Ducks and goldfish

[Prudence and Pearl]

I just bought two ducks today and its my first time owning them. I read something about ducks eating goldfish and was wondering if when they get older will they pick my goldfish out of my little zen pond in the front yard?? Its a little 25 gallon pond surrounded by bricks and flowers but i have some goldfish and crawfish in my pond and im worried they might go in there and eat them even tho they have their own pond to play in

 

[DuckLover179]

If they have access to it, then yes, they will eat them. You could build a little fence in front of it, to keep them out!

 

[Prudence and Pearl]

uhh oh i worried this would happen....looks like i have a fence to build haha

 

[Wifezilla]

I buy feeder fish for my ducks all the time. Unless those fish are HUGE, the ducks will eat them. If they are huge, they will play with them to death.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh gosh, yes. Those fishes will be gone. And the fence better be big and secure. Depending on breed they can get over it if they see what they want.

 

[tdgill]

my fish have been fine so far.... they are 5 or 6 inches long. If you can bear losing your fish to the ducks, give it a try and see how it works out. My ducks havent bothered the fish at all, even after trying out the pond for a swim...not to say that they won't eventually get to the fish but its been months now and I still have all my fishies.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Not only will they eat the fish that fit into their mouth (my drake swallows an entire mouse), they will also shred and eat all the water plants, plus they will add mud and other dirt into the small pond. Their poo is full of fertilizer causing the algae go into bloom in no time. You have to keep them out. Get them their own pool for their swimming fun.

 

[Lynette]

I will have to get my husband to read this thread. We have our first ducklings this year and we also have a decorative pond. I think he would be upset if the ducks wrecked his pond. He is already upset that the chickens are scratching in the flower beds.

 

[cdnley]

I was going to put my feeder goldfish into the pond this year...its a very large pond but...
Maybe they will be okay? Some of them are about 2" long. I will keep you posted when I release them into the wild )

As for algae and duck poops...our pond has been clear even with the ducks. In fact our pond is algae and green slime free as the ducks eat all of it. Our pond is a retention pond though and is 10 ft deep in the middle. Our ducks tend to stay in the pond only and do not venture into the yard at all so maybe you won't have to worry about them going into the other ponds?

 

[The Duck ABC's]

You have a large pond where it is so much less of an issue when it comes to polluting the water. Plus the depth helps keeping the water cool I have a 500 gallon pond and they got in twice. The koi are to large, but they did mess with the plants big times. Not a good idea to let them have a small decorative pond, especially the small shell type ponds. They are usually only 18" deep. Mine is 2 feet deep and I did put a small fence around it, because I like to have a nice focal point in my yard.