Fish Ponds

[issan2]

Anybody out there keep fish ? Ive got an outside pond in Issan. 2m x 3m x 1.25m deep. Full of Koi Carp. Its got a green screen on top to keep most of the sun off, fountains to keep oxygen in the water.

Trouble is my fish are dying at the rate of two a day. Anybody got experience fo keeping fish out here. Had any problems ?

[mrvietnam2001]

Hi Issan,

without knowing the dimensions and the size and amount of fish in said pond it's hard to say.

However, fish "urinate" and unless you keep a steady change of water going in, you will lose all of them eventually.

The fountain is merely oxygenating urine.

Hope this helps. We had a large ( app 1,000 gallons) Koi/Goldfish pond. Eventually there werer quite a lot of fish in there and we started having the same trouble. A fish pond expert advised we continuously test the ph levels among other things and change the water ( by manually taking water out and then replacing it with fresh water). That did the trick but a pain in the asss.

We ultimately had plumbing installed to do that although the amounts had to be human regulated.

Sold the house. Won't do it again. Took too much time.

Rgrds and good luck

Mr Vietnam

[D80]

Hi there,

You will need to have a filter system in your pond. I have had one without a filteration system but that was a huge pond... more like a small lake....

So, if we're talking small fish pond for the garden, then a good filteration system is more important than the fountain. The fountain only helps oxygen gets into the water more easily from the surface movement.

If you don't want to/cannot do what MrVietnam had done (ie changing the water like that every so often), then I would find a shop that install filteration system for ponds. I know that in BKK, you can go to Jatujak market and ask around for one. I would guess that in Isaan, you could probably ask a supplier for agricultural tools. I don't really know for sure.

Apart from filteration, it also depends on what your pond is made of. If it has been cemented, then you may have to wash the pond a few times, leaving the water in there, then take it out over and over again. Or put in some chemical to speed up the process. Traces of cement could kill the fish.

If the pond is outdoor, when it rains, temperature may change too quickly and fish could also die that way. Most people put a roof over the pond or build a deeper and bigger pond with places for fish to hide to help with this.

Water quality is also important. This is something I won't be able to go into with limited spaces...

If you have kept fish before, it's not that different from how you would do it at home... just minus the heaters and such like.

Have a look around on the net for an English web site.

If you can read, write Thai, go to http://www.pantip.com/cafe/jatujak/. There are loads of hobbyist there to answer all the detail questions you may have. I saw a do-it-yourself plan for a filteration system for outdoor fish pond there before but did not save it.

Good luck anyway!

[mrvietnam2001]

Right about the material it's constructed from. I didn't think of that.

You would need a really huge filtration system for the urine and Khoi/goldfish produce a LOT. You'll also need to be prepared to clean it and replace the elements quite frequently depending on the environment.

Have your fish shown any spots, changes of color etc??

Have you tested the water?

Good points above.

Rgrds

Mr Vietnam

[KevinN]

We have no trouble and some of our fish are a fair size,and as has been stated you need a lot of water so it doesn't get to contaminated,our pond is about 10 RAI surface area and 3 meters deep,and we fish it all the time and never have a dead fish,