I always feel sorry for Rudd (Scardinus erythropthalmus) as they tend to get overlooked in favour of more gaudy options when they have so much to give as pond fish. As a native species, there’s nothing that the weather can throw at them that they’re not adapted to, they like planted ponds and can take the low oxygen levels that are sometimes found in weedy habitats better than most fish. They are available in a gold from, can breed at a rate that thwarts many predators and last, but by no means least, they eat duckweed! You’ll find Golden rudd in many of our pond sections right now and if you don’t then they can normally be ordered in.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/pond-fish/golden-rudd-

 

For many years this fish was misidentified, but a little while ago its identity was resolved and the fish formerly known as Helfrich’s firefish became the Lavender firefish (Nemateleotris Lavandula). Although it might have a new name, the care requirements of this well-established little reef fish are well known. As a deeper water species, it’ll appreciate some opportunity to shelter from strong light until it gets accustomed to conditions in a brightly lit coral tank. This one was seen at our Cwmbran store.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/marine/miscellaneous-fish/helfrichs-firefish

 

Considering how delicate wild Rams are, it’s a little surprising that their domesticated descendants are such widely kept fish. These Electric blue rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) are still best kept in warm soft water with low nitrates but RO water makes these conditions easier than ever to achieve. Females carry a hint of the ancestral colour and have a slightly lighter patch where their mid-lateral blotch would be, as well as proportionally shorter fins and black leading rays when suitably fired up. Of course, the best way to get a compatible pair is to choose two fish that are paired within a group – like this pair at our Weybridge store.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/cichlids/electric-blue-ram

 

More familiar to anglers than pond keepers, Barbel (Barbus barbus) are a powerful native fish for large well-filtered ponds. Although famed as a fish of rivers, they also occur in lakes and these pond-bred fish are of still water descent. Built for feeding from the bottom, they don’t let that stop them when food is offered and will happily barge their way past Koi and other fish to get their share. This batch were optimistically heading for the surface at our Cwmbran branch but you’ll see them in a few stores – often where there’s an angler buying the pond fish.

 

Chunky, voracious and a little quarrelsome, the American flagfish (Jordanella floridae) is an all-American algae muncher that is happy in an unheated aquarium but can be added to a tropical tank where it will help clean up green filamentous algae growths. Make sure the feeding regime matches the temperature and provide a winter rest in cooler water if keeping them in a tropical set up. A paternal spawner, males are best kept alongside two or more females to split their attention at spawning time. This handsome fella was part of a batch at our Lechlade store.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/killifish/american-flagfish