Pond Stocking Guide

Have you been looking to adding a pond to your home’s landscape? It can be a lot to think about. One of the things about adding a pond is how to stock with enough plants and animals to keep it healthy. Here is City Floral advice on that:

Ratios of Plants and Animals:

1. Floating Foliage: Cover 40-60% of the surface of the pool
2. Oxygenating plants: One bunch of plants per two square feet of surface area
3. Fish: One inch of fish per 1-2 gallons of water
4. Snails: One per square foot of the surface of the bottom of the pool
5. Tadpoles: Same as snails

Note: These stocking factors are suggested for medium to small size pools. The larger the pool, the less applicable. Larger pools are easier to balance because water temperatures do not vary as much as smaller pools over a 24-hour period.

Floating Foliage: These plants float on the surface of the water and block out sunlight, preventing algae growth. Good examples of these are Water Hyacinth, Azolla, Duckweed, Frog Bit, Water Lilies, and any other submerged plant with floating foliage.

Oxygenating Plants: There are small plants and underwater grasses that are submerged. These are the most important plants in balancing a pool or pond. They will oxygenate the water and absorb carbon dioxide. They compete with algae for nutrients in the water. Examples of these are Hornwort, Parrots Feathers, Anacharis and Cabomba.

Emergents or Bog Plants: Larger submerged plants that provide shade for fish add beauty to the pond and once established also help maintain a balance in the pond. Examples would be Water Iris, Pickerel Rush, and Arrowhead Cattails.

Please feel free to ask us any questions. Come into the store, call us, or email us with your concerns.