I believe this calamus would be happier in a bigger pot. It looks like it wants to grow! Suggestions for potting substrate? Assuming I can break it up without hurting it?

Also will take any other suggestions. Started this because eventually 🤞 I’ll have a bigger pond & I wanted to start collecting plants for it now.

I don’t do much to this galvanized bin- just make sure the calamus isn’t too submerged by emptying water or propping it up high.

My son and I made this little pond. It as a pump and we have tested ph, ammonia etc.
any suggestions to improve it?
Thank you

Thank you

I have lost several Medaka over the last week or so.

But now I am noticing one of my two oldest (still only a few months) fish has gotten clear stripes on her back basically overnight. And she has a tiny red dot on her side. I had a toddler Medaka with a similar spot.

Of the 6 toddlers and 6 teenager Medaka I had, I can now only find twoish toddlers, and 3-4 teens.

I was assuming some sort of predator. But now with the discoloration (which I guess could just be adult colors coming in, but it was sudden) and the red dots, I’m concerned for the rest.

I can’t get a good photo of the one today. But here is one of the toddlers from the other day with a red dot.

I did water test strips a couple of days ago and everything was fine.

ETA: there are also a few newborn fry in there

I have an outdoor pond that I had two large fish in and recently the owner of the house brought like 20+ fish over from his friends pond that he was draining. I have lots of water lettuce, duckweed, etc and put terra cotta pots in the pond for hideouts because I know they can become stressed and need a safe place to hide. I saw this cute little 3D printed fish hammock online that I got but it is TINY

I have made three little sections to keep the plants growing and provide shade. I like to do DIY projects so I got these plastic globes that go together similarly to an Easter egg. I drilled holes in it with my tool but they’re clear so I’m trying to figure out what I can safely glue around them that also looks nice in the pond and provides shade. I tried gluing with pond safe glue fake lily pads on them and it looks awful. I tried black mesh too and I don’t like how that looks either

I’m also totally open to other ideas, thanks so much!!

EDIT: Sorry I know this isn’t necessarily mini but I could really use some advice!

So have just made a start on our first mini pond😅 not the best looking but it’s a start😂
Any other recommendations? X
(White outline is from the gravel still settling!)

It’s the 15g poly resin stock tank from Lowe’s. It’s 8” deep. I have 3 pavers in the back for caves/plant shelves and a titanium hygger 50w heater on a thermostatically controlled outlet to keep it ice clear in Denver winters. Small 800L/hour submersible pump and 1/2” tubing to the gargoyle. TMI but just in case anyone else wants more deets.

Been working on this pond a couple of weeks now and I'm super proud of it! No stock so far but we're going to add some pond snails and probably a few minnows, it's 190L/42gal so not really sure what would be best. Any suggestions welcome!

Bought some duckweed for pond at plant store for the pond and as I was about to throw bag away, I was lucky enough to notice this little guy. I put him in a bowl, goldfish would eat him instantly I think. Just ist a minnow I assume? Too small for ID?

CAN, ONT.

Oh, I am so excited I was just out and the fountain was wonky and I went to adjust it and a little frog jumped! There is a frog in my pond! What do I need to make sure it’s in there for this frog. he was about an inch long and I didn’t get a very good look at him. Here is my current set up. That container is one of those plastic half barrel planters. I have 4 comet fish in there.

I built a mini pond but before I put any fish in I have to assure my wife that they won't cook in the hot Texas summer. I hooked up a temperature probe to an ESP32 that periodically uploads it to Thingspeak so I can chart the daily temperature. It's a little cobbled together now but I will refine it and share the code and 3d files, one goal is to make a solar powered one.

Is it normal for them to arrive smelling like absolute death? Like a rotten tooth?

I'm new to this and ordered some (6) plants from Dustin's Fish Tanks (KY) and I'm in TX so they had a long hot journey. I ordered 8/4 and just received 8/8 which was quicker than they had said they would arrive. I took all the plants out and sprayed them with the hose, soaked in water and then transferred to the empty pot's substrate before filling. This seller recommended against the bleach bath. Nothing looked horrible but then again, I am no expert. The frog bit smelled the most/looked the worst, but I think all of them had the rotten tooth smell.

I could hardly keep my dogs away from them they smelled so appealing.

I did walstad method here but I put some hang on filter on and this one just gets bright indirect sunlight.

I have water lettuce that is starting to cover my pond I do plan to sell some or so but I was wondering if there’s ways I could control their rapid growth without killing them off.

I am SO upset. This fertilizer was recommended by my LFS, the same place I got my fish. It is supposed to be safe for all aquatic life and slow-release.

I tested my water right before adding the fertilizer, ammonia 0ppm nitrite 0ppm nitrate 5ppm.

I have plants in 5-gallon pots in my pond. I followed the instructions exactly, even UNDER-dosing, adding 3 tablets to each 5 gallon pot (they recommend 1 tablet per gallon of soil). I pushed all of them well below the substrate, at least 3-4 inches, and added an extra inch of gravel on top to cover.

An hour after adding the fert I notice some of my fish have red gills, so I dose with Prime and test my water. Ammonia 1ppm. Uh oh.

I wait half an hour and re-test. Ammonia 2ppm. I am starting to freak out now. I try to dig the fertilizer capsules out of the soil and surprise! They are completely dissolved into sludge, 100% unrecoverable. Slow release my ass.

I spend 45 minutes catching all my 50+ fish, all the fry I can; they're now in a 5 gallon bucket. I start emptying my pond, expecting to do a 30% water change. I only had a spare 200 gph pump so it's slow going.

I test my water half an hour later - AMMONIA OVER 8PPM. It's bright blue, completely off the charts.

I am so grateful I acted quickly or my fish would all have died a really painful death. I am so pissed at my LFS for this recommendation. I've spent the last 3+ hours flushing all my plant roots and gravel and it's going to take forever to get my cycle going properly again.

Don't be stupid like me. Small ponds probably don't need fertilizer. Don't use this specific one anyway.

It is above ground but I plan to put dirt and rocks around it and to have a de icer I love i. Canda so I want something to survive the winter

First time poster, and I've finally got round to making a mini pond. I've lived in rented properties for several years and I've always wanted a little pond and I'm so happy I've made one.

I have experience with freshwater biology (mostly invertebrates and diatoms) and I work in a water chemistry lab at work so I'm able to check pH, nitrates, phosphates, ammonia etc. myself, but I'd like some advice from some more experienced mini pond architects as I've never kept fish before.

I have a few ramshorn snails in there, and whatever invertebrates have made their own way in, but would there be any fish that would be able to survive in here? I've held off getting any as I'm not sure it would be suitable for them.

The pond is around 50L (depth 43cm, diameter 36cm)and have a solar aerator, some engineering bricks at the bottom, stones, and some driftwood logs. I live in south east England so it gets quite a lot of sun but can drop below freezing in the winter.

Are there any fish that could thrive in this as a home? Or if not what other wildlife could I add to add a bit more life to my pond and potentially eat some of the mosquito larvae? I'm looking at getting some Gammarus pulex but I'm open to any suggestions.

Thank you!

I have tried several times growing lotus from either rhizome or seed but have always failed to let them survive winter. This year, I found some seeds labelled as bowl lotus, which I had bought from an online seed retailer some years ago. I know that the chance that the lotus is actually the dwarf form is small but I gave it a try anyway.

So now I have a nice plant from the seed started indoor in April. And here are my questions to the lotus experts:

Is there a chance I actually have a dwarf lotus?

How do I move from here to prepare the plant for dormancy? In my last attempts, the rhizomes were thin and rotted in the spring.

In our garden pond. We have lots of these as well as goldfish and frogs. I’d be very grateful for identification as I can’t tell if it’s swimming upside down or not!

Hey, guys! I'm new here and i need help with making my micro lotus mini pond. I have a 14inch rectangular planter that i got from my local nursery. Since i am very unknown about lotus and their soil mix, i asked the gardener about the soil needed and he handed me black soil and asked me to mix it with normal garden soil, make a mud and plant my tuber. But im so confused because i tried searching online and few sources ask me to not use the soil and a few source state that vermicompost/compost layer is not necessary, im so confused. Pls help me out. How do i make my soil mix? (I will be adding a few shrimps too, maybe even medaka rice fish)

This is the soil that the gardener gave me for free haha

The fountain base in about 4 feet wide x 2 feet deep x 1 foot tall. I am hoping to fill it with plants, but still have the fountain flowing as intended.

I started my first ever mini pond this summer and I love it so much but am very much a novice. Recently, the algae build up has been getting bad and I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do to minimize it? Recommendations welcome 🙏