Sad Day for the Pond

It was hard to ignore the lump in my throat as I scooped out my last dead fish. Six fish in total, beautiful koi of different colors and 10 inches long, all perished in this year's harsh winter. It's hard to say exactly what killed them.

It could have been those several days of sub-0 temperatures. It could have been the thick blanket of ice that covered the pond completely from early December to just recently. A sealed pond doesn't allow poisonous gases to escape, which could kill fish.

At some point during the winter, the pump ceased. Without running water, the filter was in danger of freezing and bursting. But it is 2/3 buried and weighs a ton when full of water (or ice). There was no way of getting it out.

Then ice sheets tumbled down from the inactive waterfall and buried the pond heater. I couldn't get it out for a month. this was the only thing keeping a hole in the ice. Now it was out of action.

To make matters worse, one of the walls collapsed, dropping concrete blocks and the waterfall rocks into the water and ice. The constant freeze/thaw cycle probably weakened the integrity of the earthen wall, and the lowered water level was the last straw, since the water pressure was the only thing holding it up.

Here is a photo of the collapsed wall, exposing all the ugly plumbing. That block teetering on the edge weighs about 60 pounds, and I can't reach down and haul it out without getting a hernia. So it will just have to plummet to the bottom when that little barley straw bail gives out, which is the only thing holding it up. In the Spring, I'll have to put on the waders and get in the pond to pull out all the blocks that are sitting on the bottom.

Needless to say, the pond is a disaster. Thinking back on our last home with a fish pond, we lost our entire goldfish population of over 20 to another nasty winter. I am coming to the conclusion that fish ponds on the High Plains are not a good idea. The winters are too brutal, and any attempts to keep live animals in such conditions is just cruel.

So I plan on changing the pond this year. Perhaps fill it in. I like the idea of a waterfall, but it would have a minimum amount of water and be something that I can turn off in the winter. I like the sound of falling water; dead fish and algae, not so much.

So I'm currently scouring the water landscaping books looking for ideas. Even on our trip to Arizona, no water feature goes unnoticed. There is a little pond on the University of Arizona campus that is lined with igneous rocks and is home to gold fish, ducks, and turtles! On the high plains, only an indoor pond could house such a menagerie, and the ducks might be a problem in the house.