Category: Advice
If you’re about to head off on your summer break, here are a few do’s and don’ts for holiday pond care.
Don’t worry about leaving your fish pond while you’re away. In most cases these worries are completely unfounded and it will come to no harm.
Don’t increase feeding in the week before you go as any uneaten food will pollute the water. Your fish don’t need “feeding up”!. In a planted pond they’ll find plenty of algae and insect larvae to feed on. Your pond may even look cleaner and clearer when you return!. Even in a fish-only pond, they can find some food and will have sufficient stored energy reserves to thrive for 1 – 2 weeks.
Don’t add any new fish in the 2 – 3 weeks before you go away. You don’t want to risk introducing new diseases into the pond at this time.
Do clean the filter and remove any excess debris about a week before you go away if you can. This will ensure that the pond is in the best possible condition.
Do top up the pond before you go and if using tap water add a de-chlorinator like Ecopond Chlorine Guard to remove chlorines and chloramines which can harm fish.
Do leave the fountain running in hot weather (if you have one) especially at night as this will oxygenate the water. A solar fountain means that you don’t need to worry about your electricity bill! You can find more information on oxygen in ponds in our Summer Pond Care blog.
Do ask someone to have a look at the pond occasionally to check that there are no major problems (e.g. dead fish, pump not working). You could also ask them to feed the fish, but unless they are a fish-keeper carefully measure out the amount they should give at each feed. Most non-fishkeepers will be tempted to over-feed which may lead to water pollution issues.
