Hi guys,
I'm trying to make a small water garden this summer. Something between 20-30 gallons. I will bring plants and fish back inside for the winter. My husband would love some koi, but I'm afraid they will grow too fast, same with plecos. My indoor tank is only 28 gallons.
Will they grow too much over 1 summer? Can I bring them to a fish store in the spring and get new ones? Do they eat as much insects as the goldfish?
My idea was to put my white cloud minnows in the pond.
Thanks!
Koi are a bad idea in a small pond, they grow fast, can be difficult to re-home and some pet stores will not take koi back under any circumstance due to a disease (KHV). Same issues with goldfish, although they do grow at a slower pace.
White clouds do amazing in outdoor ponds, they tolerate the temperatures well, eat any mosquito larva, and will happily produce babies for you... they also still fit in a 28 gallon at the end of the summer!
Mosquito Fish are another good option (if you can find some), but the babies can sometimes get out of control.
I put some white clouds in my backyard water fountain and they've done surprisingly well! The birds do pick them off on occasion though. Highly recommended for outdoor water garden.
One thing with white clouds is they are jumpers so you'll have to design the sides of the garden appropriately. They're not amazing jumpers - if water level is a couple inches below the edge they shouldn't get out, so keep that in mind. I learned that the hard way when 4 committed suicide within an hour of being put in!
Thank you! I did think bigger fish were a bad idea, but Who doesn'T want colors in their garden.
I still have a couple of minnows, I think there is another color being more golden(will need to look again)
As per jumping I already figured how to deal with that.
I closed down my tanks and look at me now trying a pond...it's hard to stay away from fish lol!
I have Bristol Shubunkins in my pond with some rice fish.
My pond is small.
The Shubunkins are a nice size and look great. I bring them in each year.