5 Pieces of Advice for Taking Care of Tropical Fish in an Outside Pond

When you have an outside pond or other aquatic setting some of the methods that worked well in taking care of an indoor aquarium don’t work well in an outdoors setting. From feeding, to heating the water to adding plants you need to make allowances for the different environment in which your tropical fish are in.

* Let’s start out by talking about feeding. Chances are, you are used to feeding your tropical fish about once or twice a week in your indoor aquarium. However, when they move to an outside setting this requirement can change. Bugs and other insects will make their home in and near your pond which will provide the fish for a natural source of food. In addition, you may have more fish in your pond than you had inside because of the increased space. This may mean you need to feed your tropical fish more than you are used too.

* Next, keep in mind that the environment outside is a lot less regulated than that inside your home. If you live in a climate that has extreme hot or cold temperatures you will need to take this into account when designing and stocking your pond. A heavy-duty heater may be necessary for the pond water during cold weather – or you may have to drain the pond and bring the fish inside during the winter. Usually most fish can handle hot weather, but some are sensitive to wide temperature swings. Just as there are heaters for tanks and ponds there are also devices made to help keep water temperatures regulated at a certain level by cooling it when necessary.

* You enjoy your tropical fish, and there are a lot of creatures in nature that will enjoy them as well. Cats, squirrels, raccoons and other creatures of the outside world may want to visit your pond for less than honorable purposes. Keep this in mind when deciding to move your fish outside – and above all, make sure you give them places to hide and get away from nature’s creatures. They’ll appreciate it!

* Do you like to fertilize your lawn? Well you may have to rethink that if there is a concern about runoff into the pond. Most tropical fish like highly regulated waters to keep them healthy, and fertilizer or other chemical runoff can be fatal. It might be time to start going natural with your landscaping!

* If you are looking for a fish that can survive in hardy conditions, and any type of pond, check into Beta Fish. These hardy little guys can survive in low-oxygen environments – in fact, they are often found in drainage ditches in some areas!