# Best way to save my pond guppies come fall?



## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

:help:

One of my first purchases last summer when I turned my 13,000 gallon swimming pool into a water habitat pond were several water lilies. They were the only plants in the pond for several months until we planned out the full planting scheme. Unfortunately they attract insects that are too small for the gold fish to be bothered with but that can do a tremendous amount of damage to the lilies. My pond expert told me to get some guppies to solve that problem. They would eat the smaller insects. So I did. I got about 20 fancy guppies and they didn't make a dent in the insect problem so I added 100 breeder guppies. That did the trick and the lilies were saved. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the guppies in the pond all summer and fall. However, with the colder temperatures the guppies disappeared. My pond man had hoped they had just retreated to the deep end and would surface to the shallow end and steps in the spring. Well the water temperature is now up to the 72 degrees they enjoy and no guppies in sight. Never saw the first corpse during the winter but no guppies.

Now to the problem... Spring has sprung on the pond once again here in Florida. Soon the insects will be returning as well. The water lilies survived the winter but the guppies that protected them have not. I want to get more guppies to enjoy watching and have their protection for the lilies but by doing so I am condeeming them to death come Fall. Thier normal life span is 3-5 years.

Then I got the brilliant idea of trying to capture as many of the guppies as I can as temperatures start to cool and put them in the house in tanks over the winter. I looked into the criteria for a healthy tank and it's 1 gallon of water per 2 inches of fish. Guppies are about 2 inches. They also breed very frequently. I don't know how many guppies I would be netting in the Fall but it could easily be in the 100s. A 55 gallon tank is several hundred dollars and takes up a lot of house space I don't have. Cleaning the tank would also be an issue with my health issues. So then I thought of the extra space in the garage. Would it be feasible to put a kiddy pool or two in there and still be able to heat the water enough to keep the guppies going over the winter? Could I filter the kiddy pools properly over the winter months too? I dunno.

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas on how I can solve this moral dilemma? The lilies are living things that deserve protection as well. But I don't want to murder fish annually either. Any guidance you more experienced pond and fish people can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mamadee


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

get some barbs...there are a number of species that will tolerate water temps down into the 50s..many of them are pretty nice looking fish as well..i have a friend in the lakeland area ; i could give you his contact info if you like..


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## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

That would be great Iohachata! Someone recommended mosquito fish but I have read they are agressive to frogs and other fish. Reading up on Barbs I see they are not recommended to cohabitat with long finned fish. I have some lovely long finned gold fish I would worry about. I have about 50 gold fish in the pond and lots of frogs. I want everyone to play nicely together in this habitat.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i have some odessa barbs and have had no problems with them in the more than 5 years i have been keeping them.and their colors are amazing.
and if you throw some hornwort in there they may breed for you too...


https://www.google.com/search?q=ode...rium.com.au%2F%3Fcat%3D11%26paged%3D2;622;255


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## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

I Googled the Odessa Barbs, Iohachata, and they look amazing! It said that they were a schooling fish but aggressive in schools of less than 5. They probably feel threatened which is understandable. In 13,000 gallons with 5 different water lily and lotus areas, I wonder how many of them I should start out with.

I live in Jacksonville, FL. I just started the pond at the tail end of the summer last year. I only got a thermometer this spring so I don't know if the pond reaches the max temperature they like of 77 degrees per the Wiki. The pool the pond was made out of is heart shaped with the 6 ft deep end in the point of the heart so the vast majority of the pond is about 3 ft deep. I imagine the water in the deep end stays a bit cooler than the shallow end in the heat of the summer. There is also a water fall in the point which circulates the water there more rapidly as well. Where you are at does your pond ever get above that 77 degree benchmark and if so how to the Barbs handle it?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i live in Cleveland Ohio..i don't have a pond although i wish i did..i just have a few 110 gallon stock tanks where i keep plants and fish in the summer...i have had them hit over 80 a few times..except for the ones in the shade...
as far as stocking odessas...i would get 30-40 of them....more if you would like..it's a pretty good sized pond....and you could sell the offspring if they become too many...i'll even buy some....
contact Mike Drawdy at Imperial Tropicals..he is in lakeland fla.he is a friend of mine and should be able to help you out......just tell him that John Patakos from Cleveland sent you..

http://www.imperialtropicals.com/


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## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

This place looks awesome Iohachata! I may have to do a day trip there!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

give him a call first to see what he has and if he can help you locate what you need..
Mike is a great guy.


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## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

Will do! I truly appreciate the lead!


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

I kept rosy reds for insect control. They overwintered just fine, spawned every spring. I'm in Western MD, pond all but froze solid several times over last winter, they still survived.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Really? Wow. I wouldn't have expected that.


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## Mamadee (Mar 29, 2014)

Thanks toddnbecka


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