Aquatic Animals
 

 

Benthic Ecology
 
Almost all of the life in a pond is composed of bacteria, copepods and crustaceans most of which are microscopic. The habitat they desire is river run rock and a log.  River run rock has been washed for centuries in rivers and has certainly been used for thousands if not millions of years for invertebrate populations.  The log provides the food.  Bacteria and fungi decompose the log that is eaten by the larvae that are eaten out of the log by my turtle above eating bugs in the log.  

  The common crayfish is the largest crustacean in the pond.  Crayfish are the cleaning maids in the pond.  They eat dead fish and dead plants.  They like river run large stones and gravel to clay habitat. 

"Bottom animals are attracted by the flowers."
 

 
Nectar scent trails bring insects and insect predators to the pond.  They lay their eggs on the log.  If you want fish food, plant flowers. 
 

Amphibians and Fish
 
 

Insects are frog and fish food. 

 

    
   
Frogs and salamanders provide feed for fish.  They require plant forage and eat many insects.  They are often pests disturbing sleep; however, they are easily controlled using predators such as birds and fish.
   

Warmwater Fish

  
 
Because fish require a lot of food their habitat requires dense planting of plants. There are fish that eat plants as the major part of their diet such as koi.  Just a few koi  are needed for a pond.  The pan fish and bass ecology is complex where often the population expands rapidly due to reproduction.  This indicates you need predators in the pond.  I would suggest you provide the plants and bug population above and limit fish populations using predator fish and by attracting a turtle.  

 

Trout

    
 
  Many believe they cannot sustain cold water fish. After I help you install their habitat, the rainbow trout is the easiest of the fish to culture.  They require a robust ecology of other fish, amphibians and insects along with the shade provided by trees and shelter in plants.  A very healthy fishery can be established within a year.  The population is easily replenished supplied from local hatcheries.  Remember you are a fisherman not a fish grower.  Do not feed your fish; instead provide natural food and have low densities. 
 
Practicing champion fly fisherman catch and release the same handful of fish every day.  Therefore, you can do the same and not have population density problems.  You need few fish to have a lot of fun.
 

Top Predators
 
The largest bug in the pond is the dragon fly larvae followed by the crayfish.  They provide tension in the pond preying on each other and small fishes.  To keep these populations under control the fish and amphibians eat them.  Then the birds form the top of the food chain for a pond. Their habitat is critical.
 

Birds
 
  Again it is the flower nectar that draws birds to the pond by attracting insects to the pond.  They require bird houses and feeders until the trees and forage plants mature; and the sedge and rushes set seed.  Red wing blackbird and the song birds control the insect population in the pond and haze large predators like osprey and the great blue heron. Additionally, using many species of birds limits the habitat for ducks and geese.  Soon a pond becomes home for wood ducks if boxes are placed.  A diverse bird population is a joy.
 

The big bird house
 

 

The Barn Owl

The barn owl is the queen of the sky; she kills quietly like a ghost in the night.  She needs a high barn near the pond.  Since she hunts in a radius of three miles from her nest, her home can be fairly far away from the pond.  She kills mice, voles, rabbits, rats, ... almost anything she can.  She does this without you knowing this is happening where you notice not many animals venture to the pond to eat your plants and fish.  Her presence as a top killer is rewarded with a few fish; she can have them for the great work she does for the pond and the ecology.  Give me a call and I will send plans for her house. It only takes minutes to make rodent control easy.

  

 

People

 
We are not finished.  We often do not consider ourselves a part of the whole ecology even when we built the pond.  You are the top top predator.  If you gain control of your animal and plant populations, your presence in the ecology is keenly felt.  So you are a part of it.  So consider what you need for your habitat.  Often it is only a chair.  Welcome yourself to your pond.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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