Minnows - Phoxinus phoxinus - 5-6 cm

The minnow or frill (Phoxinus phoxinus) is a small fish that actually lives in running waters and needs oxygen-rich and cool water. The minnow, 7 to a maximum of 15 cm long, is slender and elongated, and females grow larger than males. Often the minnows are marbled or have dark cross bands, occasionally golden longitudinal stripes are visible. The minnow is an indicator fish for high water quality. In the garden pond it can be kept only if the water is very clean, clear and very rich in oxygen and cool. In turbid, polluted water the fish does not keep. In Germany, the minnow is a protected species and therefore may not be taken from natural waters under any circumstances. The small schooling fish like to stand in the group directly under the water surface. Here you can buy offspring with a length of 5-6 cm.

The minnow is a small schooling fish, which needs the company of at least 8-10 conspecifics. It is native to our region and can therefore remain in the pond over the winter without any problems, provided that the garden pond is deep enough not to freeze over. 1 to 1.30 m pond depth is considered safe in any case. Minnows retreat to the bottom of the pond during the cold season and hibernate. The surface of the pond must not freeze completely, even in cold weather, to ensure gas exchange. The use of an ice freezer or a pond thermostat is therefore advisable so that the water surface in the pond remains open and the fish are sufficiently supplied with oxygen during winter dormancy.

Because the minnow needs very oxygenated water, the garden pond should not be in the blazing sun so that the water does not heat up too much - the minnow does not tolerate temperatures above 20 degrees well. For every 8-10 minnows, the pond volume should be one cubic meter. For water clarification we recommend a sufficiently large pond filter and good planting. Pond plants and marginal plants rid the water of organic pollutants. An air pump, a water feature or an oxydator for garden ponds provide additional oxygen in the minnow pond. A shallow water zone with a sandy or gravelly bottom is readily used by minnows as a spawning ground. Minnows also like to stand under islands of floating plants.

A socialization of the minnow in the garden pond is very well possible with similar sized fish with comparable requirements. For example, bitterlings and sticklebacks are good company. In the shallow water zone, minnows lay several thousand eggs on stones or plant parts in spring; they are relatively easy to breedin the garden pond if conditions are good enough.

Minnows eat mainly insect larvae, fish spawn and small crustaceans and keep the garden pond free of annoying mosquito larvae. They also like to eat approach food, so minnows prefer to feed on midges from the water surface, which try to lay their eggs in the pond. Feeding with a fine food for carnivorous pond fish and with fine zooplankton is very possible.

Length: 5-6 cm

Our food recommendation: The Pond Time Pond Mix Food is a balanced mixed foodin flake form and floatable pond sticks for all pond fish in the garden pond. Vital ingredients support healthy growth and a functioning immune system. The highly digestible feed is well utilized and counteracts algae blooms and germ contamination.