How to Setup a Cheap Pond for your Blue-eye Nano Fish or Frogs, Create a Little Ecosystem
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- In this video I will show you how to create a little ecosystem on a budget for you fish or frogs that will fit just about anywhere, I use this to breed little native fish but to also have more then one setup incase something goes wrong with my main setups. I have found over the years that these little setups can be just as good for breeding small nano fish as larger setups and look quite nice when grown in for most semi shaded positions. they look really nice on patios, sunrooms or just in your garden, it is great for wildlife as birds can drink from it and frogs can breed in it and you get the added bonus for your fish in the warmer months, I hope you enjoy this simple cheap setup and if you like this type of video, like and subscribe for more like this, I'd love for you to leave any comments or questions and I will try and answer them as quick as I can, ENJOY.
Love this new content you’ve been producing Jason - great to see natives becoming ‘trendy’…!
Also, @Bunnings - give this man a sponsorship!!
Thank you! for the feedback, I thought it would be a good warm weather project, I'm actually surprised they don't add Bunnings adds on this video, it would be smart marketing, I don't get a choice in it but that's what I'd be doing 🙂
Awesome video. I’m going to set one of these up for sure. Love the sound effects too. Nice to see the chook walking around
Thanks mate, yeah they are always hanging around to see what they can pick up when I'm doing work like this, I couldn't use the original sound because the tree above had about a 100 lorikeets screeching, it was so loud but nice to have them around in the rainforest garden, I noticed you had one on your desk to, now I gave you some inspiration 🙂
Love the magpies singing
Yes they sound nice!
That osmocote pond plant fert totally made my tank plants flourish it’s fantastic and I’ve tried a lot of expensive root tabs.
So down to earth, simple and effective. Another great video, Jason. Congratulations on your leadership in the “Australian Native Rainbow fish Renaissance”.
Thank you!! and thanks for Watching 🙂
Great content as always Jason. It's always good to see how everyone approaches this type of small breeding project. Especially being less power intensive than other methods :)
Thanks mate! I'll be honest I've never used any sort of filtration on any of my tubs outdoors unless I wanted them to move water from one to the other, even on some of my larger biotopes I have built the only reason I put filtration on them is to give the water flow for videos, if you have a good balanced tank with lots of plants they can take care of them selves, I was going to add a USB aerator on this setup just to show people what you can do on a budget, but then I thought I never do so there was no point, I've been doing it like this for 40 years and have bred so many fish like this why change now, these little tubs for some of the nano fish have done so well for me I thought I'd share, originally I used them just to backup my original colonies incase something happened but they have done just as well for breeding and with less effort 🙂
I really love your channel. Thanks for sharing. 👍
Thank you for watching and thank you for the kind words! 🙂 I just subscribed to your channel, I wouldn't of known about it if you didn't comment, I'll have to check it out.
Childhood Memories of digging holes, lining them with a garbage bag and putting in my precious fish i caught in the creek ... gambusia and little carp😅😅 Tubs + blue-eyes are way better than my little feral ponds!
Yes it's amazing looking back and remembering the things you used to do as a kid 🙂
and the week I dug out a backyard pond made of waterproofed concrete and sandstone bedrock base. It did not work, leaked like a seive. At least it was good exercise… I thought the sandstone bottom would be cool 😂
the best part about a temporary pond in Oz is that the gambusia have not found it yet (the plague minnow). Neither have those long necked turtles that gobble down fish like we snack on a packet of chips. The yabbies too. Alot of people like our yabbies, but I hear they can get pretty angry when cornered. Fortunately I am not well aquainted yet.
Definitely doing this I have the exact same plastic wine barrel sitting around at home
They make great little ponds, you won't be disappointed 🙂
@australianbiotopes4563 I can see why they make great ponds I can't wait to start setting mine up tomorrow
Top little vid and a very well explained project. I have to say that I loved hearing the magpie song throughout it.
Thank you! I couldn't leave the original background noise as I have a tree above that pond that was full of parrots and it was loud 🙂
Loved it !
Thank you! 🙂
I definitely want to try this. I would have to keep it on the back porch though my chickens would stand around it trying to catch the minnows probably. Thats what they do around our farm pond anyways. I'll often see them catch minnows or crawfish even the occasional mouse from the pasture. I call them tiny velociraptors
They look great when they grow in, that's why I moved mine, my chickens were eating the plants 🙂
Great how to video Jason! Nice and easy to set up a little pond
Thanks mate! I normally redo them every year and split up the plants, I have been a bit busy and where I had them the chooks were nibbling on the leaves of the swords so I thought I'd better get onto them, then I thought a great little video to share, for someone like you with all your nano fish this would be great and cheap, they look good to when they grow in, a great way to seperate some of your floating plants as well, I found for the blue-eyes it works really well to because they don't jump and they seem to like these little heavily planted pools even in the wild 🙂
All safe, sound and fun! I´ve thought many years about setting something like this up, but since I´ve lived (to) many years in apartments, it has never really fitted in. Tanks are better suited in apartments. I like to watch it though, so thanks for the video! Looking forward to an update - as you, I´m sure the plants will grow really nice. 🤗
Thank you! yes well a tank is pretty much similar anyway but you get a viewing window as a bonus, these are great for a patio, it is like a pot plant but it has a bonus of water, but I'm the same I do love my tanks as well, the fish do seem to breed much more readily outside in these though with little care.
@@australianbiotopes4563 agree! I have seen some aquarium fish that where kept and bred outside, even in Sweden. The most stunning example: rosy barbs. They where in a bigger setup than in your video and where also something completely different from the dull fish we see in aquarium stores. Their colors where simply stunning and I realized why they where popular back in the days.
In Vienna I think the Chinese paradisefish would thrive all year around, if kept outside. Of course, they would need a heater if it gets freezing cold (no ice for air breathing fish), but that rarely happens here. Cheers!
@@jokervienna6433 If you check out my older videos I had a large pool I was breeding angels outdoors, they looked much nicer.
@@australianbiotopes4563 No surprise, I would have guessed it. But what makes it work better? I´ve thought a lot about that. Is it simply the variety of food that is available in an outdoor environment? Or perhaps also some UV-light from the sun (fish are cold blooded creatures, they should benefit from it) or water quality? Or all combined?
I´ve only breed angels once, and that was indoors. I gave the fry the best live food I had, but noticed that their "top and under long fins" got "bent" as they developed. I searched for answers, and I think it was in Helmut Pinters book I found a good advice: really good water quality. So I changed a lot more water, and the fins actually straightened out (the fry was then around a cm long).
Sorry for a long comment, but I find this very interesting and I am curious about what thoughts you have about it. No need to answer, but I ask you, since I think you are a top notch aquarist that know what you are doing. 😘
@@jokervienna6433 It is in my opinion a combination of all, being able to browse all day for natural food in a large water body full of micro organisms natural algae to prune must be better for them, I still fed them, most of the fish I originally threw into the pond were my culls and most come good, I know from breeding Guppies and Swordtails outdoors there colour is much better and they seem to be much stronger, same with the Rainbowfish, in my established ponds I even get springtails jumping on the water and I have seen the fish hunt for them so I think it is just better all round, I just wish I lived more in the tropics so I could do it all year round.
Love the video mate cant wait for the update and the next video. Keep up the top quality vids mate!
Thanks mate!, I just did this quick one because where I had them from last year the chooks were attacking them, so it was time for a move, a few people were asking how to do it as well 🙂
Thanks Yep I just got one of those tubs from Aldi a few weeks ago 😊
They are great and last, I saw them at Aldi as well 🙂
I just made a simillar one for my balcony for medaka. Instead planted in small pots of soil capped with sand. Used black scoria from bunnings on the bottom
Yes that's another way to do it, I sometimes just put potted plants in to, especially for some of my larger ponds. 🙂
Cool vid, look forward to the update. I have an ugly old spa pond in my yard, very low tech but successful, pygmy perch in it.
Thank you! I used to use them to and bath tubs when I was working in plumbing, I then changed to IBC tubs as they are easier to drain for me.
Great video, please do more like this! Where did you get the sword from? Bunnings as well?
Thank you! no I have been growing them for years so all of those plant I already had, Bunnings do sell some aquatic plants to, if you go to larger aquarium shops most will have them and the wholesalers grow them emerged and they normally melt down when submersed grown so if you buy one from them they normally do well and are a bit cheaper then the Bunnings pots as are the stem plants.
@@australianbiotopes4563 cheers, my location (Coffs Coast) is terrible for quality aquatic plants. I will need to buy anything substantial online unfortunately.
Great episode do u catch these fish wild if so wat area do they come from cheers col love ur work maté inspiring ❤️🙏🇦🇺🤙🍻
Thank you! no these are captive bred, you can't catch them in the wild they are protected.
Great video, I just set one up recently too, is there any need to cycle it beforehand?
Thank you! no not really, I set up IBC tubs and ponds every year and I have never had a problem, I do get the occasional algae outbreak in some but the plants help with that when they get established, if you can have it in a shady spot it's much better, in the full sun you will always have that problem unless you can get the plants really growing well.
Funny how many people feel the need to add a filter or air stone, not realising it ruins the thermal barrier of depth, and overheating the pond. Plants do it all…..
Yes exactly, you can feel that just by putting your hand into a pond, I've been doing it like this for years ad it works really well with no complications.
Another great video Jason, thank you. The root tabs are a great idea. I've had one setup like this for a few years (bit bigger), gave up on goldfish after realising the kookaburras and kingfishers were helping themselves. I was down to rosy barbs and shrimp but last week out of nowhere I noticed a funky smell coming from the 'pond'. Everything in it was dead!
So I've cleaned it out and done a full reset, more plants, dirted bottom with sand cap. I do have a filter running in it and was contemplating what to put in it, I think I'll definitely give some pseudomugil a go. Can you keep them in there all year round? Do you need to do any water changes or is the evaporation/rain/top offs generally enough? Thank you again for another quality video.
Thank you! I stay away from the dirt bottom my self there are a few to many things that can go wrong and it's a pain to resolve, when I do larger ponds I go to the landscape yard and get some similar sand, depending on where you are sometimes they have nice looking sand to, I have even used a 10mm concrete blend for some of my ponds, the natural stuff not the stuff with crushed concrete added, with that I just give it a quick rinse and put it in as the water does clear up in the larger ponds and a little bit of clay is good for the plants, you probably saw the small handful I put in for the micro organisms in this video, yes birds can be a pain with large colourful fish in a pond, these small Blue-eye and local Rainbows are better at blending in so they won't get fished out as much but they also breed pretty quick in a pond, If you live bellow the sub tropics you can use Pacific Blue-eye but the Honeys do fine from upper NSW. Local Rainbows to your area will also do fine in a larger setup, just make sure you plant it up well and then just do top ups, I never do water changes my self.
@@australianbiotopes4563 more great info, thank you. I'll go with just sand if I need to reset it in the future. I'm in Brisbane and do have Pacific Blue Eye and Crimson spotted Rainbows in other setups. Thanks again.
@@footagemissing No worries mate! any time 🙂
I put 3 Pacific Blue eyes in as I was shutting down a community tank that had a few. And today I just saw babies for the first time, so rewarding, they didn't take long at all. This has me wanting to try other blue eyes now!@@australianbiotopes4563
You rate one can do this in Cape Town? Same type of temperatures, slightly cooler winters.
You should be able to, if it gets to cool maybe try in a patio so you can add a heater.
I want so much some mellis but in europe it has not been a easy task
Yes I have heard but I have heard of them being in some of the countries in Europe and some in Russia and even in the United Kingdom so you may be able to source some, you might just have to keep searching and maybe ask around on social media.
@@australianbiotopes4563 Thanks for the tip!
Hi Jason, when you see fry do you remove them? Or do some survive if left in? Is there a reason you wouldn't leave these set up year round? Thanks :)
I leave them in for most of them unless they are prone to predate their fry like Pseudomugil luminatus, so in that case I would add mops rather then the moss, I do leave mine setup for as long as I can, even through winter, but eventually they will get chocked up by the plants so they will need redoing like any other pot plant, the sword plants die back with their emerged leaves over winter but you can cut those leaves off and they grow submersed through the colder months depending on how cold it get where you are, I'm in Brisbane and it does fine but when we get cold snaps some of the warmer loving fish would die so I remove them.
@@australianbiotopes4563 Thank you, I'm in Brisbane too so very useful advice for me. I have something similar I just set up recently for pacific blue eyes I caught in North Pine river, going well so far and there are fry! Adults don't seem to be bothering them. I wanted to do one for honey blue eyes too but the prices I've seen lately have been out of my price range. I might get a bigger tub and do rhads.
@@elihood86 Just be patient, they will be cheap before long, everybody is just trying to cash in fast.
@@australianbiotopes4563 Have you ever had cane toads manage to make their way into one of these?
@@elihood86 Yes all the time, I've even had them get into my IBCs or stock tubs, they are a pain, but I found quick removal is the best action, the good thing is I also have a lot of cool frogs that use them so you have to take the good and the bad, if they are removed quick no damage is done.
hey mate so the osmocote tabs can't hurt the fish? is that nutrient like quick start? also where can you get those fern leaves and the cones?
No it's fish safe, it's formulated for ponds, I use it in my aquariums as well and have been doing so for years, the liquid feed is actually a feed I buy in bulk from a Hydroponic shop for aquaculture as a concentrate so not something the average person would buy as it's expensive and only comes in 5lt bottles, so unless you do aquatic plants on a larger scale it's probably not worth it, you can get smaller doses of plant liquid feed from most aquarium stores they are all pretty good, I actually sell the botanicals whole sale to a select few shops if your not in Brisbane you can get them online from Keeping Fish Simple just ask him what your after because he hasn't put them all up yet or from or if your in Brisbane you can get them from Atlas Aquarium or the Keeping Fish Simple store, I will have them on line in future but still a little way away.
@@australianbiotopes4563 thanks for the reply and video, i will get some of those tabs for sure, how many would you put in smaller size plastic plant pots with river sand and val?
@@danizm78 I don't know the size of your pot but I normally put 3 into a 200mm pot so that will give you an idea.
@@australianbiotopes4563 thank you, can other species of blue eyes like forktails, red neon's etc live in one of those wine barrels during summer or does it get too hot for them?
@@danizm78 No they can all live in them other then Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis, they would live in it but need saltwater to breed so it would be pointless, Pseudomugil Luminatus love it to but tend to predate on their eggs and fry so if it's not heavily planted you might be better adding mops and removing them into another pond or aquarium for more success, most blue-eye like to live in small pools that are safe from predators so it's ideal for them, just make sure you do keep them in a shaded or semi shaded position as they can heat up in the sun, and away from predatory birds as they will make a meal out of them as well.