Tag: garden ponds

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Feeding Fish Feeding Goldfish Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care

Check Pond Water Temperature When Feeding Goldfish In Fall

It’s September now and are you checking the water temperature of the pond when feeding your goldfish? You need to start checking the temperature as you should be now feeding your pond fish a wheat germ based food as it’s easy to digest. You need to stop feeding your goldfish a high protein food like you did in the summer. If you don’t this could lead to goldfish health problems, diseases or illnesses.

Once you start noticing colder nights and the leaves changing colours you know that the pond water temperature is changing. I know that last few nights here have been colder so I went to check the water temperature in our ponds today and it’s 62 degrees fahrenheit or 16.67 degrees Celsius. We even have a risk of frost tonight that will lower the water temperature in the pond.

You should stop feeding your goldfish when the water hits 55 degrees. When you see your goldfish slowing down or not as active as normal, you know they are getting ready for hibernation. You must pay attention to the water temperature as what you do could impact the health of your goldfish.

Have you checked your water temperature in your goldfish pond yet? If not please do! Feeding goldfish in the fall is different then summer.

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 Mosquito Control

Does A Goldfish Pond Cause More Mosquitoes In Your Backyard?

The fact is many people believe that a goldfish pond increases mosquitoes by having a water garden in the backyard but it does not. The only way that mosquitoes will reproduce and increase its population is if there is still water in your yard. You see mosquitoes prefer to breed in still water. By having a well circulated pond with a proper size pump will help prevent mosquitoes from laying the eggs on the water.

Also if people are going to have a fish pond they are going to have fish in which they eat mosquito larvae. Goldfish, Shubunkins, Koi and other types of pond fish actually help control and cut down on the mosquito population.

Goldfish Pond - Beautiful Backyard Water Garden

If you have buckets or containers laying around your yard or birdbaths with water, it is suggested that you empty the standing water right away or refill it daily. If not you better invest into some mosquito repellent.

Pond Mosquitoes - Learn How To Prevent Them

So everyone can put the pond myth away! Ponds don’t actually increase the mosquito population as long as it’s built right. It’s the standing water, puddles and water laying around which is the culprit in which mosquitoes lay their eggs. So if your looking at building a garden pond, don’t let the thought of mosquitoes stop you. The fact of the matter is that a goldfish pond can actually help control mosquitoes plus you’ll have a lifetime of enjoyment from your new water garden. Want to control mosquitoes even more, buy some mosquito fish!

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Garden Ponds Pond Filtration

How To Filter Your Goldfish Pond Naturally With Water Plants?

Did you know that you can filter your goldfish pond naturally with water plants? Many people often wonder how they are going to filter their garden pond, what type of pond filtration system to buy but they forget about how well water plants can actually filter your pond. You don’t need this expensive pond filter in order to keep your water quality perfect. Think of mother nature, rivers, streams, the ocean, you have a perfect ecosystem.Pond filtration can be accomplished by using water plants and I am going to show you how.

When you decide to filter your goldfish pond naturally you will first need some water plants that will feed on the fish waste created by your goldfish. I’m not saying forget about using a pond filter if you have one but when used in combination you will have the best results and perfect water quality that’s healthy and safe for your pond fish. In order to filter your pond naturally you will need to buy some good floating water plants that are ideal for filtering. The best type of floating plant are water hyacinths and water lettuce. These two types of floating plants work amazing for pond filtration.

Water Plants Make An Excellent Pond Filter For Your Goldfish PondThe best thing you can do if you have a waterfall is to pump your water up to the top and this is where you will place the water hyacinths and water lettuce. The water being pumped up with your pond pump will be continually fertilizing these water plants and will keep your water chemistry in check. The long dangling roots created by these water plants will pick up and debris and help keep your water clean. You can see how these water plants will filter your goldfish pond naturally.

Water Plants Are Excellent For Natural Pond Filtration

What I’ve just described above is called a vegetable filter. I highly recommend that you think strongly of adding water plants to your fish pond. The benefits that water plants can bring to your water garden is definitely worth doing. Use pond plants and a good pond filter to have maximum results. Filter your pond naturally next year and you will see how well it works!

Sincerely,

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

Categories
Feeding Goldfish Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care

Laguna Floating Feeding Station For Garden Pond Fish

Laguna Floating Feeding Station is a great addition to your garden pond when it comes time to feed your fish. I love this pond product as it gathers up your fish in one spot. This floating feeding station has many benefits:

1. Gathers pond fish in one spot come feeding time.
2. Allows for easy viewing for signs of disease or parasites.
3. Prevents floating fish food from clogging pond filter.
4. Prevents fish food from getting trapped in rocks and decaying.
5. Helps prevent over feeding and wasted food.
5. Helps determine how much to feed fish.

Laguna Floating Feeding Station For Outdoor Garden Pond FishAs I’ve mentioned before this pond product sells for about $4.50 on Amazon and is well worth it. It’s neat to see all your pond fish feed from one spot with this Laguna Floating Feeding Station. It’s quite a feeding frenzy which enable some great photos of your pond fish.

Sincerely,

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

Categories
Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To

How To Take Care of Goldfish In A Garden Pond?

Many home owners often dream of having a garden pond but are often unsure on how to take care of goldfish. Taking care of goldfish in a garden pond is easy! With a little bit of research, you’ll be a pond expert in no time. A lot of people who have fish ponds in their backyards often have had an aquarium in their life sometime before. The fact is that taking care of goldfish in a pond is so much easier and I’m going to show you how.

Now that your garden pond is in place you will need to add your goldfish to your newly built pond. You can either buy goldfish online or as most of you do is go down to your local pet store to buy your new pet. Taking care of goldfish starts right here at the pet shop. Taking Care of Goldfish In A Garden PondRemember you want to buy healthy goldfish and don’t want to bring home some other guests as well. Never buy goldfish from a tank that has dead fish, cloudy or if you see fish scratching themselves on the aquarium gravel. These are signs that something is wrong. Take your time, look around and ask questions at the pet store if you have any. They should be able to answer all your fish, pond and aquarium questions.

Now that you’ve just bought your new goldfish you will need to introduce them to your pond. What you do now is float the bag in the water for about 10 – 15 minutes so that the water can customize. Once the time is up what you will then do is make sure you add a couple of cups of pond water into the bag so that the water chemistry can mix together. Every little thing you do minimizes the stress on the goldfish. Now that you’ve done that and waited a few minutes now you can release your goldfish into the pond. In order to do this you will need a fish net. Never introduce the water from the pet store into your garden pond as it could contain parasites. Always use a fish net to catch the goldfish and then place them in the fish pond.

Introducing Goldfish To A Garden Pond

Your goldfish should be swimming around in the new pond and looking quite happy. Don’t worry if the goldfish goes right to the bottom of the pond and you don’t see them for a few days as this is common. Remember this pond is new to him and it could take a few days for your goldfish to get use to its new environment. After a day or two you should see your goldfish quite regularly. Sometimes you can even feed your goldfish right after placing them in your new garden pond.

Goldfish Feeding In Garden Pond

What you should feed goldfish all depends on the time of year and the temperature of the water. Remember goldfish hibernate come winter and when this happens their digestive system begins to slow down too. In early spring and fall goldfish should be fed a lighter food such as a wheat germ based fish food. This is light and easy for them to digest. This should be fed to goldfish down to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. It is very important to know what the temperature of your pond is to be able to provide the best possible care for your goldfish. In the summer months you are able to feed goldfish a higher protein diet as they are more active and require better nutrition.

Your probably wondering about now is how much food do I feed goldfish in a pond. The answer is quite simple, only feed your goldfish what they can eat within 2 minutes. When the goldfish are feeding you should start to see them get sluggish or uninterested in the food. Always discard what they cannot consume within 2 minutes or this can foul your water. You can feed your goldfish in the pond once a day in cooler weather and in the summer months you can feed them a couple of times a day. Remember don’t worry if you ever miss feeding your goldfish as there is literally tons of food in the pond for them. They can feed on all the live insects, mosquito larvae and more. Your goldfish will never starve in a pond.

Pond Netting Helps Keep Goldfish Safe From Predators

For maintenance for your garden pond you should clean your pond filter from time to time. Whenever you notice that the water volume from your pond pump has slowed down it’s time to clean your filter. You should also test your water quality once a week to make sure all is well.

Attraction Red Hardy Water Lilies

If you have water lilies in your goldfish pond you will have to discard any decaying lily pads as they appear. What you want to do is try and stop as much leaves and debris from going to the bottom of the pond. If there is to much organic matter such as fish waste, leaves and debris this can cause a perfect breeding ground for parasites and fish diseases to occur. Try and eliminate as much as you can. What many pond owners do come fall is place a pond net over their ponds to stop leaves from going into the water. This pond net also stops pond predators from getting access to your goldfish in your pond. Depending on where you live wildlife is bound to come near your pond sooner or later whether its herons, raccoons, kingfishers or eagles they will come to your pond looking for a snack. Look for other great ways at protecting pond fish from predators.

Garden Pond With Waterfall

You’ve just read about how to take care of goldfish in a garden pond and I’m sure you will have more pond questions as they arise. Throughout the years you will learn more about ponds and have other questions. I urge you all to ask any garden pond questions here so you will be able to take care of your goldfish and know what to do when problems occur. Enjoy your new garden pond and I wish you all best of luck taking care of your new goldfish.

Sincerely,

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

Categories
Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds Pond Filtration

Oase PondoVac 3 – Pond Cleaning Tool For Goldfish Ponds

Most of us can agree that cleaning a goldfish pond is no fun, until you found the Oase PondoVac3. This easy to use pond vacuum cleaner makes cleaning a pond easy, efficient and fun. A pond vacuum is definitely worth getting even though they can be expensive but the time you save in cleaning your pond makes this one product that pond owners love. Oase makes high quality pond products and is definitely worth investing into if your looking at having crystal clear water. Regular pond maintenance is needed and people should know how to clean a goldfish pond and this one piece of pond cleaning equipment that people should buy at the same time they are looking at building a pond in their backyard. Add this PondVac3 to your list when buying pond supplies and products so you can fully enjoy your garden pond.

Here is a complete product description of the Oase PondoVac 3:

PondoVac 3 - Pond Cleaning Product By Oase For Spring and Fall Maintenance
With the PondoVac 3 you can avoid the annoyance of container capacity restrictions. The Two-Chamber System: Two identically sized cylinders are filled and emptied in alternating cycles. If one container is full a valve is mechanically activated by a float. This triggers emptying of one chamber while the other is being filled. Both vacuuming and emptying of the container can occur at the same time. Built-in wheels allow for easy movement and transportation. The delivery includes a special string algae nozzle, a wide nozzle with a rubber lip, a crevice tool and a floor nozzle, the vacuum tube extension, as well as a debris collection bag for the water return. It is also ideally suited for wet vacuum applications in the household.

Power cable length – 13 ft. Dimensions – 15 x 27 inches.
Limited Warranty – 3 + 2* = 5 Years (*a 2 year extension is added when you register the PondoVac 3.)

If you want to buy a Oase Pond Vacuum Cleaner go here > PondoVac 3

*** Please note at the time of posting this, a 2 year extension warranty is available unless the supplier or manufacturer decides to change this ***

Oase PondVac3 - The Ultimate Pond Cleaning Tool For Water Gardens in Both Spring and Fall MaintenanceIf people are looking at buying a pond vacuum cleaner for their water garden you should check out Amazon.com for the PondVac3 as they do have the lowest price on the internet from what I’ve seen. Here is the link to buying a PondoVac 3 over at amazon and you can see customer reviews and more information. This is by far the ultimate pond cleaning tool for both spring and fall pond cleaning as many pond owners will agree with me.

Sincerely,

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

Categories
Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Pond Filtration

Goldfish Pond- Cleaning and Pond Spring Start Up Tips

Now that spring has arrived your going to need to clean your goldfish pond and get it already for the pond season. Pond maintenance is needed and you will need to clean your goldfish pond of any debris and organic matter that has decomposed over winter. If you did not cover your goldfish pond last year with a pond netting you will need to scoop up all the leaves that are decaying. This decaying matter is prime areas for when goldfish diseases and parasites occur. Remove all the sludge at the bottom of your goldfish pond to prevent diseases and parasite outbreaks.

For small ponds you can completely clean your pond rinse it out and refill it. If you have goldfish in your pond simply remove them and place them in an indoor aquarium until you finish cleaning your pond. It would be best to keep them in a fish tank for about 3-4 days before you re-introduce them to your pond. This would be a great time for you to observe your fish and look for any signs or symptoms of diseases and parasites. If you notice any sick fish treat them as needed.

goldfish pond

For any pond plants that you have in your pond such as water lilies and other marginals, this is a great time to divide them. Simply divide and re-pot your pond plants and fertilize them as well. When you clean your pond for spring this is the ideal time for dividing your pond plants and water lilies and you can place them where you want in your garden pond.

For larger ponds which you may not be able to drain your pond and clean it completely make sure you remove as much as the sludge as possible. Do a partial water change and remove about 25% of the water.

Now that your pond is cleaned out your going to need to start up your pond for the season. Now you can hook up your pond pump and filter and get the water circulating. Be sure to add beneficial bacteria to get your biological filter working properly. Also add water conditioner to remove chlorine from the water to make it safe for your goldfish.

In spring is when people tend to have problems with algae blooms with their goldfish pond. After you have finished cleaning your pond and hooking up your pond pump and filter add a bag of barley to your pond. A bag of barley right by the pond pump will help reduce the the chance of algae. Barley works great for algae control in ponds. Simply add barley straw, barley extract or pellets in your pond at the beginning of spring and this will help your pond stay clear.

After you have cleaned your pond and started it up for spring most people want to start feeding their fish. Remember you can only start feeding your fish when it warms up to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fish foods on the market today you can feed your fish at 45 degrees but general rule is about 55 degrees you can start feeding your goldfish. When you do start feeding your goldfish in your pond start feeding them a wheat germ food that fish can easily digest. Feed them once a day and then as summer approaches you can switch fish foods later. Remember goldfish in a pond don’t really need to be fed, their is plenty of food in the pond for them.

Now that your goldfish pond is all cleaned out and ready for the season you can start to enjoy it. To fully enjoy your water garden make sure you have enough pond plants, water lilies and floating aquatic plants. Having your pond about 70% full of plants will help keep your water crystal clear all summer long. Make sure you have great pond filter as well as consider buying a UV sterilizer for your pond will help keep your water quality perfect all summer. Enjoy your goldfish pond and get your pond started up for spring for another pond season

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Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To Pond Predator Protection

How To Protect Your Goldfish From Pond Predators

By Jamie Boyle

Many pond owners today often face the problem of pond predators visiting their water garden and they need to learn how to protect goldfish from pond predators before becoming their next meal. A lot of people don’t even realize they even have a problem until it’s too late. People should always try and count their fish come feeding time to make sure all fish are accounted for. It also makes a great time to observe your fish for any signs of goldfish diseases or parasites.

If you notice your fish scared or frightened or any goldfish missing then you may very well of had a tall-feathery creature stop by for a meal or two. Blue Heron Pond PredatorHerons, kingfishers, raccoons, snakes, cats and even frogs are pond predators. Yes! Even frogs! I have seen many frogs shoot out there tongue and catch small fish when they dash up to the surface. You see a frogs tongue is shot out based on movement and we have seen many goldfish eaten at an early age. The good news about pond predators is that there are many ways you can protect your goldfish from wildlife and I’m going to show you how.

How To Protect Your Goldfish From Pond Predators? 

Raccoons Are Excellent At Fishing - Protect Your Fish!

Heron Decoy Will Protect Your Pond FishThe first step in protecting your goldfish from predators is to go out to your local hardware store, pet store and often even garden nurseries today who stock pond supplies and equipment and purchase a heron decoy. A heron decoy will stop other herons from dropping by as they are very much territorial. They automatically assume that there is already a heron there so there must not be too many fish left. In turn the heron continues flying on in search of a free water source to fish. I know many people who have had pond predator problems and they have used them and they haven’t had any problems since.

Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler System For Pond PredatorsAnother way to protect your goldfish from pond predators is to buy a scarecrow sprinkler system. These work great! Why you may ask? Is because they have a built in motion sensor so when anything comes even remotely close to your pond a blast of water shoots out scaring off anything near. This is a sure way to defend your goldfish and give them a fighting chance. It’s also a great laugh in the scare you put the pond predator through with a blast of water right at its butt! 🙂 It will make that heron or other animal think twice about coming back 😉

Laguna Pond NettingAnother suggestion pond owners can do is to protect your goldfish pond from predators using a pond netting. Again you should be able to buy pond netting at any local hardware store and also you can buy it online as well. Using pond netting will protect pond fish but it takes away the beauty and look of a pond. I know I hate using pond netting but hey, if it protects your pond fish then you did solve your problem. It also stops leaves from going into the pond and falling to the pond bottom messing up the water. It works, but what you decide to choose is up to you.

I hope these above mentioned ways at learning how to protect your goldfish pond from pond predators has helped. Pond predators are annoying but at least there are things we can do to help protect our pond fish.

Have you ever had pond predators drop by your pond? What did you do to protect your pond fish from being eaten? Lets here your stories on the problem that faces many pond owners – pond predators. How to protect your fish from pond predators? A question most pond owners will have one-time or another.

Sincerely,

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