Pond fishes are very delicate to handle. Proper caring
for fishes inside your pond requires daily
maintenance. Unlike fishes that are living freely
amongst the different bodies of water, pond fishes
require more special attention. Because all they do is
swim and wait for food to be served, there are only
few details on how to check if your fish is feeling
sick or if they are given proper care.
Oxygenation is one very, very important factor that an
owner has to consider. This can never be depleted in
the everyday agenda. You have to check if your fish
are receiving the proper oxygen that they need to get
through the day.
Proper oxygenation is needed especially during the
summer when oxygen is rapidly depleting. The scenario
would be like this: During summertime, the water in
your fish pond becomes warm because of the heat that
rotates around your surroundings. And as the water
becomes warm, the lesser oxygen it holds. Ironically,
fishes during summer tend to metabolize food faster
than any other season. This has made more reason to
need an increased amount of oxygen. Good thing if you
have only a minimal number of fishes living inside
your pond. You don’t have to worry about their
oxygenation. Although, of your really love collecting
fish and every single kind of fish is situated inside
your pond, and sadly, your pond is just the size of
your bath tub, this will result to grievous problem.
It’s because the more fish there is inside a small
pond, the more oxygen is needed. When oxygen becomes
depleted, your fishes can experience insurmountable
amount of stress and can turn diseased. Some may
occasionally die.
Another factor that increases the depletion of oxygen
is that when fishes are over fed. Obviously, when
fishes tend to be fed in a large amount, there are two
things that can be expected: one, there is a greater
need for oxygenation because of rapid and increased
metabolism of food; two, when fishes can no longer eat
the food, it will be suspended inside the pond
permanently and organisms living inside the food tend
to decompose waste which still consumes oxygen.
Plants also share the benefit of oxygen that is
available. While people think that plants only use up
carbon dioxide to produce oxygen, that occurs only
during the wake of day. But when sunlight is absent,
plants still contribute to the intake of oxygen inside
the pond.
What are the different measure that you can do to
solve the oxygenation problem? Here are some:
- If you have an overpopulated pond, lessen the
number. This can be painful for the owner to do but if
can be quite helpful to save more fish lives. This can
be considered as your last resort.
- Use aerating devices like waterfalls or fountains
especially during the night or if medication is given.
Keep the performance at a maximum level.
- Frequent, small changes in water can lessen the
presence of microorganisms and chemicals that consume
oxygen.
- Remove excess algae and debris.
- Carefully feed your fish by giving small, frequent
feedings. If in excess, remove food that are uneaten
at once.
Remember, proper oxygenation is equivalent to
healthier fishes properly cared for living inside your
pond.
Photo by Peter Baker 
Photo by Tupinambah
