Goldfish Pond

Putting a little pond in my back yard has added a lot to my garden.  The sound of splashing water attracts many birds to come visit. I find it relaxing when I sit out on the patio, to watch and listen to the fountain in the pond as well as to those feathered visitors who come around.


I know some people with limited space and/or budgets create a water feature in an extra-large flower pot or half-barrel.  It's fun looking around at all the ideas for ways to add a water feature to whatever outdoor space you have.

My first pond was a small pre-formed plastic one, with a underwater filter box that held the pump inside, which powered the small fountain.  I enjoyed it a lot, but it was quite small and shallow.  From things I read, I was concerned that it might freeze solid if we had a cold winter. I have a small heater ring that keeps a little of the surface unfrozen so gases can vent, and keep the fish and plants alive over the winter, but the water could possibly freeze solid to a depth of 18 inches in our climate zone.  So I finally decided to make the pond a little larger and deeper.

This time I decided to use pond liner, so that I could dig the size and shape I wanted for my pond.  I wanted a shallower shelf across the ends for plants, and a deeper area in the center where I could be sure the fish would be safe overwinter.

I have added several plants to the pond; a hardy water-lily and a dwarf papyrus. But the thing I enjoy most as I spend time around the pond is watching the fish. Besides the fascination of watching them swimming around, fish serve the function of keeping down the mosquito population by eating any larvae that hatch out in the pond.

A lot of people stock their ponds with koi and other gorgeous (and expensive) fish. But when putting in a garden pond on a budget, I chose to go with common goldfish. I bought four inexpensive "feeder" goldfish for my pond. They were quite small when I bought them, but goldfish will grow to fit the space they're given if they're not crowded.

A couple of summers ago, I looked out my window, and saw a heron in my yard, next to the pond.  I'd never had one of these visit before, and wasn't entirely delighted this time, because it regarded my pond as a sushi bar.  That's right, no goldfish left after this little visit!  I decided not to get any more fish right away, because I thought the heron might come back and see if I'd provided any more nice little snacks.

A few weeks later, I noticed small black specks swimming in the pond.  My first thought was that they were mosquito larvae, but I was using mosquito dunks, so it couldn't be that.  After a while, the black specks grew, and I wondered if perhaps a frog had visited, and these were little tadpoles.  Perhaps eggs of some kind came in on the plants? More time passed, and the little swimmers began to turn yellow.  I had never had baby goldfish before, but it turns out they eat their young, so the heron's removal of the adults had allowed the babies to survive and grow up.

Soon I had a vastly over-populated pond, and I gave goldfish to neighbors and friends.  I moved a few inside into an aquarium. I still have plenty of goldfish in my pond, all part of that generation of little hatchlings.

Last summer dragonflies started coming around the pond.  I've always loved dragonflies, so I am thrilled that they are now occasional visitors to my garden.