How to Choose Pond Fish
(Koi, Goldfish, Golden Orfe)

Koi are the most spectacular ornamental pond fish to add to a garden pond. Large and beautiful, Koi can also be tamed to eat out of a person's hand. Koi are not suitable for very small ponds (they must have at least 200 gallons of pond water per fish) and must have adequate pond filtration. Koi can live a very long time (40+ years) if the right environment is provided!

Goldfish are the staple of garden ponds. They adapt readily to a wide range of pond conditions, are bright and colorful and breed easily, producing a lot of baby fish. Goldfish are suitable for all but the smallest of barrel gardens. Many different varieties are available, but we recommend only the comet shaped ones for outdoor fish ponds.

Orfe are sociable fish and should always be kept in schools of at least three. Orfe are fast swimmers and need a lot of oxygen. Consequently, they spend most of the time near the surface of the pond. Golden Orfe will jump out of very small ponds because they like lots of room to play and they love to catch bugs. We recommend at least a 500 gallon pond for Orfe.

All of these pond fish are cold water varieties and can remain in the pond during the winter with proper preparation, as long as the pond is deep and large enough and care is taken that it does not freeze completely.

Wild and game fish are not suitable for the garden pond. Some are predators and can harm other fish, others are bottom feeders and tend to stir up the bottom, keeping the water murky.

Pond fish should be fed suitable pond fish food to assure healthy fish and a stable environment in the pond. Low quality pond fish food will result in the fish producing more waste and polluting the pond.

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How to Choose Pond Fish(Koi, Goldfish, Golden Orfe)

How to Choose Pond Fish
(Koi, Goldfish, Golden Orfe)