Mary Allen
As long as it is warm, there can be much ornamental fish outside in the pond. This summer freshness is also good for them. But what do you have to watch out for when you bring them back in?
In autumn, much ornamental fish move back from the garden pond to the aquarium. To do this, they are caught and first put in a bucket or a plastic bag. Important tip: Half of the container should be filled with aquarium water and the other half with pond water, advises the industry association for pet supplies.
This is important so that the animals get used to the new water chemistry, explains aquarist Harro Hieronimus. He recommends letting the container with the fish swim in the aquarium for two hours before the animals are released.
The Summer Freshness is Good for These Fish
The expert sees advantages for the fish in the summer freshness: They are more robust, larger, and more colorful than specimens that live in the aquarium all year round. This is due to the varied natural food and the sunlight in the pond.
The list of aquarium fish that can spend the summer in the pond is long: according to Hieronimus, these include medakas, certain spring fish species, marbled armored catfish, paradise fish, or barbs. Relocating outside from the aquarium is usually possible from a pond temperature of 18 degrees Celsius (measured in the morning). With cold water types like the little cardinal and the medaka already from 10 degrees.
If the water temperatures are only a few days below 20 degrees, wild guppies, parrot platys, zebrafish, and many other barbs and danios could also be considered as inhabitants of the pond.
Do Not Choose Ponds That are Too Large
For the months outside in the garden, commercially available prefabricated ponds or mortar buckets are suitable, says Hieronimus. “In a normal pond, trying to catch the fish completely in order to put them back in the aquarium would be pretty pointless. Especially when young fish are there. ”
If you don’t want to empty the pond before catching the fish in autumn, you should pay attention to the size: In this case, it shouldn’t be more than a meter by two.