[skyfaller]

I really want to make a tiny pond at my house, but I'm afraid of the mosquitoes.

My native plant supplier encouraged tiny ponds, saying that while you may need mosquito dunks to kill the larva at first, once wildlife is established in your pond e.g. dragonflies will control the mosquitos just fine. I believe him (or at least that it worked for him), but I feel like I would need to do more research before putting it to the test.

[chongli]

Get some White Cloud Mountain Minnows (usually just called White Clouds). These small fish love to eat mosquito larvae and tolerate cold water quite well (down to 41F/5C). If you later decide to remove them they shouldn’t be too difficult to catch. They’re also quite beautiful and come in a variety of colours.

[drewzero1]

I have them, love them, and have kept them outside before. I've found their mouths are too small to eat fully-grown mosquito larvae, but as long as they get there before the mosquitoes do they will gladly eat the eggs and young larvae... they are top/middle feeders and will viciously nibble anything in the water column while completely ignoring anything on the bottom.

This year I'm hoping to try the variable platyfish, Xiphophorus variatus (though most just call them 'variatus'). They tolerate a similar temperature range to white clouds but they're slightly bigger and more likely to eat things off the bottom. They're livebearers, so they make more, but in fairness white clouds are among the easiest egg-scatterers to breed and will likely also make more in a pond.

[coffeebeqn]

I was thinking fish or frogs. I’d imagine little fish are easier? Do they just live on the “wildlife” or do you feed them ?

[pvaldes]

They are basically incompatible. Fishes eat frog eggs. Frogs eat small fishes. Ponds without fishes sustain a much higher diversity of invertebrates and amphibians (and this means more clear water).

If the pond is of a decent size and amphibians could hide in the margins, fishes could work. Yes. Native species are much better. In very small ones just toads and newts are a satisfying choice. Add frogs if you don't mind noise.

If you have a place for a mini pond my advice is, don't built it.

Go for a small pond instead. Miniponds look nice on yoputube but are really unstable, and much more difficult to manage long term. They "boil" in a few hours at full sun. Freeze in winter and water must be added all the time. Is the same mistake as starting aquaria with a too small tank. Most people just will quit the hobby in a few weeks.

[skyfaller]

What constitutes a small pond rather than a mini pond in your opinion? Like, what do you think is the minimum size for a stable pond ecosystem? Does depth or surface area matter more?

[pvaldes]

Less than 100 Liters is very difficult to manage but aim for 500-800 Liters at very minimum because you will want to make your pond bigger later. This can fit in any a little boring coin of a garden and will became the best part of the garden. Everything in a range of four to ten liters is not a pond, is a dog bowl and will became a mosquito nursery. I see those often adviced by youtubers that never tried to manage a pond seriously.

Beware. Ponds of all sizes are dangerous for toddlers and ponds must have a side with a gently slope so falling pets and animals can climb out. If you have children of less than five years, you --must-- cover the pond with a solid iron pond cover:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pond+cover&t=newext&atb=v411-1&iax...

Apart of this the "deeper" the pond the more animals will fit for the same price. More than 1 meter is normally unnecessary in a small garden

[froglets]

You can buy tiny tablets to add to the water that prevent mosquito larva from developing but don’t harm anything else. I’ve used the Mosquito Killer larvicide in my patio pond for years and it works well. Garden centers sometimes have pond sections with water plants like hyacinth (very invasive), water lettuce, lily.

[WhatsTheBigIdea]

I'm doubtful of the "...but don't harm anything else" statement. Why do you believe this statement to be true?

[xsmasher]

It's true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israele...

[throwaway4aday]

a simple solution is to put a small submersible fountain pump in or even one of those floating solar powered ones. mosquitos prefer standing water so if you agitate it enough it will cut down on their breeding. please do make every effort to prevent them from breeding, your future self and your neighbours will thank you.

[neonnoodle]

This is correct. I added dunks exactly once, and the following years the predatory insects and frogs have done the job. I do regular spot-checks for mosquito larvae and haven't seen one in years.

[modeless]

In California you can get mosquitofish for free from your local county. In many cases you can just put a few in your pond once and they will live there indefinitely without needing any care, eating all the mosquito larvae they can find.

Here's an example for San Diego but most if not all counties will have a similar program: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/deh/pests/wnv/pre...

[pvaldes]

Take in mind that the common species of mosquitofish is a nasty invader in Europe and this is "advice from 70's". We know better currently. --Don't do it--.

Some mosquitofishes and many killifishes in America are endangered. The common Gambusia will eat every egg of native fishes. If you spread the invasive ones in the ponds of the endangered ones, this can have serious consequences even in USA. Irreversible genetic contamination, parasite spread or local extinctions by predation can occur.

[modeless]

I'm talking about California, not Europe. Mosquitofish are native to North America. Sure, don't spread them in natural rivers or lakes but there's nothing wrong with keeping them in a manmade pond in a backyard in California.

[pvaldes]

The two species of mosquitofish used normally aren't native from California but its main problem is that they are boring as a can. There are much more interesting options:

Like the Coastal Threespine Stickleback. Sticklebacks are the choice fish for small wild ponds in Europe, and is a californian native also.

or Fundulus parvipinnis, the Californian killy fish. Stands saltwater to freshwater. Common near the coast and better than Gambusia (avoid the invasive species Lucania goodei that is similar).

Or a single species of a pupfish like the Amargosa river pupfish or the Salt Creek pupfish, small native tolerating an extreme range of temperatures. Some pupfishes are endangered so each new pond counts. I assume that there are legal exchanges of this species breed on captivity among serious aquarists but check your local laws.

Or the California Roach

If you don't mind natives from California, the fathead minnow, or the American Flagfish are two small US extremely hard species. First stands poor oxygen levels and complicated alcaline water. The second is from Florida and a really cool species, much more interesting to watch than a dumb mosquito fish. They will eat mosquitoes and algae also.

All this species are small fishes (growing less than 10cm normally) so will fit in most garden ponds. Just one species in a small or medium-sized pond. Pupfish species shouldn't be mixed to keep the genetic lines pure. Goldfishes disturb the mud and make the water turn green.

[kombookcha]

Apparently there are some types of plants (like lavender, mint, rosemary or catnip) which mosquitoes don't like being around for whichever reason. Having some near the micropond could be a pretty elegant fix if it works.

[_joel]

Lemongrass too, not sure it could be grown on a window sill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citronella_oil

[kombookcha]

The fact that all of these plants have delightful smells confirms my dislike of mosquitoes - not only do they bite and spread disease, they also have bad taste in garden plants.

[neonnoodle]

Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a similar aromatic grasslike plant that grows aggressively in ponds. I planted a few thin stalks a couple years ago and now it has outgrown five planters and the rhizomes are 2 inches thick. One other advantage of this plant is that the stalks provide a molting place for dragonflies.

[downut]

Gambusia to the rescue! Might need some cover to reduce the predator problem. Experimenting would be part of the fun.