Plecostomus in duck pond?

[SwedishDude99]

Hello all! I am brainstorming ways in which to keep the duck pond as clean as possible. I am wondering if fish such as plecostomus will work to help clean it? The pond will not have a filter or pump, because it is 125 gallons and will only have two ducks in it and will be emptied once or twice weekly. Also, would snails work. I would provide shelter for both of these animals from the ducks. Any I put is appreciated!

 

[SwedishDude99]

I'm sorry I meant any input.

 

[duckncover]

I asked a similar question not too long ago. I'd think the ducks would not leave snails or a pleco alone. And also the ducks poo will effect the water quality. I don't think any amount of snails or plecos can help that. They just get rid of algae from what I understand.

 

[Kevin565]

A pleco will only really help control algae growth. Once they get larger they will also contribute quite a bit to the bio load in the pond.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Okay thank you. Do you know of anything that will help to keep the amount of poo down? Are there any fish that do that or is it just plants for the most part?

 

[Kevin565]

Certain feeds seem to make their poop easier to manage. Honestly, I would avoid putting in any fish in with the ducks. The ducks will just mess up the water too much for the fish to survive.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Okay thank you. Sounds like I will avoid the fish. I feed the ducks feeder fish as treats, so if some end up surviving I'll just leave them and see if they survive. Thanks again

 

[Kevin565]

You might check out this older thread for various pond ideas:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/146829/the-duck-ponics-experiment-raising-minnows

There's lots of valuable information on there about keeping duck ponds.

It's no problem at all. I was a fish addict long before I got into birds. lol

 

[mimigriffin]

Okay thank you. Do you know of anything that will help to keep the amount of poo down? Are there any fish that do that or is it just plants for the most part?

I put a placo in my duck pond. He was huge, I can’t find it. I cleaned the pool, it’s gone. Guess they ate it but I don’t know how because he was large

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe a raccoon got it they are pretty good at catching things in a pond and out.