Rewilding My Lot

Very soon after the pond was finished in November 2024, I added six Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), chosen because of their diet: zooplankton, small insects and insect larvae, and detritus material. However, after that first day of release I never saw them again, dead or alive. Perhaps they died of starvation, cold, or being eaten by other creatures, but I’ll never know what actually happened.

Therefore, I waited until the pond has had more time to get established and have just added another batch of the same fish.

Things that are different for the pond in May 2025 compared to November 2024 include higher temperature, plants that have been in place a few months, more insect activity, and more algae.

The algae have significantly increased in the past month, perhaps because of the higher temperatures, longer days, and increased nutrients, to the point where the water is now somewhat cloudy. This pond is intended to be an ecosystem of sorts, with a balance between flora and fauna. I don’t intend to intervene much with the algae yet until I see how things settle over time — some degree of cloudiness is perhaps to be expected. The place where I bought these fish (Water Garden Gems), where they seemed very happy, also had significant algae in their ponds at the time of purchase.

To introduce the new fish to my pond, first I floated their bag in the water for about 30 minutes to equilibrate for temperature. I did that in the small area where the pump is located so that I could easily retrieve the bag again. (I was topping up the water level at the time, hence the hosepipe.)

Then I opened the bag, poured the fish into the main area of the pond, and wished them well. I don’t know exactly how many there were because there were several extra tiny fish among the larger ones that I officially bought. I think there were at least three pregnant females in the group of maybe 15-ish in total — females tend to be larger, and pregnant females are distinctly swollen.

The next morning I saw at least four fish swimming around in the pond, which was more activity than I ever saw with the first batch last year. So I am hopeful for a better outcome this time!