Stocking A Water Garden

One of the basic rules for making a successful water garden is that stocking is not just up to you and your desire to have a beautiful pond. Stocking calls for bringing together a number of ingredients, both plant and animal, so that a healthy and stable balance is maintained. It will be necessary to introduce some uninteresting plants without any ornamental value because they help to keep the water clear. You will also have to make sure that a certain amount of the water surface is covered by foliage, whether you like it or not.

You will soon discover that choosing specimen from your aquatic centre or catalogue merely because it looks the most attractive can be a big mistake. The showiest fish will require a much larger than average pond as well as an ice-free environment in the winter months. Some fairly strict rules, then, for making the correct choice of stocking material.

In addition there are rules concerning the time for stocking the pond. First of all, plants should be introduced during the growing season and you should wait a few days after the pond has been filled with fresh tap water. This allows the dissolved chlorine to disperse. The second rule is that you should leave Four weeks between planting and the introduction of fish. The reason for this is that fish tug at submerged plants and nibble at the leaves, so Water Lillies, Marginals, Oxygenators etc. should be allowed to establish themselves before being exposed to Goldfish, Shubunkins or any other type of fish.