Introducing New Fish To Your Pond

Our Water Gardening staff inspects all fish before placing them in our sales tanks. The fish are given a final check before they are sold to ensure the continued health of our customers' ponds. For transport home, fish are placed in plastic bags and if necessary filled with oxygen to make their ride home as stress-free as possible. Buying fish should be your last stop before going home, keeping them in a cool shaded area of your car during their trip.

When arriving home, take out 20% of the water in the bag and add 20% of your pond water into the bag, wait 5 minutes and repeat this process 4 more times. After this, the fish should be acclimated to the water in your pond and can be released.

STOCKING FISH (Formula based on 10' x 10' Pond) The stocking of a pond should be done gradually. How many fish can your pond support? 2 or 3 inches of mature fish per square foot is recommended. For example, a 10' x 10' pond would be calculated as below:
Length x Width = Square Feet
10' x 10' = 100 Square Feet

Square Feet x Allotted Inches = Total inches of fish
100' x 2 in. = 200 in.

Total inches of fish divided by average goldfish size=Total number of fish
200 in. divided by 7 in. = 28.57 goldfish (28 goldfish: always round numbers down)

1 Koi = 4 goldfish
For every Koi added to your pond, subtract 4 goldfish.
Average Koi size is 24 in. at maturity.
Average goldfish size is 7 in. at maturity

OVERSTOCKING WITH FISH CAN CAUSE MULTIPLE PROBLEMS
Some results being:

  • High Ammonia Levels:
    •         Irritate the skin and gills
  • Extremely High pH Levels:
    •         Result in the death of your fish
  • Algae Bloom