Backyard Buddy Habitats
There are many things you can do to create a home for native animals in your backyard. One feature that
also turns your garden into a tranquil oasis for you and your family is a water feature. A native fish pond
creates a home for frogs and fish and adds a feature for you to feast your eyes on.
Design a native fish and frog pond in a few simple steps
Before you start
Before actual construction begins please take a little time to consider the purpose that you have in
mind for your particular pond. Too often the comfort and safety of the inhabitants is the last thing
rather than the first to be evaluated. There are any number of reasonably inexpensive books available
on techniques of construction as well as pond kits & contractors out there with experience in the field,
but many of us prefer to do it ourselves. So below are a few points to consider in the planning stages.
Location
Site the pond away from existing large trees to avoid root problems and minimise the problem of leaves
falling in, decaying and causing poor water quality. Also it should not be sited in full sun (can overheat
on hot days), but in a semi shaded location with good light, but protected from the hot mid afternoon sun.
If keeping fish is an important purpose, try to make the pond as large and as deep as practical to
minimise temperature extremes in the pond check with your local council as to the maximum depth allowed
(deeper ponds may need to be fenced).
Design Features
Remember when designing your pond to consider water supply and drainage as well as electricity supply for
lights, pumps and filters.
The pond should have an overflow area (a place a little below the rest of the
pond height) included. This is to control where the water overflows to (either through heavy rain or from
overfilling).
All overflows should be screened to prevent escape of plants, snails, fish and eggs during heavy rains
and water additions. As well as keeping your fish in the pond this serves to protect the local waterways
from any potential escapes (especially important if non local fish are in the pond).
Preparation
Fish are very sensitive to contaminants so new ponds should be rinsed out before use. Concrete ponds
need "curing" with a combination of filling, scrubbing and painting with vinegar as well as several water
changes.
If filling with tap water remember to allow time for the chlorine & chloramine in the water to
dissipate or use a commercial chlorine neutraliser from the pet shop.
Before adding plants and fish ensure that all equipment such as filters, fountains and waterfalls
are working satisfactorily.
Allow at least a week for plants to settle in and begin growing before adding fish. If possible remove
all obviously dead leaves as they will add decay and add unwanted excess nutrients to the water.
Plants
Native plant nurseries & water garden nurseries will have a range of suitable native plants for
planting in and around the pond.
Allowing plenty of shallows around the edges will allow inclusion of a variety of moisture-loving
marginal plants such as reeds and sedges and ground covers. These improve the appearance, provide shelter
for inhabitants and aid water quality.
Consider having all your in-pond plants in containers as this will greatly facilitate their removal during routine maintenance such as leaf & litter removal and reduces stress and damage to the plants.
Containers with emergent plants can get top heavy, and steps should be taken to prevent their falling over.
Planting around the outside of the pond will provide useful additional shade and shelter, which helps to
moderate temperature and algae.
Fish
The most suitable and readily obtainable Sydney area fish are Pacific Blue-Eyes, Firetail Gudgeons,
Empire Gudgeons and Smelt. The other pond fish indicated on the poster mentioned in the item on Gambusia
may be harder to find.
Fish can be most readily obtained from aquarium shops, some native plant nurseries and water garden
suppliers.
When introducing your fish remember to float the bags or buckets to equalise the temperature and add
frequent small amounts of pond water to adjust other water parameters before gently releasing the fish.
Do not feed your fish initially for 2 days to allow them to settle in and become active and hungry
then only feed them once each day with as much as they can consume in 2-3 minutes. More pet fish are killed
by over-feeding than any other cause.
Frogs
If you intend to attract frogs around the pond, then the pond should be sited a little away from houses -
frogs can make a bit of noise on warm evenings.
The pond should have a gently sloping side to allow non-climbing frogs to access the pond.
Rocks and slabs overhanging the edge can stop frogs from being able to exit, so some gaps may be needed.
Plenty of plants should be added to and around the pond - to provide shelter for frogs and tadpoles.
All fish will to a certain extent prey on very small tadpoles. The fish on the poster that are marked
as "Tadpole Friendly" (Pacific Blue-Eye, Australian Smelt, and Firetail Gudgeon) are more likely to leave
tadpoles alone and will not prey on larger tadpoles.
You will not be able to keep any tadpoles if there are any Plague Minnows (Gambusia) in the pond.
These fish are a major threat to native frog and fish populations.
Further information on frogs and ponds can be obtained from the FATS group (Frog And Tadpole Study Group).
www.fats.org.au
Maintenance
In addition to feeding any fish and regular cleaning of any filters, there are a number of other tasks
that will need to be done periodically.
The pond will need to be periodically cleaned of dead leaves and fallen vegetation. This "mulm" can
simply be scooped out by hand - it makes good compost. The frequency of cleaning will vary depending on
time of year and the amount of vegetation falling into the water. At the very least it should be done at
the start of spring prior to the water temperatures starting to rise. The increased biological activity
from the rotting vegetation & warmer temperatures is a major cause of fish losses at this time of year.
Periodically the water in the pond will need to be topped up. This can be done using a normal garden
hose, but due to the chlorine levels in tap water no more than 10-20% should be added at any time.
Further advice on ponds, aquaria and fishkeeping is available from your local aquarium shop, water
garden supplier, books, the internet and local aquarium societies.
Find out which fish species are tadpole friendly and ideal for a native pond. Download 'Fresh Fishes of the Sydney Region' Pdf 750 Kb
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