Hi there,

This is my first post on this thread and i would like to ask could i keep White Cloud Mountain Minnows or any other small fish in my small pond. It was originally a wildlife pond but we have no 'big' predators like newts so i thought i could put some small fish in i.e not goldfish to keep the balance.

Thanks,
Aquamarine2703

Hi and welcome to FK,

Unfortunately WCMM aren't suitable for pond life as they won't survive the winter. You could consider small native British fish - Sticklebacks etc.?

How cold can the water temp drop to in winter in Britain?

It can freeze to solid ice on the surface and be not much above freezing in the unfrozen water

I had sticklebacks but they created an algal bloom so i removed them and left my pond to develop. I dont want goldfish but something like minnows which could survive in my small pond. Also i dont want anything that will eat frogspawn and tadpoles.

The European Minnow (Phoxinus Phoxinus) is native and sometimes available.

There are lots of claims that WCMM have survived the British winter, but I'm not sure on the validity.

The bloke at my local LFS also says that his brother has a weather loach in his pond which has been there for 10 years and is as thick as your wrist! Of course he might just be a nutter!

JON

Given those last few years we had with temps dipping to minus 8 or more during the winters and thick ice on outside ponds, I think you will struggle to find a species that could survive and falls outside of the classification of 'small native British fish'.

There was a post on PFK some time ago though giving some options (can't advise yeah or nay as no 'personal' experience) but it seems most UK species tend to get rather big.

Let me see if I can find it for you....back in a jiffy.

Got it!

http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co. ... ve/index.php/t-16839.html

Bear in mind, fish do not create algae blooms. Either it's sunlight (grrrr) or excess nutrients, usually nitrate that are the trigger. The latter would be linked to the filter not being ready to house fish/not mature enough.

Please scrub the last comment on nitrate, was thinking about another post, will teach me to multi-task on FK whilst doing a Shepherds Pie at the same time

Could have been excess food though giving the algae a foot hold? Feeding?

How big is the pond?

Miller's Thumb wouldn't really be suitable for a pond, they're a stream fish. Unless you can set up a pond with a powerhead I'd not recommend them. Sticklebacks are voracious predators of small insects and suchlike, so they'll go for tadpoles. If you get dragonfly larvae then small ones would end up on the menu.

Personally I don't think I'd bother adding fish. Keep it as a nature pond, and enjoy the invertebrates that make it their home. My parents used to keep fish, but lost them all to a heron. Up until then I'd never seen a waterboatman.

If you wanted to keep WCMMs outside you'd be better off with one of the Blagdon Affinity style patio ponds which you could move indoors when the weather got too cold. Allegedly they'll survive down to 10 degrees C, but I'd move them indoors before it got to that stage.