and pure gold one are probably comet goldfish.
Comets are quite streamlined while common goldfish are fat.

If healthy, they will be huge as adults.
At least 30cm long.

As adults, the pond width you have will barely provide space to turn around.
Length is fine, depth is probably okay but only just really.

The idea that they grow to their environment is kind of true in that they can stunt their growth but they tend to die as a result as it damages the internal organs.

The black one, I'd need to see an image I think.

There is a type of fancy goldfish that is black, though it's solid, no stripe.

it's called a moor and quite fat with long flowy fins.
Utterly unsuitable to be kept with comet goldfish if that is what your black fish is as the comets outcompete them for food.

My suspicion is that it is instead some sort of bottom feeder, you'll never see it if so!

Unless the gold and gold and white are Koi...

Though I can't imagine even the most useless aquatic salesmen selling those for a small pond.

If they are Koi and not goldfish (I suspect goldfish) they will grow truly truly monstrous. Utterly enormous.
With a lifespan of over 100 years.

Pretty sure not Koi he would have said, and dark ones are stream lined and not flowy fins- info I got before he left was they all apparently play nice together. I’m just going to have to see how we go, plant it up and rehome if I have to.

Comet goldfish or shubunkins perhaps?

Watercress is a brilliant pond plant - don't eat it though!

Without a picture I'm going to go with comet goldfish (streamlined, not flowy fins) for the gold and gold and white ones.

If the black ones have smatterings of white and/or gold on them they'll be Shubunkin comet goldfish.

One way of telling Koi and goldfish apart will be the mouths, Koi have whiskers and goldfish don't.

I got all my fish, plants and snails online, most do next day delivery and were in excellent health and all survived.
@Badcat666 - is there a stockist you can recommend? It had never occurred to me pond life might be available online.

@ErrolTheDragon to me pond life might be available online.

It's on plenty of Internet forums.....

@ErrolTheDragon I got my fish and snails from The Carp Company (including the minnows and sticklebacks, only place I could find back then) www.carpco.co.uk/pond-selection-packs-c-59.html

For plants best thing is to google and then gaze on all the loveliness!! :D Then, when you found the ones you fancy, have a search in case someone stocks them cheaper. There are a TON of places that sell them now, I even got some off ebay and Amazon! :)