Pond Fish
Find and offer pond fish in Guatemala.
Koi and the hardy goldfish known as comets and shubunkins are the fish that live outdoors here, in garden ponds built of block and render, in lined pools and in preformed tubs set into a patio. Most of the ones needing a new home come from a pond about to be filled in, a house changing hands or a group that has bred. They go to keepers who already have water waiting, never priced as stock. The pumps, UV clarifiers, liners and nets that keep a pond running are bought and sold new and second-hand.
A koi has barbels, a goldfish does not:
look at the corners of the mouth, because young koi and comet goldfish of the same colour get mixed up all the time, and the whisker-like barbels on a koi’s lip settle it. A koi is a domesticated carp that keeps growing for years and lives for decades, so it needs a large, deep pond and a strong filter. Comets and shubunkins are slim, quick goldfish that handle the same outdoor water at a fraction of the size. Fancy goldfish, the oranda, ranchu and telescope eye, are slow swimmers that koi beat to the food and herons pick off easily, so they do better in a small sheltered pond of their own or indoors with the aquarium fish. Grey tilapia also turn up in garden ponds here, but they are a farm fish that breeds fast, digs pits in the bottom and strips the plants.
Block and render, a liner or a preformed tub:
most garden ponds in Guatemala are built the way the house was, by a local builder in concrete block with a cement render. Fresh concrete leaches lime and pushes the water alkaline enough to harm fish, so a new pond is filled, drained and refilled over several weeks, or sealed with a pond-safe coating, before anything lives in it. Concrete can also crack in a strong tremor, so afterwards watch the water level for a slow drop. A rubber or PVC liner over a dug hole goes in faster and moves with the ground, and a preformed fibreglass tub suits a few goldfish on a patio but is too shallow for koi. Leave a deep end and a hiding place: a heron standing at the edge will empty a shallow pond in a few visits. Glass tanks and heaters for indoor fish are under aquariums and aquarium accessories.
The pond in the rainy season:
a heavy afternoon downpour can bring a pond to the brim and float fish out over the edge, so fit an overflow pipe with mesh across it and a raised lip that keeps muddy run-off out. Rainwater is soft and slightly acidic, and a lot of it at once shifts the water chemistry fast; a simple test kit tells you when to correct it. Storms also cut the power, and when the pump stops overnight in a well-stocked koi pond, the oxygen goes with it. A battery-backed air pump is the cheapest insurance a koi keeper can own.
A used pump, UV clarifier or liner:
ask to see a pump running in a bucket before you pay. One that hums without moving water has a worn impeller or a broken ceramic shaft, and a cord that has been cut and taped back together is a reason to walk away. A UV clarifier’s bulb loses its strength long before it stops glowing, so a unit sold as working can still leave the pond green: plan on a new bulb and check the quartz sleeve for scale. PVC liner turns stiff and splits after years in the sun while rubber stays supple, so fold a corner and see whether it cracks. With the fish, judge the koi in front of you rather than the one described: a young koi’s pattern keeps shifting as it grows, black markings come and go, and a bright juvenile can fade.
Rehoming koi when a pond is filled in:
give the length of each fish rather than “small” or “big”, how many there are, and whether they are koi, comets or a mix. Ask about the pond waiting for them, its depth and whether it is netted, because a koi raised in a deep concrete pond will not last in a patio tub. Lower the water the evening before so they can be netted quickly in the cool of early morning, and say whether the water lilies and the pump are going too. A family driving in from Mixco for a pair of koi needs a lidded tub long enough for the fish to lie straight, and will be glad you told them before they set out.