How Many Fish Can I Add to My Pond?

Chances are … if you have a large sized pond, you have fish. In fact, your pond fish might be the primary reason why you even wanted a water garden in your yard. Pond fishes are fun to watch and most pond owners name each and every one of their finned friends. While fish create a memorable experience, they can also bring headaches to water quality if you go overboard when stocking fish. Too many fish in the smaller ponds creates an imbalance in water or impact the water quality, so you’ll want to make sure you’re smart about the number and size of fish that you place in the water garden.

Required Pond Size

Pond fish typically required 38 litres of water for every 2.5cm of their length, but keep in mind they will grow larger over the years. So no matter how tempting it might be to add just a few more fish, be careful not to overstock! Some pond experts even go so far as to recommend only 1.25cm of fish per 38 litres of water as a maximum stocking density.

If you’re a fish fanatic, you may find yourself with a pond containing 5 or even 8cm of fish per 38 litres of water and the fish seem to be fine. However, the density and ecological strain of this loading can turn your pond into a fragile system. The pH tends to sag, the fish tend to grow more slowly, and disease can become a common occurrence.

It’s very difficult to salvage sick fish in a pond that’s overcrowded. Most likely, Mother Nature will sadly pick off your favorite fish to achieve her ideal stocking density based on the system the fish are in, and then the remainder may recover.

So before adding another fish to your collection, make sure you have ample space so that all your fish are ensured a happy, healthy home!

Browse our pond ideas to get some tips on the ideal fish pond for your backyard.