Keeping Tropical Fish in Ponds

Making the Transition from the Aquarium to the Outdoors

Jun 25, 2008

Many tropical fish can be kept in outdoor ponds during the summer but there needs to be adjustments to feeding, heating the water and keeping your fish safe.

When you have a fish pond, not all methods that work well for an indoor aquarium will work for the outdoors. You need to make exceptions to the different environment your tropical fish are now in.

Feeding Tropical Fish in Ponds

You are most likely accustomed to feeding your tropical fish in an aquarium two to three times a week or even daily. When they are moved to an outside environment, things can change very dramatically.

Bugs and other insects will make their home near and around your pond, which will provide the fish with a fresh, natural source of food. This will eliminate the need to feed protein supplements to your fish.

You may be apt to keep more tropical fish in your outdoor pond than you would in an aquarium so you have to remember to increase the quantity of fish flake food or pellets and perhaps increase the frequency of feeding times.

Heating Your Pond

The temperature in an outdoor environment is not as regulated as your indoor aquarium. If you live in an area where the outside temperature goes up and down, you need to install a pond heater in order to avoid drastic fluctuations. Many tropical fish are accustomed to warm water that remains at a steady temperature and the fish will get sick if you don’t regulate it

A heavy duty pond heater will be needed for the cold weather if you wish to use the pond year round. Unlike Koi that hibernate at the bottom of the pond, this is not done by tropical fish. An alternative is to transfer the tropical fish to indoor aquariums until the warm weather returns.

Keeping Your Tropical Fish Safe in a Pond

There are a lot of creatures in nature that lurk around ponds because they know the fish are a source of food for them. Cats, squirrels, raccoons, and birds can be very problematic. There are devices you can buy to safely scare away attackers from ponds.

You could install floating decoys such as an alligator’s head or a predatory bird. There are water spraying devices that are activated by motion sensors, though this doesn’t seem to work for birds. Another idea is to lay pond netting over the surface of the water.

If you fertilize or spray your garden and lawn, be sure to use safe and natural compounds. Run-off from poisonous chemicals can destroy your pond and fish.

It is a good idea to have lots of hiding places such as rock caves or areas of thick plants. This allows fish to have a place of refuge in case there are some more aggressive species or a hideout for newborn fish.

Suggested Fish for a Pond

The copyright of the article Keeping Tropical Fish in Ponds in Freshwater Fish is owned by Douglas DuHamel. Permission to republish Keeping Tropical Fish in Ponds in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.