1. Predators will eat all of your fish!

There is a constant fear in the water gardening community that raccoons and other four-legged predators will go swimming in your pond, and while they’re there, they’ll help themselves to some of your prize koi, shubunkin, or goldfish. When you go out to your pond in the morning and discover you’re missing a fish or two, it’s very tempting to blame it on such critters, especially if you didn’t see it happen. There has to be a reasonable explanation, and predators are as good as any, right?

However, take the following facts into consideration before you jump to any conclusions. Raccoons generally don’t swim. That’s not to say they never swim, or couldn’t stand on the side of your pond and take a paw swipe or two at your fish. Fortunately, most fish will swim to a deeper, more protected part of the pond when a predator is threatening them.

The one predator with legitimate credentials is the blue heron. These tall, long-legged, big-beaked birds can easily wade into your pond, help themselves to any fish they think look tasty, and fly away with their bellies full. They are a protected species, so they are off-limits if you’re thinking about taking revenge on them. However, a scarecrow, a motion sensing sprinkler that can be set up alongside your pond, ready to fire a steady stream of water at a heron has had some degree of success in warding off these curious critters. It’s a good idea to move the sprinkler often though, to keep them guessing.

Giving your fish a place to hide dramatically helps their odds of survival. Plenty of lily pads give them some protection and will work to minimize attracting a heron in the first place. Other protection measures include a cave-like structure that can be built in during the pond’s excavation, or if you already have a pond, they can be added with a little pond remodeling.

Rocks are essential in creating these hiding places in your pond. Crevices, or miniature caves, can be created within the rock walls of your pond.

The possibility of pond predators seeking our your pond is, indeed, a valid concern in terms of the safety of your pond’s inhabitants, but the possibility shouldn’t be a reason to avoid building a pond.

2. You have to bring your fish inside for the winter.

Fish do fine during the coldest of winters as long as you give them two feet of water to swim in, oxygenate the water, and keep a hole in the ice with a bubbler, allowing the naturally produced gases to escape from under the ice. Otherwise, you let Mother Nature do the rest. The fish will spend the entire winter hibernating at the bottom of the pond, and then they will slowly wake up as the water warms in the spring.

3. Your pond water must be tested on a daily basis.

This myth comes from the aquarium industry and it has a lot to do with the fact that an aquarium is a much smaller body of water and the small size makes it more difficult to balance. Mother Nature never tests her water, and her ecosystem does just fine. A well conceived, naturally balanced water garden normally requires no testing either.

4. A pond in your backyard means you will have a lot of mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes will generally only lay their eggs in still, stagnant water. If the mosquitoes happen to lay eggs in your pond and the mosquito larvae hatch, the fish in your pond will consider them a treat and will pick them off the water’s surface with great enthusiasm. Your skimmer will sweep up whatever the fish miss.

5) Having a pond may decrease the value of your home.

Everyone knows when it comes to the resale value of your home, a swimming pool can be deadly. However, in the opinion of some real estate agents, ponds can be a great addition to your home that might even pay dividends. With water features becoming more and more popular, you can bet that the demand for them will get even bigger!