Dear Glug,
You cannot have fish unless you make a fishery. To have fish, you need all of the pond components. This is called an eco-system and is composed of plants and animals. The plants are the “primary producers” and are in balance with animals, the “primary decomposers”. This is a biological system; and for a pond, it is a closed system where nothing enters or leaves.
In engineering the most familiar closed system is a car where if any part is missing, it doesn’t go anywhere. For natural biological systems, when something is missing, disease occurs; things don’t go well. You get weeds instead of the plants you want and you attract animals you don’t want. Enter the PonDoc.
Using the precepts outlined in “The Pond Keepers Guide“, you can stock your pond with all of the natural components of a pond. The list can be found in the blog “Pond Restoration”. This includes river-run rock, trees and sedge, a dead log, fish, crayfish and birds. This provides habitat for all kinds of animals from microbes and invertebrates to vertebrates; thus completing the closed system.
By creating this system, you become a part of it. You will find its health parallels yours. When you create a healthy environment, this sense of well-being enters you. The pond becomes your private eco-system. Ron says, “I have become a freaking bird watcher.” I told him, “I am a pond fairy.” You are not only an observer but gain a child’s wonder when sitting next to your pond.
Dearest froggy, I hope you find our pond comfortable. Get busy the insects are blooming and life is returning to the pond like gang busters. A cuppa and a chair is all I need.
Yours affectionately,
PonDoc from the pond