What fish (if any) are good pond cleaners?

Question

I have a 3000gallon outdoor cold water pond with a good filter system but if i'm honest i'm a little lazy with cleaning the pumps.

They really ought to be done once a week but in reality it's probably only once ever 3 weeks. The fish are fine it just makes the water "cloudy"

I wondered if there are any fish that could help me out and maybe clean the sides of the pond?

There are currently 2 white koi, 1 very large gold fish, 1 small goldfish and 1 shbunkin (sp) so there is plenty of room in there but I don't want to upset the harmony in there.

Answer 1

algae eaters are not advisable its okay if your busy to clean your filter just do some water change weekly its not much of a task if you have a drain it will be faster if not use a hose.

kOi keeper & goldfish keeper

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/world...

http://www.geocities.com/koiphilippines/...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArAlwupRy...

Answer 2

Id recommend snails over algae eaters any day.

The only algae eater that can happily live in colder water temperatures is your standard chinese algae eaters, which are not only often skittish and aggressive, but are also great escape artists!

Your snails wont add as much "chemical waste" to the tank (remember that these guys are only helping you physically clean the tank, chemically, its still going to be dirty!) But be warned, most snails arent fond of heavy metals in their water, and some species can breed quite copiously given the right conditions.

If this option still doesnt interest you, a chemical option may be the better way. There are products on the market safe for fish and plants (Which is another thing i would recommend - if you didnt have koi :) as plants are generally dominant over algae and use all the nutrients which algae grows from ) Theyre often inexpensive, but wont rid your pond of algae, just control it. (Ie, Pondcare products by API, 'Pond chocolate' by aquasonic

Best of luck

Meg

Answer 3

Buy a few Water Snails, they are harmless and eat the algae which in effect cleans up your tank (:

Answer 4

If there is algae on the side of the pond, you can buy some algae eaters. Dont comletley reley on them, becuase the just clean when they feel like it. Try getting big ones, since it is a pretty big 'tank' more like pond...

hope this helps :)