June is one of the best months to own a pond.
Fish and plants are active, growing and beautiful during the early days of summer, and the evenings are perfect for enjoying a glass of wine or lemonade outside.
Thinking about adding new fish to your pond? This month is a great time to do it now that freezing temperatures are safely in the rearview mirror. (We usually start selling fish at Splash in late May). See Tip No. 1 below to learn how to safely introduce your new finned friends to your pond.
Wondering if you actually have room for more fish? Our June Deep-Dive will teach you everything you need to know about avoiding overcrowding.
3 Tips for June Pond Care
1. Thinking about adding fish to your pond? Now is a great time to do it
Fish are extra sensitive to changes in water temperature. That’s why we like to wait until late May or early June most years to start offering them for sale at Splash. By this time of year, the risk of shocking a fish by moving it from an warm indoor tank to a cool outdoor pond is relatively low.
You still need to use caution when introducing new residents to your pond, even during the warm months. Slight changes in temperature or water chemistry can quickly kill fish.
Luckily, acclimating new fish is easy:
- Float the bag holding your new fish in the pond for 30 minutes
- Add approximately 1 cup of pond water to the bag
- Float bag for 10 minutes in pond
- Add another 1 cup of pond water to the bag
- Float bag for another 10 minutes
- Add a final 1 cup of pond water to the bag
- Float bag for a final 10 minutes
- Individually release fish by hand into the pond
Total acclimation time = 1 hour
Make sure to apply Pond Detoxifier before introducing fish to newly filled ponds. You can also treat any pond with Protect and/or switch to Probiotic Fish Food to help ease fish through the stressful moving process.
> Find fish care products at our Online Store
2. Only feed fish as much as they’ll eat in three minutes
Your fish will be at their most active this month. If they’ve learned to associate you with food, they might even swim up to you when you approach the pond.
This behavior might make you think the fish are always hungry, but, like a dog that begs at the dinner table, they’re probably just fine.
Only feed your fish as much they’ll eat within about three minutes of you throwing the food in the pond. Any extra will sink to the bottom of the pond and rot, creating unhealthy and unsightly water conditions.
Most fish are fine with just one feeding per day, but, if you’d like and if your fish continue eating, you can feed them up to three times a day.
Planning a summer vacation? Your fish can live off the bugs and plants in your pond for a week or so without issue.
> Find Fish Food at our Online Store
3. Continue weekly doses of Beneficial Bacteria
Beneficial Bacteria is our go-to water treatment for keeping water crystal-clear and fish happy and healthy.
Bacteria do lots of helpful things for your pond, including consuming harmful ammonia and algae-causing nitrites. For best results, apply bacteria at least once a week throughout the season, or install an Automatic Dosing System that will do the work for you.
Pond Bacteria comes in lots of forms – so how do you know which one you need?
Just follow this guide:
- For water below 50 degrees: Cold Water Bacteria (Available at Splash)
- For water above 50 degrees: Beneficial Bacteria (Available at Splash)
- For new ponds, recently cleaned ponds or springtime ponds above 40 degrees: Pond Starter Bacteria (Available at Splash)
- For Automatic Dosing Systems: Maintain for Ponds Autodoser Pouch (Available at Splash)
In June, you’ll likely be using regular Beneficial Bacteria.
Liquid Beneficial Bacteria comes in an easy-to-use pump-top container. If you buy an 8 oz, 16 oz, or 32 oz bottle, simply add one pump of bacteria per 100 gallons of water in your pond once a week. If you buy a gallon bottle, use one pump per 600 gallons.
(Dry forms of bacteria are also available. See your container for dosing instructions.)
To Calculate Pond Size in US Gallons: Length (in feet) x Width (in feet) x Average Depth (in feet) x 7.48
All of the Beneficial Bacteria products listed above are completely safe for fish and plants – making them a great alternative to potentially harmful algaecides.
June Deep-Dive
How Many Fish Can I Have in My Pond?
Koi, goldfish and other finned friends are some of the easiest pets you’ll ever own. Watching them flit around the water is one of the many benefits of pond ownership. But you can have too much of a good thing.
Fish don’t thrive in overcrowded ponds. At best, they’ll feel stressed. At worst, the levels of built-up fish waste and other bad stuff could kill them.
So how many fish should you have in your pond? Many experts recommend housing no more than 1 inch of fish for every 10 gallons of water … but the answer is a little more complicated than that.
If your pond has fantastic filtration, you may be able to get away with more fish. If your filtration is less than perfect – which is probably the case – you’re better off with much fewer fish.
A good number for most ponds is around 1/2″ of fish per 10 gallons of water. The right number for your specific situation, though, will depend on the quality of your filtration system.
At a Glance: How Many Fish Can I Have in My Pond?
- Never stock more than 1 inch of fish for every 10 gallons of water – but many experts recommend having significantly fewer.
- The quality of a pond’s filtration is the No. 1 factor determining how many fish a pond can safely hold.
- Fish in overcrowded ponds are more susceptible to illness.
- Always account for fish growth and reproduction when adding new fish.