I find it hard to believe a pond would freeze solid in Cornwall. Only one of the ponds I've had has been four feet or more in depth, and that's because it was large. They've mainly been two feet at most. None have ever frozen solid here, even without something floating on the surface to keep an airhole.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have found newts in a water filled sink and a water filled plastic dustbin in my garden this year. I thought they had abandoned my garden but obviously not. It is quite possible sticklebacks would find newt eggs a tasty morsel. I have a feeling they are voracious carnivor feeders.Newts are supposed to eat frog and toad spawn as well as fish eggs.I haven't found any baby fish in my pond yet but I have a healthy population of frogs, toads and newts so nature is keeping her balance for me.
Quick word of caution: if you are planning newts then do any extensions etc first, or it is possible you could end up tangled in the nature conservation bureaucracy.
Newts are less complicated than bats, though.
“Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
Joyce, that's brilliant, I'm crossing my fingers that there are some newts nearby that decide to visit us. Ferdinand, thanks, that's a good point, all building work is well and truly done and just regular gardening to be done now. We spotted a water beetle and a water boatman today!
I have two ponds in my garden in North East England. One is for koi carp and is 1500 gallons in volume, whilst the other is a third of the size and is a wildlife pond. I concur with Joyce in saying that the depth of the pond is key to the health of its inhabitants, and this isn't just to prevent it from freezing over. In deeper water, there is less temperature fluctuation, and therefore less stress on all of its occupants. My koi pond is 6 feet at its deepest point and this is where the fish tend to congregate during the coldest months. My wildlife pond contains no fish but is 4 feet at the deepest point. However, the majority of it is less than 2 feet deep and it is much shallower than that around the edges to allow frogs and birds easy access, and for plants to grow. A pond that is shallow will fluctuate widely in temperature, and if it also has a small surface area, it will hold a limited amount of dissolved oxygen in summer. It should be noted that some fish need up to 6 times as much oxygen in summer than they do in winter.
In short. If you intend to keep fish, the number and size is dependant on the surface area of your pond and the amount of dissolved oxygen that it can hold, although there are plants that can be added which will release oxygen. The position of the pond is also important in terms of it's exposure to the cold in winter and to the sun in summer. Finally, I would recommend ensuring that at least part of the pond has a deeper area (ideally around 4 feet minimum) where fish will be less stressed in winter and also safer from predators all year round.
Thanks Andyman, I've read various comments about wildlife ponds not needing to be so deep but your points about the temperature fluctuations and predators are very valid. I had been thinking of a sunken container around the dimensions of a half barrel but not sure now that this is the best idea for sticklebacks. Might just stick with one pond and no fish...
A half barrel would not be suitable for a pond with fish. Water plants grow very quickly so a barrel will need constant thinning. They look very atractive when newly planted but fish would really struggle with the low winter temperatures and the high summer temperatures. Fish are very fragile and the slightest thing stresses them so a barrel would soon kill them. It is important to put oxygenating plants in a pond for fish, I have to remove clumps of my oxygenating plants at least 3 times a year when it begins to crawl out of the pond.
Thanks Joyce, I don't like the idea of putting them somewhere they won't be happy which was the whole reason for the question in the first place. I think we'll just stick with looking at the sticklebacks at the local park ponds instead!
I remember bringing home sticklebacks from the local park pond when I was a kid. I kept them in an old discarded cast iron bath in the garden and spent many hours watching them, fascinated by their behaviour. Unfortunately, they never survived for long though.
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I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Newts are less complicated than bats, though.
I concur with Joyce in saying that the depth of the pond is key to the health of its inhabitants, and this isn't just to prevent it from freezing over.
In deeper water, there is less temperature fluctuation, and therefore less stress on all of its occupants. My koi pond is 6 feet at its deepest point and this is where the fish tend to congregate during the coldest months. My wildlife pond contains no fish but is 4 feet at the deepest point. However, the majority of it is less than 2 feet deep and it is much shallower than that around the edges to allow frogs and birds easy access, and for plants to grow.
A pond that is shallow will fluctuate widely in temperature, and if it also has a small surface area, it will hold a limited amount of dissolved oxygen in summer. It should be noted that some fish need up to 6 times as much oxygen in summer than they do in winter.
In short. If you intend to keep fish, the number and size is dependant on the surface area of your pond and the amount of dissolved oxygen that it can hold, although there are plants that can be added which will release oxygen. The position of the pond is also important in terms of it's exposure to the cold in winter and to the sun in summer.
Finally, I would recommend ensuring that at least part of the pond has a deeper area (ideally around 4 feet minimum) where fish will be less stressed in winter and also safer from predators all year round.