Which Fish Species for Queensland Garden Ponds

After establishing a garden pond, the biggest question is often what kind of fish to introduce to the pond. To answer that question, you need to determine what purpose the fish should have, and what size the pond is. Whether you want to add some beautiful bright colours to the pond, introduce fish to counter mosquito problems or are eager to grow fish to eat, this article will provide some excellent suggestions for fish species for garden ponds in climates similar to Queensland.

For a garden pond in Queensland, the most suitable fish are goldfish, rainbow fish and the pacific blue-eyes. For ponds larger than 800 litres, larger native fish could be a great choice, however show fewer colours than little rainbows, blue-eyes and gudgeons.

Comet Goldfish are the easiest of all pond fish to keep. They come in a variety of colours and are very hardy to hot or cold conditions. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat whenever food is available whether they are hungry or not – to their own detriment if they are overfed. Comets and fantails are a couple of varieties of goldfish which are interesting to see and are just as hardy as the common type.

The crimson spotted rainbowfish is a great choice for New South Wales and Queensland and is widely available in aquarium shops. This fish has good low water temperature tolerance and thrives in tropical and sub-tropical temperatures such as South East Queensland. Rainbowfish eat algae, mosquitoes, and other small insects and may not even require feeding in a fish pond if the stocking rate is kept low.

The southern Blue-eye or Pacific Blue-eye is another great pond fish for tropical and sub-tropical waters. Blue-eyes are attractive little fish and are recognised as voracious mosquito predators. They are native to northern Queensland tropical waters and are well suited to Brisbane’s climate.

Empire gudgeons are another small fish that eat insects and can survive without much supplementary feeding. The males have bright orange fins and the fish live well with other fish of a similar size.

If you are stocking a large pond or dam, you could consider larger fish that could even become food for the table! Jade perch, silver perch, bass, catfish and murray cod are the common choices due to their resilience to harder conditions. Murray cod and catfish are not to be stocked as highly as the other types, and jade perch will grow the fastest. Each type will live for years and reach impressive sizes. These fish are all legal to purchase and grow throughout Australia.