Jeffish

Thanks for all the helpful comments! Plant cover is around 50%. Oi oi is a common native reed which will grow just about anywhere. Interestingly the kingfisher has made off with only one small goldfish to our knowledge - most of them are too large. That's my theory anyway. The kanuka tree is currently being visited by a magpie, which the local tui mafia are very upset about. Hopefully magpies don't go fishing. Yes I have been feeding nearly every day, even in winter, so I'm going to cut back. Just been away for a holiday and they didn't seem to be starving after a week of enforced algae eating. Caryl I will have a look at your pond pics and maybe upload some of my own, if I can figure out how...

I kept tropical fish in my youth (about 50 years ago!) but these days stick to goldfish outdoors. Our rectangular pond is 2.8m long, 0.8m wide and 0.4m deep with a net volume of about 900 litres. Set up in 2006 with a black plastic liner, planted with sagittaria and a couple of waterlilies, filtration by an Oase Filtral 5000. It is in full sun but a large kanuka tree (excellent kingfisher perch!) alongside provides afternoon shade. As does some oi oi which overhangs the pond at one end and is also growing in the pond. I do have a few problems which members hopefully may be able to give me some advice on: Excessive algae growth which has not been knocked back by Clear Pond 'Pond Clean' (simazine) treatment. Have lost one or two fish to dropsy - is overfeeding a likely factor here? :nilly: Maybe leave it at that for a first post - so happy to have found this excellent forum!