Pond and pond fish

[smanku]

I have recently moved into a house which has a pond in the garden, it has some fish in it, not sure what type! The pond is quite merky and you can only see the fish when they come up to feed. How do I get the water clear enough to see the fish with out harming them. Aslo what do I need to do to maintain good healthy fish???

[jake-the-peg]

A lot depends on the size of the pond and the number and type of the fish in it.

To get the water properly clear and keep it that way you really need to install a pump and water filter, preferably with a UV unit see here:

http://www.water-garden.co.uk/water_quality.php

The problem is that you'll need an electricity supply close to the pond which will have to be put in by an electrician.

Keeping a pond clear without filters generally involves having quite a large pond with a lot of plants in it compared to the number of fish. Ponds that are in direct sunlight also tend to get much more murky because it encourages things like blanket weed. 

[andyjevs]

The above answer is generally correct. Adding a UV clarifier and small filter will clear the green water and make the fish happier. Creating a good balance between plants, fish and sunlight is a good idea. A small water lilly will provide shade from sunlight as will some small shrubs grown next to the pond. A couple of marginal plants such as marsh marigold or iris will help keep the water clean too. I would also run a hosepipe in the pond for a few hours to give it a water change....make sure the pond actually overflows for an hour or so...if possible. Good luck

[flump1]

Could you ask your neighbour to help identify the fish? Might be they know from the previous owners. It might be an icebreaker too. Good Luck.

[vespaboy]

The fish will probably be either;

Goldfish (standard fish shape, no visible whiskers, can be numerous colours and can tolerate very poor water conditions)

Koi carp (grow larger than goldfish and have visible whiskers, will eat plant material and up-root freshly planted plants)

Carp (Mirror carp has leather looking skin with large 'mirror' scales, Common/Crucian Carp has the same appearance as a goldfish but has the whiskers, Ghost carp is shiny gold in colour (not orange like a goldfish)

Orfe (Long thin light yellow colour, dart around constantly and like to stay in groups, normally the first fish to die if water condition poor)

They could also be: Rudd, Roach, Perch, Tench, Sturgeon (very unlikely if you can see them)

If you give descriptions I'll identify them for you.

Remember your fish lives in a world that you control so try to do your best to improve the water quality, as a start empty out about a third of the water and top up from a tap (not ideal as the chlorine is no good for the fish, I top up my pond all the time from the tap and it seems to be ok) and add some oxygenating pondweed (ask anybody with an established pond and they will invariably give you some)

[smanku]

The fish are orange and white, probably about 6" long. Some are plain orange some are plane white and some....you guessed it, are orange and white.

Thanks.