Great Image of Koi Carp

The Best Five Fish Suitable For Outdoor Ponds

Owning fish can be an excellent addition to a garden or to a school. They bring life, encourage the use of a water feature, and allow the owners to practice taking care of animals. Fish are a relatively low-cost, low maintenance pet choice, but many people have prized garden ponds full of them.

What type of fish is best for an outdoor wooden pond? There are some fish that are suited to life outdoors - these are the ones you’ll want to look at. Let’s list off the top five fish that are most suitable for outdoor ponds.



At the top of the list for outdoor fish is the goldfish. This small fish can range in size from a few inches to a foot, depending on breed, environment, and genetics. They’re agreeable enough that they can cohabit with most other breeds of fish, although some varieties can be the favoured lunch of bigger, meaner fish. But, for an outdoor choice that’s well-rounded, goldfish are a good pick.

Fancy Goldfish

Next up on the list of options is the fancy goldfish. Your typical goldfish tend to be energetic and love to swim - these fancier variants are slow and content to drift gracefully. They don’t like to compete for their food sources, and are often prone to being eaten by bigger fish, owing to their overall lethargy. It is best, in this type of situation, to keep them with their own kind - even regular goldfish will bully them out of food and territory.

Koi Carp

Koi are a popular choice of fish for many different reasons. They can be at least three feet long in certain conditions, which makes them in need of a deeper pond - a metre should suffice. Temperature changes don’t affect them unless they’re radical shifts, which can result in a premature death. However, their impressive size, beauty and overall appeal make them a popular choice for collectors and new fish owners alike.

Pond Sturgeon

One of the largest options out there, the pond sturgeon is one which needs a lot of space to be free - these monstrous creatures can reach a staggering 10m in length. Thanks to an evolution process which began nearly 250,000,000 years ago, these fish are resilient as anything. They also require darkness to thrive, and a high-quality feed. Sturgeon are an investment, and not something you can just throw into any old pond - but the results can be worth it,


You might not think that a typical guppie needs to stay inside, but you’d be wrong in that respect. They are a species that might need to come in for the winter, but outside of that, they can survive all year around. They’re easy to keep, get on well with other fish, and aren’t a massive investment - just be ready to have a lot on your hands. These particular fish breed quickly and frequently, meaning that you will need to keep an eye on numbers.
