Dojo/weather loach in a partially above ground pond

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bluepotatofries
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:19 pm

Dojo/weather loach in a partially above ground pond

Post by bluepotatofries » Fri Apr 22, 2022 11:31 pm

I recently moved.into a.new house. Lots of land,.but not much flat space. I'm.planning on putting in a.pond but because the land is sloped it will be a partially above ground pond. Min three feet into the ground at bottom of slope and then a few feet above ground on that same side. (zone 8 btw)

I'd love to have three or four Dojos in there. (To the best of my knowledge they are not considered invasive here but given that we have very few cold days,, I think they would do swimmingly in an.outdoor pond, especially if I build a giant cover for it and insulate it well on those rare days it briefly freezes,. Maybe even throw in a heater for the very worst days.

Now, why loaches? yeah, I know I'll rarely see them, but I love loaches and I like balancing a pond with something that will spend time near the bottom. It will make me feel good knowing there are some in there with lots of room for them to swim.

My concern and question is this. I know loaches like to jump when the weather gets stormy because in the wild that's when they can populate new ponds when the land is wet and they can flop somewhere else.

The problem is. There's no other place for them to go and if they jumpy out of a partially above ground pond there's no way to flop their way back in. So I've been thinking about ways to keep them in. I want plants as a biological filter and was already considering a bog filter... But would a full margin of plants around the entire perimeter (short on one side for viewing) help keep the loaches in if they jump.

What about curving the walls at the top of the pond inwards? I've noticed when fish tend to jump in aquariums it's trying to jump up the side of the tank. If the walls of the pond curved inward at the top (which could be done since it's partially above ground) then if they jumped along the edge of the pond they would be guided back towards the middle.


Any thoughts and ideas? Anyone else come up with plans before to keep fish from leaving the pond if/when they jump? I'd really like to avoid a net wall if possible.

Bas Pels
Posts: 360
Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:08 am

Re: Dojo/weather loach in a partially above ground pond

Post by Bas Pels » Sat Apr 23, 2022 3:30 am

If the walls of the pond are high enough to bounce any junping fish back, you will not loose fish. The think is, however, that it will be hard to make those walls look good.

I think 20 cm, that's 8 inche,s would suffice

bluepotatofries
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:19 pm

Re: Dojo/weather loach in a partially above ground pond

Post by bluepotatofries » Sat Apr 23, 2022 3:06 pm

Really, you think 8" would be enough? That's more than doable.

johnwheatly9
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2022 3:56 am

Re: Dojo/weather loach in a partially above ground pond

Post by johnwheatly9 » Mon Jun 20, 2022 2:48 am

I think that's enough to keep the fish from jumping out. If jumping then you need to reconsider your height. trap the cat

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