Category: Goldfish Ponds

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds Pond Predator Protection

Hardy Water Lilies Pond Plants – Pond Predator Protection For Goldfish

Hardy Water Lilies Pond Plants - Pond Predator Protection Goldfish
Hardy Water Lilies Pond Plants - Pond Predator Protection Goldfish

Sooner or later wildlife will soon visit your goldfish pond and hardy water lilies and pond plants are great pond predator protection for your fish. The more places your goldfish have to hide the better chance at survival. Hardy water lilies, floating aquatic plants and other water plants are a must for any garden pond. This gives your goldfish, koi or other fish plenty of places to hide. When having an outdoor pond you need to think of ways to protect your goldfish from pond predators.

Attraction Red Hardy Water Lilies - Pond Plants & Pond Predator Protection
Attraction Red Hardy Water Lilies – Pond Plants & Pond Predator Protection

With hardy water lilies the goldfish will be able to hide under the lily pads. This won’t be a for sure way to protect your pond fish but it will make it more difficult for them at least. When there are no hardy water lilies or other pond plants in your water garden it makes it pretty easy for a bird to swoop down and snatch up a goldfish for example. Water lilies are a great pond cover for fish. There are also other water plants that add protection such as floating aquatic plants like water hyacinths, water lettuce and parrots feather. Pond plants are a great natural way to protect your pond fish and have many benefits too.

Pond predator protection is a must for the overall safety of your goldfish. When caring for goldfish in a outdoor pond you can also think of buying pond predator protection decoys. A combination of hardy water lilies, pond plants and pond predator protection devices or decoys will help in the care of your goldfish.

I hope you don’t have any issues with any pond predators. If you do though, now you know a few ways to protect your goldfish. When building a pond always have some underwater caves built with rocks. Do as much as you can as you don’t want to go out to your pond one day to find out all your fish are gone. I’ve heard many stories and it’s sad to see your prized fish gone. Check out my other blog posts to on pond predator protection that can help you.

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
Goldfish Care Information Diseases & Treatments
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Feeding Goldfish Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds

What To Feed Your Goldfish?

Goldfish feeding is one of the best parts of your goldfish hobby, but most people often wonder what to feed their goldfish. There are tons of different goldfish food that people can buy at their local pet stores. Some food is better then others and each fish food has different benefits.

What I feed our goldfish is Laguna Goldfish Food which you can get at any pet store in either small, medium or large pellets depending on the size of your goldfish. Also it doesn’t hurt in giving your goldfish different food, lets be honest we wouldn’t like eating the same thing everyday, same goes for your fish. There are tons of dried fish food, like blood worms which contain high protein, daphnia and black mosquito larvae. Some come in dried form and others you can buy frozen. Goldfish food also comes in a variety of forms like sticks, pellets, flakes and even powder for small baby fry, which are small goldfish.

Feeding your goldfish different food will help keep your goldfish strong and healthy. By taking care of your goldfish with proper feeding with a good variety of food will help in preventing diseases and illness. Sometimes fish can get sick with poor feeding and can develop razor back disease which is a nutritional deficiency. Give them a variety of things goldfish or koi as well feed on pretty much anything. They will pick at and eat lettuce, strawberries, grapes and even brown bread which they can easily digest. Try it feed your goldfish some different food they will love it.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Feeding Goldfish Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds

How Much Fish Food Should I Feed My Goldfish?

How much food do you feed your goldfish is a very good question. There are a couple of different things we need to look at when determining how much food to feed them.

First of all when feeding your goldfish or koi for aquarium or ponds the general rule of thumb is they should be able to eat all the fish food within 2 minutes. If they eat all that before 2 minutes you can give them some more. You will see once you begin feeding them they will start losing interest in the food. When this happens it’s a good sign that there nice and full, if there is any left over uneaten fish food discard it right away or will foul your water if left in your aquarium or pond.

Feeding goldfish in the aquarium, you can feed them once everyday. Goldfish need exercise and in aquariums they really don’t have the luxury of say the space they would have in a pond. Goldfish can develop a fatty liver which can cause health problems with goldfish pretty much the same as humans. With this some people suggest feeding your goldfish every 2ND day in aquariums. It’s up to you just once a day or ever 2ND day, just make sure you don’t over do it as goldfish can sometimes eat and not really know when to stop.

Feeding goldfish in ponds is a little different. To be honest with you depending on the size of pond you have and how many fish you have in it you don’t really need to feed your fish. There is enough live food, bugs, insects and algae in the water that they will live just fine. But like most people we want to feed our goldfish in our ponds and see the grow. In the summer when the water is warmer you can actually feed them 2 or 3 times a day to get maximum growth or once a day is good as well. Remember in ponds goldfish or koi always have a supply of food whenever they need it in the water.

I am going make another post as I am going to talk later more about feeding your goldfish in ponds at different seasons like spring, summer and fall and what you should do.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds Pond Predator Protection

Garden Repeller Protects Goldfish From Pond Predators, Herons & Raccoons

We all know that pond predators like the heron and raccoons can be a nuisance when we have a garden pond in our backyard. I know for myself we live in the country and we have all sorts of wild life visiting our ponds on a daily basis. It’s frustrating and aggravating but you can do something about it to protect your pond fish with the garden repeller.

The garden repeller helped stop pond predators from eating their fish. I tried it too and it worked very well!

Garden Repeller Motion Activated Sprinkler System For Pond Predator Protection From Regal Gifts
My wife and I are a Regal Gifts Independent Representative and this summer they had an excellent product called the Garden Repeller that came out and it works great. Every morning I had a heron stop by about 6am every day. Pond nets only work so well so I decided to buy the garden repeller for myself to protect my goldfish and koi from predators. I hooked it up, the heron stopped by the next morning and the heron didn’t know what hit him. It shoots water up to 32 feet away. As soon as the bird or animal goes in front of the motion detector its sprays water at them. It’s basically a motion activated water sprinkler system. If your having a problem with herons, raccoons and other birds eating your goldfish then you should give it a try. It definitely works and it doesn’t hurt the animal in any way. You can keep them away with this garden repeller from Regal.

If you are having problems with birds visiting your pond you can go to our Moncton Gift Shop blog and learn about the garden repeller. You can also visit our Regal Website directly by going to http://gifts.shopregal.ca create an account and you can buy the garden repeller. For your reference it’s Item # HC3200.

Are you having pond predators visiting your pond? Tell me what you do to protect your pond fish from being eaten?

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Ponds How To Pond Volume Calculator

How To Calculate Water Volume In Goldfish Pond? Pond Volume Calculator

You should know how to calculate your pond water volume for your water garden. You should know how much water is in your pond not just for the purpose of knowing how big of a pond pump you should buy but you should know in case your goldfish in your pond ever get sick. Sooner or later it’s inevitable that you will come across goldfish diseases and parasites that you will need to treat with fish medication.
Here’s how you figure out your pond volume simply by taking three measurements:

Always Know How To Calculate Pond Water Volume For Water Treatments or For Treating Goldfish Diseases

Length x Width x Average Depth x 7.49 US Gallons

1 foot x 1 foot x 1 foot = 1 cubic foot

1 cubic foot of water is equal to 7.49 US Gallons

To give you an example of calculating the pond water volume of my pond I’ll show you.

65 feet (length) x 22 feet (width) x 4 feet (average depth) = 5720 cubic feet
5720 cubic feet x 7.49 US Gallons = 42,842.8 gallons

The pond in the photo below is one of my parents, I’ll calculate their pond water volume as I forget now how much water their water garden holds.

10 feet (length) x 15 feet (width) x 3 feet (average depth) x 7.49 US Gallons =
3370.5 Gallons

Koi Fish & Goldfish Pond - My Parents Water Garden
You should always know how to calculate your pond water volume for your goldfish or koi pond. Sometimes you will need to treat your pond for diseases or to do water treatments. I hope that your goldfish stay healthy and live free of fish diseases but in case they get sick now you have your own pond water volume calculator formula here for you.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Feeding Fish Feeding Goldfish Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds

Feeding Goldfish & Koi Trout Feed Pellets Bad For Health Care of Pond Fish

Many people have probably fed their goldfish and koi fish trout pellets in their ponds or even aquariums but please don’t. Feeding goldfish and koi trout feed is really bad for the health of your fish. Taking proper care of your pond fish involves feeding them a well balanced diet that is nutrient rich. Your fish also require being fed different fish foods not the same one day after day. Feeding goldfish and koi fish a variety of foods is highly recommended for the overall health of your fish.
Feeding goldfish trout feed pellets is not recommended at all. Trout feed contains high levels of oils, high on fat content and is a poor choice of food for your fish. Yes many of you will say it’s cheaper to feed your goldfish and koi that then other brand name foods. Your right, it is! I myself can buy a 50 lb. bag of trout feed for roughly $20 where I live but is it worth it? I’ll be honest when I first got in the hobby I fed my goldfish and koi fish trout food before but once I started doing research on it I stopped. I noticed that by feeding fish trout food it was leaving an oil film on the water surface and was affecting the water quality and was a health concern for fish. Fish food such as trout pellets that is high in fat and oil can contibute to fatty liver disease in fish.

Feeding Goldfish & Koi at Country Koi Fish Farm

Lets think about it this way, imagine if we ate at McDonalds everyday. You can get a value meal pretty cheap! Think of the amount of fat that your consuming on a daily basis, would this be good for your health? Feeding trout food to your goldfish and koi is about the same. I’m not going to say that McDonalds food is not great as we all like to have a treat every so often. Who can say no to a BigMac? :)With trout food you may be getting more for your buck in terms of quantity but you are lacking on quality. When feeding your goldfish and koi please think of their overall health as they need a nutrient rich food low in fat, high in protein. Feed your fish the right food and they’ll love you for it and live a longer happier life.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

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Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To Water Treatments

How To Lower Nitrite Levels In Goldfish Aquariums and Garden Ponds?

You should really only notice nitrite levels being high in new aquariums or small garden ponds that have newly been set up. As I’ve mentioned before in other blog posts is that it takes time for the nitrogen cycle to start working. It can take up to 4 weeks to properly cycle a new fish tank.

If you are experiencing high levels of nitrite in your goldfish aquarium or pond what you will need to do is make sure your goldfish are not showing any signs of stress. You really need to carefully observe your goldfish or any other types of fish you have in your aquarium. High levels of nitrite is extremely deadly! Nitrite can and will poison your fish and kill them quick.

Large Oranda Goldfish in Aquarium

If you do notice your goldfish are showing signs of stress you will need to lower your nitrite levels in your aquarium or garden pond. What you can do is perform a 25 – 30% water change immediately. This will reduce and dilute the presence of nitrite in your fish tank. After you do this I would also add aquarium salt to your aquarium right away. Aquarium salt will neutralize the toxicity of nitrite making it not harmful for your goldfish. Simply add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per every gallon of water. Lots of aquarium owners fail to realize is that aquarium salt helps fish in many ways and helps heal fish. All aquarium and pond owners should have on hand some aquarium or pond salt as you never know when you might need it.

Aquarium or Pond Salt Will Neutralize The Toxicity of Nitrite
If however your goldfish are not showing signs of stress and this is a newly set up aquarium or pond, just leave it! It will take some time for it to cycle and develop all the beneficial bacteria. Once the tank is cycled and there is an abundance of beneficial bacteria it will break down the nitrite forming nitrate which is relatively harmless to fish. During this time that your aquarium is being cycled make sure you regularly test your water quality for nitrite and record the readings. Recording the readings will show you if the nitrite is lowering. Always observe your fish and be ready to do an immediate water change if your goldfish are showing any signs of stress. High nitrite levels need to be taken very serious as it can quickly kill all your fish if you fail to act promptly.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Ponds

Goldfish Pond Made With Hypertufa Mixture On The Side Walls of Pond

Do you know what hypertufa is? Don’t worry many people don’t but check out this goldfish pond we created in my parents backyard. We built this pond simply using wood but two summers ago we were experimenting quite a bit with hypertufa and decided to spice up their pond. This unique mixture of perlite, peat and cement gives the sides of the pond that aged look. Moss grows well on it and adds some cool character to any landscape.

What’s nice about using hypertufa is that there are so many things people can do with it. We decided to use the hypertufa mixture on my parents goldfish pond but we’ve done pillars, stepping stones, walkways, flower planters, fountains and more.

Goldfish Pond Made Using Some Hypertufa - Created A Nice Finish

Maybe you can get some ideas on what you could use hypertufa with around your water garden. I thought I’d share this with my readers here so they may get some ideas from it. I know I like working with hypertufa and love the results I got from adding this mixture to the above ground pond as seen above. Start off small and build some stepping stones leading to your pond that would look great in your yard!

Goldfish Pond Made With Hypertufa
If you want to learn more about hypertufa you can visit our blog at www.HypertufaGardening.com

Hope you enjoy the site and the photos above of the goldfish pond made with hypertufa. You wouldn’t be able to see the pond in the backyard today with the blizzard we just got dumping between 40-50cm of snow in Moncton. Hopefully spring will be around the corner so we can all enjoy our ponds once again and that winter soon comes to an end.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Algae Control Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To

How To Prevent and Control Algae Blooms In Goldfish Ponds? Get Rid Of Algae!

Does your goldfish pond suffer from green water? If so then you need to read this article and learn how to prevent and control algae blooms. Green water in ponds can be frustrating but there are simple things that can be done to help control algae from occurring.

In spring and summer different things need to be done such as maintenance, using the proper equipment and using the right pond supplies.
Here are some simple things that can help you prevent, control and get rid of algae or green water:

Water Lilies, Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinths will help control and prevent algae blooms!

1. Clean your goldfish pond and remove any dead or decaying leaves from trees, water lilies etc.. If you don’t this helps feed algae and causes algae blooms.

2. In spring add in a bag of barley which works well towards algae control. If your looking to have crystal clear water in your goldfish pond then you need to buy some barley. I use this every year and it works amazing!

3. Add water plants! By adding water plants such as water lilies, water hyacinths, water lettuce etc.. will help shade your pond preventing sunlight from entering your pond therefore slowing the growth. Pond Plants also feed on the same nutrients as algae therefore starving it.

4. Use a UV Sterilizer to control algae. A UV sterilizer basically zaps algae cells with its ultraviolet light and prevents it from growing.

5. Stop over feeding your pond fish! By feeding your fish too much food it can contribute to algae growth. The more fish waste there is equals more natural fertilizer in the water, therefore more algae. Feed your goldfish less and they will search and eat algae in the pond and help control algae.

6. The last thing you can do to eliminate or get rid of algae is through the use of algaecides. This is one method of algae control that I will never recommend. It’s an option but I don’t recommend using it. The above methods of preventing and controlling algae work just fine. Algaecides are too risky in my books!

I hope that these above methods helps you to prevent and control algae in your pond. This will help you get that crystal clear pond water you’ve always been looking for! Stop algae once and for all and enjoy the water garden you’ve always dreamed of.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Ponds How To Mosquito Control

How To Prevent and Control Mosquitoes in Goldfish Ponds and Backyard Ponds?

If your looking at building a goldfish pond in your backyard you should know how to prevent and control mosquitoes. Many people are not aware but controlling mosquitoes starts right from the building process of your new water garden and planning where you want your water plants, what type of aquatic plants and what type of fish.

There are many ways you can control and prevent mosquitoes in a goldfish pond and here are just a few examples:

Pond Mosquitoes - Learn How To Prevent Them

1. Have good water circulation in your fish pond using the proper size pond pump. Did you know that a pond should circulate 1 time every hour? Stagnant water is where mosquitoes are bound to lay their eggs.

2. Potted plants flush with the water level are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Your goldfish are not able to eat the mosquito larvae inside the potted water plant and it’s still stagnant water perfect for breeding mosquitoes.

3. Have enough goldfish in your pond that you are able to accommodate. The more fish you have in your pond the more mosquito larvae they can consume.

4. Buy mosquito dunks! You can place them in your pond, they are safe for fish and plants and help controls the mosquito population. It releases a mosquito larvicide that mosquito larvae eat and kills them. Works for 30 days! Kills mosquito larvae in ponds, birdbaths and standing water.

5. Stop feeding your goldfish in your pond! Did you know there is enough food in your pond that you don’t really need to feed your goldfish. The hungrier they are the more mosquito larvae they’ll search for an eat.

6. Want the perfect fish pond with no mosquitoes? Buy some mosquito fish! Mosquito fish will eat mosquito larvae in the pond as well as eat mosquitoes flying in the air by shooting water at them. The mosquitoes will land on the water surface and the mosquito fish will eat them.

I hope these above suggestions gives you some insight on how to control and prevent mosquitoes in your goldfish pond so that you can enjoy your water garden for years to come.

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