Phantom Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 My dad has a lot of land up in Northland. On his property he has 3 ponds, each about 500 m^2 and about 1m deep. They're constantly being fed by springs and water is flowing out of them into swamp like areas. He'd like to put some fish in them to help keep them clean etc. He has ducks on them all and 2 of the ponds have a pair of swans living on them. Lots of insects around and in the water. What kinds of fish could he consider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I am not sure any sort of fish could keep up with the mess ducks make but I might be wrong :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 at Western Springs there are some sort of trout, goldfish and probably other fish I can't remember and they get pooped on by great flocks of ducks, geese, swan etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxxnz Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 it one thing i would love to do if i won lotto next week..i would buy a block lifestyle land with pond..making a tropical pond and power temp by with solar heating..what a dreammmmm... the problem is how do i stop those birds from getting in the pond? :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Whats living in the swamp like areas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 If the ponds drain into any waterway then he cant legally release anything into then (without DOC/MAF permets etc), not even native species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 If the ponds drain into any waterway then he cant legally release anything into then (without DOC/MAF permets etc), not even native species. Ahh OK. Yes they do eventually drain into a creek on one of his boundaries. The ponds are surrounded by rushes, grasses and some native bush. Plenty of insects, few ducks and the swans I mentioned. Cattle are running on the property. Not sure what other wildlife is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Good point, Blueether about the legalities. I would like to know how he is wanting the fish to keep the pond clean? Clean of what? The thing is most fish that he could use would eat the pond critters and zooplankton. Without the zooplankton there is nothing to keep the phytoplankton (suspended algae) in check, resulting in great blooms of algae. His best bet for looking after the ponds is to fence them off and either do plantings or allow the natives to regenerate around the ponds. Taller trees will help shade the water and reduce algal blooms and exotic plant growth. Fencing off the ponds and any streams/boggy land running into the ponds will stop stock from entering and pugging the land up, reduce the amount of nutrients getting into the ponds (the biggest problem killing our freshwaters). This works well for his back pocket too as fencing animals out of waterways decreases production (drinking where you crap is not good for your health, human or cow! Poor health = poor growth, even if the animal isn't outwardly sick) and removes the risk of losing valuable animals that get stuck and drown or die of hypothermia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 It is a legal requirement to fence off water ways and keep stock out off them, though from my experience it's fairly hard to police and many farmers fail to mention that they have areas where stock can enter creeks and swamps etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I would like to know how he is wanting the fish to keep the pond clean? Clean of what? The thing is most fish that he could use would eat the pond critters and zooplankton. Without the zooplankton there is nothing to keep the phytoplankton (suspended algae) in check, resulting in great blooms of algae. Back home (denmark) predatory fish like Pike is released to control algea problem (phytoplankton). Reasoning: Pike eat little fish. Little fish don't eat zooplankton. Zooplankton population grows to "keep up" with phytoplankton population resulting in clearer water. I think it's called "top down biocontrol" or something. Stella please correct me. I'm not suggesting release of any fish in this case. I am not that familiar with natives behavior yet. Just thought the theory about cleaning a pond/lake with fish is interresting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Pike eat little fish. Little fish don't eat zooplankton. Zooplankton population grows to "keep up" with phytoplankton population resulting in clearer water. I think it's called "top down biocontrol" or something. Stella please correct me. Yup, that is how it works 'Top-down' is where the system is controlled by top predators, and 'bottom-up is where the system is controlled by primary production (plant/algae growth). Thankfully we don't have true piscivorous fish here, or our naive native fish would have been annihilated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 our naive native fish would have been annihilated! Trout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Technically trout aren't obligate piscivores like pike, they are mostly insectivorous but wouldn't turn down a slow fish given the chance (like most native fish). Trout definitely have direct and indirect negative effects on native fish, in some cases certain native species simply cannot survive in an area with trout (notably small non-diadromous galaxiids). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 at Western Springs there are some sort of trout, goldfish and probably other fish I can't remember and they get pooped on by great flocks of ducks, geese, swan etc. Don't forget the Cat Fish and EELS.. Oh and Koi Some of the Koi in there must be at least 2m long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 2m? I know they are a major pest but 2m? And you spelt eels wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 it one thing i would love to do if i won lotto next week..i would buy a block lifestyle land with pond..making a tropical pond and power temp by with solar heating..what a dreammmmm... the problem is how do i stop those birds from getting in the pond? :slfg: You get fish that will attack the birds, they wont be a problem then... :sml1: :rotf: :sml1: :rotf: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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