Duck pond

[lilxera]

So we just got a duck pond for our duck. Was wanting to put in some fish and maybe some of those sucker fish to keep it clean from algae. I was wondering if the duck would eat the sucker fish if I bought them. I don't know how else to keep the "pool/pond" clean otherwise. Right now I use a baby pool for him to swim in.

 

[Orca5094]

Ducks will absolutely eat fish, so it's best not to have them in your duck pond if you want them to survive. Also, all the waste that ducks create would probably kill the fish as well. I'm sure you know how messy ducks are.

It's incredibly difficult to keep a duck pond clean, even with filters and all. Seems the best way is just to drain them every day, or every other day, and fill with fresh water.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

So we just got a duck pond for our duck. Was wanting to put in some fish and maybe some of those sucker fish to keep it clean from algae. I was wondering if the duck would eat the sucker fish if I bought them. I don't know how else to keep the "pool/pond" clean otherwise. Right now I use a baby pool for him to swim in.

Depends what kind of duck and what kind of fish. Small fish will be eaten even by small ducks. Larger fish are sometimes able to live in duck ponds depending on the size of the pond. People can mean various things when they say sucker fish. What I know as sucker fish are far too large to be eaten by any duck I can think of, but I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing.

 

[Aylesbury]

Ducks will absolutely eat fish, so it's best not to have them in your duck pond if you want them to survive. Also, all the waste that ducks create would probably kill the fish as well. I'm sure you know how messy ducks are.

It's incredibly difficult to keep a duck pond clean, even with filters and all. Seems the best way is just to drain them every day, or every other day, and fill with fresh water.

I keep my pond clean using a multitude of filters but it is hard work

 

[lilxera]

I can't afford to do filters. I'm not sure the correct name for the sucker fish but they're the ones that just stay stuck on the "tank" and eat all the algae. I was thinking of getting a couple Koi fish cause they're big. I'm not sure what type of duck I have he or she is all black and has some blue and green shimmer on him/her. I believe she's fully grown by now. I don't mind having to clean the pond out just trying to avoid having to do it so often living in Florida and all the rain we've been having the Mosquitos have just been horrible it's hard for me to be outside for so long. But I'll do what I have to do. The baby pool I have now I put fresh water in it everyday and deep clean it once a week.

 

[lilxera]

And I would probably just put some minnow (sp?) in there just for his treats so he can feel like a real duck in the wild

 

[TLWR]

How big is your new pond and how do you plan to clean it?

A sucker fish that sticks to the glass of tanks is not going to help your duck pond.
Koi will not be happy is duck poop soup water

 

[jducour]

Koi will not be happy in that environment, they do not do well if they have to be moved constantly. Koi also poop a lot too, so duck poo + fish poo = lots of poo. The only way you can keep a large pond clean without dumping daily is through proper filtration. The more living creatures you add to a pool, the worse it will get. I have a 3,000 gallon pond with 40 koi and 6 ducks, and it is a lot of work. The koi don't contribute in keeping the pond clean, I will promise you that. If I was you, I would just keep using the small pool and dump it daily. For one duck - if you aren't getting a proper pond with filtration, I think it is a better situation. I have had this pond 15 years, so I have a lot of experience with fish and their messes, problems, etc. As for the sucker fish, they can not keep up with the demand, the nitrogen that the duck poop adds to the water will most likely kill it. They are very hardy fish, but they are not vacuums or filters. They work very slowly, and clean glass of a fish tank, not the water.

 

[lilxera]

Good to know thank you. I just feel bad for the duck cause he can't really "swim" in the pool cause it's so small. I'll put the bigger pond in and just keep up with it I don't mind doing it was just trying to get around doing it so often.