Fast-forward two years. The ‘pond’ is roughly 50’ in diameter and is maybe 4’ deep in the center. Cattail volunteers are now growing in it and a couple of generations of frogs and toads have metamorphosed out of it.

Last summer we had quite a problem with mosquito larva so this past February I went to the local feed store and bought everything they had in their koi/goldfish tank. We put seven 4" fishies in the pond - where they promptly and completely disappeared.

That is, up until about a month ago, when I spotted a flash of gold in the cattails and a glimpse of dozens of tiny darters in the shallows. I’ve since started feeding the little buggers and have discovered that I now have four 10" - 12" big, beautiful koi and three seemingly-prolific shubunkins. The little darters have grown into what we are guessing is a hundred or so 2-3" shubunkin fry.

Which brings me to the question of maintaining a rather un-natural ‘natural’ pond.

The fish seem healthy and happy and so far have thrived on their own. I’m wondering if a little benign neglect is the best way to deal with this pond. I’m afraid if I mess too much with the natural eco-system that has developed that I’ll end up doing more harm than good. Last week I drained close to three-quarters of the mucky water out of the pond and pulled the weeds at the edges before refilling it with fresh water. Fortunately we have what is termed ‘agricultural’ water - untreated water direct from the Colorado River that we can use for topping off the water level in the pond. The fish can now be seen swimming laps and seem to be enjoying their home.

And we are enjoying them.

What advice do you have for us and our mud pond?

If you want to get fancy you can add a Lake Aerator in the warmer months. Basically just a floating pump/fountain. it will add lots of O2 which gets depleted in warmer water.

Thanks!

The fish are thriving. We are feeding them koi pellets on a somewhat regular basis. Sometimes three times a day - sometimes once every three days. They are active and seem to enjoy swimming together or just hanging out in the cattails or along the shallows. All the shubunkin fry are getting bigger and there seems to be at least one more hatch group. I've got to get some of them out of there eventually.

The fountain idea sounds like it would be a great way of adding oxygen to the water. Getting electricity to the pond would be a major project. Does anyone know of a solar-powered pump?

It seemed to me that if other aquatic animals are doing well, then the fish might do well, too.

We'll have to see how they fare with winter approching. We live in a fairly temperate climate, so ice will never be a problem.

We had an egret visit the pond a couple of days ago. It's only the second time in several months a bird has shown any interest. The first time, we chased the bird off. This time I figured the bird might help with the population control issue... I don't know if he caught anything or not. The fish seem to be pretty savvy about hiding in the cattails whenever anything comes to the edge of the pond.

I try and let the water overflow a little when I top it off, but since this is basically just a wet hole in the ground, I like to empty it by about 2/3s every once in a while to flush out any possible dissolved mineral, salt or toxin accumulations. It still takes 24 - 36 hours or so to refill it so maybe that gives the fish a chance to adapt.

Fortunately, there has been very little silt runoff so the pond has kept its depth over the last couple of years.

The pond is not connected to any natural waterways - just seasonal drainage swales and there is a 1/4" mesh around the 18" overflow/drain pipe to keep the little buggers from going anywhere.

Right now the pond is completely open to the native wildlife so introducing birds might not be such a good idea just yet. We’ve seen bobcat in the area along with coyotes, deer and raccoons. A couple of weeks ago there were very large cat tracks all around the perimeter of the pond. I suspect we had a puma pay us a visit.

Our original intention was to fill in the silt-retention basin just as soon as we were done building our home. We never intended to create an entire pond/eco-system. Now, however, we are looking forward to incorporating the pond into our landscaping and hardscapes. I guess I’ll have to start looking into various aquatic plants here pretty soon. Waterlilies sound like a wonderful idea.