Maintaining a garden pond for beginners.

[Clevs]

We moved house at the end of July and there is a small pond in the back garden. Neither of us have had a pond before so have no idea what we need to do to maintain it.

• The water looks really green and IMO in need of a change/partial change/filter.

• There is no pump or filter.

• We were told there were fish in there. We were left the remains of a bag of food but when we put some in nothing came to the surface so we assumed that the fish in there had died due to lack of filtering and food (the property was empty for a couple of weeks before we moved in). As a result we binned the food that was left as we didn't think there were any fish in there.

• We have since seen three different fish, who seem to have grown considerably since we first noticed them. So they must be feeding off something (but what?).

• I've no idea what fish they are - do different fish require different food/maintenance?

We'd like to keep the pond but how do we get it up to scratch? Can we fit a pump/filter ourselves or is it a specialist job? How do we get the water a bit cleaner? Do we need to do a partial water change? A full water change? Or will fitting a filter clear it?

Attached are photos of the pond and a close up of the fish.

Apologies if these are stupid questions but we really have no experience and don't know where to start...

Hi Clevs - I’m not an expert but I’m signed up to lots of sites because I like nature and wildlife.

This came through from RHS - Pond care

That pond looks healthy and in good condition to me.
No duckweed, no blanket weed, nicely planted. Whatever you do don't go changing the water.

Leave the water be, the fish are happy. We do have a filter in our pond (DH fitted this), but oxygenating pond plants also help keep it clear. This article might help give you some more info on that www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/best-pond-plants/
if you want to check the ph balance of the pond, take a sample of your water into an aquatic centre, they’ll advise you. Take photos of the fish too and they’ll guide you towards the right type of food.

Agree pond looks fine, the fish could be shubunkins. I had some and assumed they had died over winter but they reanimated come Spring. Just chuck them a bit of pond fish food from pet shop or garden centre, they're probably eating bits of weed and algae. A few pond snails are good for keeping it clean.

A small pond with fish in it will never have completely clear water, that's as good as it will get.

You shouldn't need to do much to it, cut down the plants when they die down to stop them breaking down in the water, the rest should take care of itself.

Please make sure there's some kind of ramp so hedgehogs that fall in can get out. It happens more than you think.

Agree about the ramp - we also get lots of birds using it as a bathing platform!

The fish are probably surviving on bugs but you do need to feed them as they won’t last long like that.

The water looks really green and IMO in need of a change/partial change/filter. That’s the worst thing you can do, changing the water will introduce more nutrients and increase the amount of green algae.

Please don't change the water. It actually looks very good as it is.
Also, with crystal clear water, you risk herons spotting the fish and eating them.
If the fish are alive, let them be as they are.

If you're worried about the water quality then you can get a testing kit. If it's an established pond with plants in it then it's going to be pretty much self sustaining. You can add more plants into the water if you're worried about it. Get a net so you can skim off leaves that have fallen in otherwise they'll sink to the bottom and rot there. I have a pond vacuum and clean out the bottom of the pond every couple of years.

Thanks everyone, some great advice here. Shows how much I know thinking the water looked bad! I've got a lot to learn it seems