I have several interconnected ponds with lots of room - especially as a Kingfisher helps the young Goldfish stay keen and alert (or else get a free one-way ticket out of the pond).

My Channel Catfish would ensure that the Stickleback population doesn't get out of hand....

That Catfish, aka Rufus (on account of his whiskers), grows bigger by the year! Luckily for the small fish he spends most of his time in one pond, the last couple of years he has gone on an excursion to another of the ponds - hangs around for 3 - 4 weeks, then returns.

Email addy has changed: X10n@aol.com

Some Stickles wood be super!

With any luck, the other predator eating your stickelbacks is a kingfisher. To my great surprise we have had one visiting in the winter--I think they prefer still water though. Hoping it will come back again this winter!

Alternatively does anyone in the Plymouth / Devon area have a couple spare that I could have?

Many thanks

I have some stickelbacks....is Newton Abbot close enough?
Gave some to a friend though, a couple large ones and some little ones. When she got home an hour later, there were only big ones left!

Let me know and I can email you,

I got mine from a local aquatic centre (£2.00) and sold some to the same garden centre. One male and 3 females went a long way!

So could try an aquatic fish supplier. To get the from the wild you would have really know you are getting the right species (lots of tiddlers look alike). Perhaps you could get some support from a local ranger?

I don't think they would survive a long trip....

good luck,

in the meantime, try looking them up in Arkive (wildlife website that has stills and videos and very good information. just type in the common name of the species)

Chip

Must admit, I am a stickelback fan as you can tell from the threads. They are fun to watch in breeding season, are a native species, and yes while they do munch on tadpoles etc., they also are very good at 'cleaning up' the pond, as anything that dies (they don't live that long) seems to disappear quite quickly. Poo wise, let us just say that right on schedule it is July and the pond is crystal clear (it goes very green in spring and late summer). While they do eat tadpoles, the spawn is growing every year so enough survive, and eveyone else eats the fry. And we have grey wagtails and a kingfisher eating the stickelbacks--what a varied eco-system can happen because of a hole in ground with water and some dirt.

I do think though you need a sizable pond to support both fish and amphibians (my liner was 26 X26 ft and it is almost 3 ft deep). I don't feed them either. In the first year the 1 male and 3 female produced over a 1000 fish (I know this as I caught 800 to give to the local ranger!!) but since then as more males are about and the predators are around, the population is very stable.

Good luck in finding a source in Yorkshire. But just the fact you are supporting your local wildlife is something to be very proud of. Just think, in 3-4 years time, your tadpoles will be producing spawn of their own. Also wildlife ponding means you have no control--each year you will see it evolve....wonderful!!

Do make sure you have homes for your critters though, (log piles, leaves, rocks with spaces to crawl into). Gives me an excuse to be a very messy gardener.

Have fun!!

Chip

Good luck with finding a source in Yorkshire, but if you can't you will still have some very happy amphibians, birds, dragonflies etc. etc.

Have fun,

Chip

I am also looking for a supply of sticklebacks for my new "wildlife pond". Does anyone know where I can get some locally - North Herefordshire. I am not sure whether it is legal to go pond dipping for them "in the wild" - is there anyone around here that has some in their own pond?

Ivor

I know there's another great site out there (You know who you are!) and I'm glad you still come visiting here, but I do wish you hadn't hijacked all the old faces. Everyone please come back to us (as well as stay where you are) we miss you here, together with all your wit and wisdom!!!
Big Kid

I still have all my fish and last year had way, way, too many sticklebacks....however last summer I noticed one or two of my largest fish with stickleback tails poking out of their mouths. Thought they may be 'stuck' as in the past I've had to net out 'thrashing' fish who had a stickleback stuck in their mouth by the spines and gently remove them.
But NO...these fish seemed OK and as I watched I realised they were eating them. My stickleback population has slowly dwindled and now I have NONE...not a one!!
I haven't seen any dead or dying, no sign of disease so can only presume they have all been eaten!
The ponds are netted so nothing else can be blamed. Obviously 'practice makes perfect'
I must say if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.
Nice to be back

I'm afraid that I am currently torn between watching my bluetit box with 10 babies (what hard work it is for them!) and doing newt surveys and thinking about putting my next pond in. I got it from someone on freecycle- great site for second hand stuff and for getting rid of things. I must put some effort into starting to dig!

On the stickelback front--our numbers seem relatively stable. The first year (from one male and 3 females) I then had to arrange with a friendly ranger to rehome 800 of them! Haven't had to do that for some time now even though there are more males. What I do notice is that there may be a dead fish in the late evening, but it is gone by morning so they are pretty good at cleaning up it seems. By the way, happy to supply some stickelbacks in the Devon area....

This year we are really bad for blanket weed, but I am quite glad! The tadpoles seem to find it a great place to hide, and so far, no sign of the dreaded yellow globules. I am hoping the green algae dominates over the yellow globby things. I find clearing blanket weed far more satisfying than clearing the other stuff too. But I am sure in about a months time I will find 'they' have returned...I am not in control.

Must admit, I think pond places really make a small fortune with new ponds by making people think they need lots of chemicals! Ponds just take awhile it seems to reach equilibrium, as as a 'organic system', we have very little control at the end of the day. It is a case of finding out by trial and error what plants thrive, which get eaten, what algae decides to take off, when it is clear and when it isn't, and what critters decide it is a good place to be.

ponds are full of suprises!

Chip

It does seem to be a good summer for mozzies! Mind you--have the bats found your pond yet?

Chip

Don't you just lOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOve nature!
Big Kid

and they are don't try and eat toads!!!

Chip