Pond gardens and water gardens typically are designed similarly. There’s a nice walkway, some rocks and a fountain, a few water lilies, and a handful of koi. But what if something out of the norm is more desired? What if you want to ditch the water lilies in favor of something different and have the koi be in someone else’s garden while you get a little nutty? These are five fish that are good in a pond or water garden and that will add the alternative flair to the feature.
Golden Tench
Also known as the doctor fish, Tinca tinca feed on algae so they are great for cleaning the water garden. It can even live in low oxygenated water. They have a golden green color and are carp like fish that live well in ponds. The fish has small scales that are very slick, nearly as slick as an eel. In folklore, the golden tench could heal sick fish that slide up against it, hence the common name of doctor fish.
Rosy Red Minnow
Also known as Pimephales promelas, they are a freshwater fish that are sold as “feeder fish”. This is another that is great in low oxygen water gardens. It has a rosy golden hue throughout the fish. They are a social fish and like warmer waters with a mid 7 range of pH.
Mosquitofish
The Mosquitofish, also called Gambusia affinis, is a freshwater fish that is small and robust. They tend to resemble guppies. They aren’t egg laying fish, but live bearing; this raises the chance for offspring to live in a water garden setting. They can live two to three years in the right conditions.
Eels
Many tend to forget the ability of an eel in a water garden, but it really livens up the standard feature. True eels are Anguilliformes. They are predator fish. The Anguillidae eels can be freshwater, so those are the ones more apt to be water garden inhabitants.
Catfish
Yet another fish that is typically not thought of when making a water garden, Catfish are bony and whiskered fish that are bottom feeders. They are one of the few fish that sink instead of float in water. They can reach any size, depending on the particular species that is picked.
Any of these five fish will bring something slightly different to the water garden feature than the typical goldfish and koi. If one really wants to shake things up, the eel and the catfish idea will bring some definite looks among the visitors that view the garden.
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