# Fun with container ponds



## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

I've got two (soon to be 1) container ponds chilling out on my patio. It's been getting warmer, so I decided to grow some aquarium plants in the ponds, plants that are otherwise too large for my tanks. It was a good chance to move things around and work on getting rid of my smaller pond. Eventually I'll add a few least killies to the pond if the water temps remain stable.

I planted two types of swords, a fairly large melon type (x5), and a smaller rosette type (x4). Also planted a bunch of ludwigia repens, and I have room for more aquarium plants. There's also a pot of mini cattails, although they might be submerged a bit deep, we'll have to see. In the hanging basket is a mix of some type of grass, forget-me-nots, and creeping jenny.

There is a bit of current, albeit a veeeery weak one, provided by a tiny solar fountain pump. It's enough to cause a tiny bit of surface agitation, and for it's size, that's pretty impressive! And since it's solar powered, I don't really have to worry about it too much. No filtration, but plenty of area for bacteria, and if the only fish going in the pond are just a few Least Killies, I'm not too worried. 

It's about a 20 gallon tub, and the red rectangular thing is the pond I'm getting rid of. 

Also took the time to harvest some live food for the fish, which was a huge hit. (pic's not working, sorry)
http://i1153.photobucket.com/albums/p520/kehy5/20130622_152812_zpsa758b367.jpg


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Kehy, we're going to have to start calling you "Mini Tank Master" and "Mini Pond Master". And I have three of those long red planter boxes! Planted with flowers, not fish. LOL


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Lol it's not that bad! I just have...a 5 gallon, a 2 1/2 gallon, three 1/2 gallons, and two 1/8 gallons ...ok maybe it's getting bad again


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## henningc (Apr 17, 2013)

Well I have to ask how the container pond project is going? What kind of fish have you added? Are you using any air or just letting nature take care of business?


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## choutman (Mar 6, 2012)

iv been doing the container pond for a few years...I got hit hard by 3 juvenile raccoons this last week they got all my fish and tore my plants all up.....thinking about tearing them down ....or shooting the raccoons.....


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Got sidetracked by school, so I haven't been updating, but the container is going great. Got a HUGE amount of plants in there, and they're loving the sun. I've also added 7 Heterandria Formosa (least killies) that are tiny little livebearers. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do if the population explodes, but they seem to enjoy the space and plants. The females I added were fairly small, so it may be a while before I get any fry. I've also come to realize it's unlikely that I'll get any larger showier fish, since the LPS won't take any, I don't have the tank space to keep anything other than the H. Fomosas, and I don't have the guts to ship and sell fish yet. That being said...I'd love to have even a couple male guppies showing off and being pretty. The plants are great, but they don't move a whole lot. 

I've also discovered I have an issue with birds. Magpies to be exact. They seem to LOVE the taste of my floating plants. They also just glare at you if you try shooing them away. So far it looks like they haven't been bothering my fish any. 

I believe this is the full plant list, there might be some I missed, and I don't have ID's on all plants:
Limnophila aromatica (purple leaves)
Myriophyllum mattogrossense (needle, stick-like leaves)
Rotala indica (small round leaves)
Narrow Leaf Java Fern
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' (long thin leaves)
Limnophila repens 'Mini' (smaller leaves)
Nesaea triflora (larger plant)
Penthorum sedoides (green oval leaves)
Pogostemon erectus (needle like leaves)
Ludwigia arcuata x brevipes (thin reddish orange leaves)
ludwigia repens
ludwigia glandulosa (vibrant red)
Nymphaea Stellata (dwarf lilly)
dwarf sagittaria?
E. parviflorus 'Tropica" (rosette sword)
Melon sword
Mini cattails
forget-me-nots
creeping charlie
weeds

Floaters:
duckweed
dwarf water lettuce
frogbit

...I think I have a few plants.
Here's some pics, click on them to be linked to more
<a href="http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/kehy5/story/45821" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1153.photobucket.com/albums/p520/kehy5/story/45821/thumb/large.png" border="0" alt="kehy5's Story"/></a>


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

The fish are doing well, still no fry, but I'm not too worried about it. I have however run into two other problems.
One being that I have Hydra in the pond, which are tiny freshwater anemones that can be harmful to small fish and shrimp. I haven't noticed that the fish have been affected by them, and I still have some shrimp in the pond, so I guess they aren't too bothered by the hydra. 
Problem two is that I don't think my plants are getting nearly enough fertilizer from the fish. It could be that some plants are just out competing others, but several plants simply aren't growing much. I'm going to do a trim and a sale, and maybe that will help. Or getting more fish in there, that might work...


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

raymond s may be interested in your hydra(said he's been looking for them).
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/i-attempted-failed-wild-collect-51778.html permalink 8


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

It seems I'm going on vacation in the next few days. no clue how long though, which is making me worry about my fish. I moved 5 more adult H. Formosas out of the pond to make sure that those at least would be able to eat and be happy over the summer break. Brings the total of fish I've added to 12. Still can't see any babies, but I know that the fish that have been in there are doing well, and there's plenty of critters for them to eat. Something odd I've noticed is that they look really golden in color. Not an unhealthy pale, just different. No complaints from me though, makes them easier to see. Still wish I had some color in there...

Sold a few of the plants from the pond. Honestly can't tell that there's anything gone. The Nesaea triflora, which was already a bunch of large stems to begin with is getting HUGE. About 2' long, and poking it's heads out of the water. I do wonder a bit about how it might look if more of it comes out, maybe just having a little bush on top of the water. I'll probably see in a bit.


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## Vindoo (Dec 15, 2013)

I'm assuming you took this down after the summer? just curious.

I'd love to do something like this but still have allot to learn. Just getting back into the hobby and never really had live plants in my tanks back then. I do have a small pond out front that we deserted a couple of years back. I also have a nice spot on the patio that I need to rescreen and it would be perfect for a tub/container.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

When the weather where you are gets nice and warm, go for it. It's fun. The plants I found that worked best here were sword plants, vals, cattails, ludwigia repens, and the floating plants. These are tough, hardy plants that can still look good. If you want, a teacup water lilly would add some nice color for a small pond, and there's a number of plants that would do well on the edge of the pond to fill things out. 

The fish I used, Heterandria Formosa are apparently made of steel and didn't seem at all bothered by being outside. I never found any babies (unless the dozen I pulled out included some mature babies) but that didn't particularly bother me. They went in the pond when it was a bit cold, and it was very cold, only a bit above freezing, when I got them out (this was the earliest I could rescue them). They also survived 100+ degree heat, magpies, and a rather curious cat. Looking back, I might have gone for guppies or swordtails for a little color, but perhaps not having other fish to worry about was for the best.


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