My Pond, 56k b-ware

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 23 Oct 2003, 03:54

Sorry if the pictures are a bit blurry, i took them at about sunset but i wanted to make sure to get the malibu lighting in

All of this was achieved through manual labor executed by ME and not some landscaping company.
it is roughly a 1500 - 1700 gallon pond and i am currently stocking it with mostly Koi.. about 8 - 10 of them that range from 4" - 10" long as well as a 14 - 16" albino channel cat

this was a project that took me almost 2 full seasons to complete, starting last winter and finished in the begining of summer.
it is my design, i thought it had a nice informal shape to it and it contours the walk of my pool so i thought it would look nice, but i don't know since i'm a guy and not a landscape designer

the plants are mostly anuals and perenials ** i dont know if we got any evergreens, i don't think we did** and were mostly planted by me and my mother and it took them about 3 months to mature as much as they have in that photo.

i also got a couple photos of the landscaping we did around the pool and a cute shot of my little dog

so tell me what you think!!

Post by **Silurus** » 23 Oct 2003, 03:58

That's a pretty nifty looking pond.

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 23 Oct 2003, 04:06

i don't know of any other decent large growing bottom feeders, if anyone knows of any that would look nice in the pond, please let me know.. Later i will also be adding a blue channel cat that is now around 9" long and is currently in a grow out tank so i can atleast get him to a similar size to my albino cat.

i will probably sell the channel cats when they reach a reasonable size ie: 2 - 3 feet

also, do you think a Asian RTC would go well in a pond of this size? the PH is around 7.8 and my LFS is selling one for $30 **Selling cheap because it was a donation, PETCO**

Post by **Silurus** » 23 Oct 2003, 04:09

The Asian RTC will terrorize (and eventually kill) the koi, so I'd steer clear of that.
What are your winter temps like? The kind of cat you can keep in the pond will depend on that.

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 23 Oct 2003, 04:13

it's north texas so the lows are usually around 27 - 29* F

There is a river by here and during the spring you can usually catch channel cats

Post by **Barbie** » 23 Oct 2003, 07:32

Very nice pond

I definitely wouldn't attempt the RTC. Your night time temps have to be getting down around 60 degrees, and cooler in the winter. Is the pond heated?

Barbie

Post by **Silurus** » 23 Oct 2003, 08:29

With temperatures like that, the only cats you can safely keep are temperate catfish. Why not try bullheads? They won't grow as large as channel cats.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » 23 Oct 2003, 08:38

That's a cold winter? I couldn't even fathom being able to have a pond that I could keep cats in

trout are about all you can keep in a pond with a winter like this

I dream somday of having an indoor pond!

However, IndefactorX, your pond is quite lovely! Good work!

Ben

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 23 Oct 2003, 16:10

IndefactorX what are the dimensions of your pond?
Couldn't you just heat the swimming pool and make that a tropical pond for an RTC that is the size it would need to be!!

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 23 Oct 2003, 21:12

magnum4 wrote:IndefactorX what are the dimensions of your pond?
Couldn't you just heat the swimming pool and make that a tropical pond for an RTC that is the size it would need to be!!

lol, i would, but i want a swimming pool

aside from that i might soon be building a 10,000 gallon pond on the other side of the swimming pool, if i do that then my channel cats would be going in there and probably 1 or 2 red tail cats, maybe even 4 to attempt breeding them..

oh and does anyone know the mature size of a breeding Blue channel?

i know they can get up to 5 feet long but i want to know how big they have to be before they start to breed, and can they cross breed with an albino?

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 23 Oct 2003, 21:20

In my experience channels grow a bit too slow after about 24" for RTCs and the RTC would just eat them.

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 23 Oct 2003, 21:45

magnum4 wrote:In my experience channels grow a bit too slow after about 24" for RTCs and the RTC would just eat them.

can a 4' RTC actually mouth a 2' channel cat?

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 24 Oct 2003, 00:06

I wouldn't put it past one considering the mouth size of a 4' RTC.
what i was trying to say is that if you introduced the two species at the same size the RTC would just out grow the channel so fast and eat it.
RTC also bully fish they can not eat, I had a friend lose a small 18" Hemibagrus wyckii, to a 30" RTC.

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 24 Oct 2003, 02:09

magnum4 wrote:I wouldn't put it past one considering the mouth size of a 4' RTC.
what i was trying to say is that if you introduced the two species at the same size the RTC would just out grow the channel so fast and eat it.
RTC also bully fish they can not eat, I had a friend lose a small 18" Hemibagrus wyckii, to a 30" RTC.

i just went back to Petco and checked up on the RTC and they just jacked up the price to $60
lol, i think they just found out what it was and what its actually worth

anyway, a guy up there owned an RTC that was about 3' long that ate a 2' Arrowana

talk about an expensive feeder fish

Post by **Silurus** » 24 Oct 2003, 09:55

oh and does anyone know the mature size of a breeding Blue channel?

Blue catfish mature at sizes of 400-600 mm (16-24").

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 24 Oct 2003, 21:49

Silurus wrote:
oh and does anyone know the mature size of a breeding Blue channel?
Blue catfish mature at sizes of 400-600 mm (16-24").

is there any way to sex them? any distinguishing characteristics of female or male

Post by **Silurus** » 24 Oct 2003, 22:06

Unlike channel cats (I. punctatus), it's a lot more difficult to sex blue catfish. Male ictalurids generally have a prominent genital papilla, but I'm not sure if this is true for blue catfish.

IndefactorX · Post by **IndefactorX** » 26 Oct 2003, 23:28

do you know of any other large growing cold water catfish?

Post by **Silurus** » 27 Oct 2003, 01:39

How about bullheads? They're smaller than channel or blue cats and would be more suited for a pond your size.