Access digital copies of guides and regulations publications from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Issue link: http://digital.outdoornebraska.gov/i/605475
second edition • Nebraska Pond Management • 77 years of breeding, hobbyists have produced an amazing array of color variations and patterns on these fish and no two look exactly alike. Raising them can be a fascinating and relaxing hobby or they can even be entered into contests. Koi will reach 18 inches in 3 to 4 years and a maximum length of about 3 feet. The average life span of koi is 25 to 35 years, but some live much longer. Koi ponds should be aerated and filtered constantly, cleaned regularly, and heated in the winter (a stock tank heater works well). They should be fed pelleted feed once or twice a day. In many ways, having a koi pond is a lot like having an outdoor aquarium. They are popular among suburban residents with no land for a fishing pond. Pond kits and supplies are now sold in many large pet, garden, and home improvement stores. Koi can be costly. Goldfish are less expensive and just as hardy. Mosquito control in backyard ornamental ponds or small waters can be accomplished by stocking fathead minnows, small bluegills, or green sunfish to consume the larvae. Keep in mind that fathead minnows can reproduce in these smaller ponds, and possibly attain a high enough population to interfere with water quality and any other fish species present. Other Pond Animals A pond will attract various kinds of animals throughout the year. If the pond is properly designed and maintained, most wildlife will cause little harm. Those that do become a nuisance may have to be controlled. The following information can be used to determine if control is necessary. Turtles are common in ponds, not harmful to fish populations, and should not be killed without good reason. Common pond residents are the snapping, painted, and occasionally, softshell turtles. Turtles are scavengers that feed primarily on aquatic plants, along with insects, frogs, crayfish, and dying or dead fish. Fish on a stringer are an easy meal. Snapping turtles may also capture small ducklings. When turtles are in the water, they are shy by nature and will avoid larger animals, including anglers and swimmers. Snapping turtles are good to eat and can be Beaver Painted Turtle Muskrat Bullfrog Tadpole Bullfrog Great Blue Heron Red-winged Blackbird Belted Kingfisher Raccoon Chorus Frog Crayfish Snapping Turtle Eared Grebe Northern Watersnake Barn Swallow Tiger Salamander OTHER POND ANIMALS OTHER POND ANIMALS