# Fish growing in isolated ponds? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 6, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359 "2023-02-06T02:37:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/1 "2023-02-06T02:37:29Z")
I have heard that a newly formed pond that is not connected to a stream will eventually have a population of fish. If I had a large plot of land and enough time I would love to do this myself to chronicle how it went year by year. The usual explanations are fish being dropped by fish-eating birds and fish eggs adhering to wading bird’s feet. Anyone have any direct or at least second hand experience with this? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/2 "2023-02-06T13:09:09Z")
Floods. It’s not uncommon for creeks to overflow and carry the fish along with them to normally unconnected ponds. Also when I was young I’ve seen kids take small fish they caught in streams and take them over to ponds so that they could fish them later, because they saw there dad do the same thing. And goldfish are just carp, more than a few kids have dumped their goldfish into ponds. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/3 "2023-02-06T13:37:06Z")
My gf’s ex husband played hockey. When they built the house we live in, he had a pond dug so he could skate at home. He found out how important a Zamboni was. My gf released a bag of feeder goldfish and a few tiny koi. Fast forward 30 some years and despite kingfishers and herons eating their fill, the pond is full of fish. Goldfish, koi, catfish, along with bullfrogs and water snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/4 "2023-02-06T15:24:44Z")
Isolated ponds may have been stocked in years past by landowners. I’m mystified at the sudden appearance of several river otters at our pond, happily splashing, snorting and dining on fish. Years ago otters were almost hunted to extinction in Kentucky, then re-introduced and have reportedly thrived. There is no river close to us, so the only way they could have found our pond is through an overland journey. How did they figure it out? An otter grapevine? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/5 "2023-02-06T16:52:36Z")
It’s likely they were just curious and set-out to explore the area from another creek, or small watercourse nearby. AIUI they mark their trails so they can find their way back and forth. Once they hit upon your pond and the fresh treats, they know to return and have established the pathway to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/6 "2023-02-06T19:04:33Z")
When I was a kid, the field behind my grandparents house had a small pond. This was in Texas, so every summer the heat would dry it up - bone dry for months. Yet when it had sat for a bit after the spring rains, we would catch bluegill and perch out of it. Every year. There was no nearby creeks or floodplains. It was in the middle of a large cow pasture. My father speculated it was from fish eggs stuck to wading birds feet. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/7 "2023-02-06T19:13:36Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > My father speculated it was from fish eggs stuck to wading birds feet. [Some fish eggs can survive more than that!](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/special-delivery-duck-poop-may-transport-fish-eggs-new-waters-180975230/) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/8 "2023-02-06T19:24:12Z")
Vernal Pools are temporary pools that may form where the region was formerly completely dry. Although many have no fish (because it’s hard for them to get in), some varieties of fish have adapted precisely to exploit this environment. I’ve seen displays in aquaria of fish from desert vernal pools that have no connection with the outside world. > **[Vernal pool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernal_pool)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species unable to withstand competition or predation by fish. Certain tropical fish lineages (such as killifishes) have however adapted to this habitat specifica... As the article observes, vernal pools are great for amphibians, since they generally don’t have fish to eat the eggs. I once found such a pool in the hollow of a boulder in New Hampshire that was teeming with tadpoles. I collected some and raised them at home to see what kind of toad or frog they were. Turned out to be a variety of Spring Peeper – really tiny beasts. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/9 "2023-02-06T19:30:49Z")
I work in a business park that has the typical flood control ponds located at the bottom of the hill. The business park isn’t that old, but already each pond has its own little ecosystem going on. There are fish, turtles, frogs, ducks, geese, and all sorts of things living in and around each pond. I don’t know exactly when the ponds were built, but they were pretty barren when our company first moved into the business park about a decade ago. It only took a few years for the ponds to turn into vibrant little mini ecosystems. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/10 "2023-02-06T19:32:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Some fish eggs can survive more than that! From the article: “A new study finds some eggs remain viable even after being eaten and pooped out by waterfowl. The ducks pooped out most of the viable eggs within an hour, but one took at least four hours.” I can see it now, “Hey, who wants to dig through the duck shit to find some viable fish eggs?” “Umm, let’s give that to the new guy”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/11 "2023-02-06T19:36:00Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > “Umm, let’s give that to the new guy”. Hey, that’s what grad students are for. Fowl though it may be, sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to write your pissertation. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/12 "2023-02-06T19:40:15Z")
There’s a flat field on a hilltop near my house that dries up every summer. In this climate there is no rain in the summer, and the field is absolutely bone dry and dusty for six months of the year. Then the winter rains come, and a small pond appears. More like a large puddle, about 30 feet across and a couple of inches deep. Every February, this puddle is filled with hundreds of tadpoles. I’ve read that frog eggs need water to survive, so I don’t really understand where the tadpoles come from. Do frogs travel from the nearest stream (probably at least a quarter mile away) and climb up the hill to lay eggs in this particular hilltop puddle every winter? That doesn’t make sense to me, but no other explanation I’ve thought of does either. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/13 "2023-02-06T20:07:18Z")
> **[Frogs Travel Farther Than Scientists Thought](https://www.foxnews.com/story/frogs-travel-farther-than-scientists-thought)** > > That some frogs travel so far is a surprise to scientists who have studied their migrations to better understand why populations of some native species, such as red-legged frogs, continue to decline in suburban areas of the Puget Sound region. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/14 "2023-02-06T22:35:19Z")
Anyone remember that report of an Australian golf course with a lake full of **SHARKS?!?** [SHARKS IN GOLF LAKE: Bull sharks infest golf course lake - Bing video](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=golf+pond+sharks&&view=detail&mid=9457E439BA91532A99D79457E439BA91532A99D7&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dgolf%2Bpond%2Bsharks%26FORM%3DHDRSC3) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/15 "2023-02-06T23:23:57Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > Anyone remember that report of an Australian golf course with a lake full of > > **SHARKS?!?** “I hear the water hazard is really tough on this course…” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/16 "2023-02-06T23:36:25Z")
I posted a [similar question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fresh-water-fish-populate-different-basins/852117) in 2020, and the best answer, of course, was from Colibri, the late and much missed Curator of Critters: > [@How do fresh-water fish populate different basins?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fresh-water-fish-populate-different-basins/852117/7): > > Different kinds of freshwater fish have different levels of tolerance to salt water. What are known as [“secondary freshwater fish”](https://www.fishbase.de/glossary/Glossary.php?q=secondary+freshwater+fishes) have some saltwater tolerance and can pass between mouths of separate rivers or cross narrow ocean barriers. [Primary freshwater fish](https://www.fishbase.in/glossary/Glossary.php?q=primary+freshwater+fishes) have little or no tolerance for saltwater and their dispersal is by other means. That may happen in a few species, but it is not the general means of dispersal of primary freshwater fish between different basins. In particular, this … ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/17 "2023-02-06T23:37:29Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > so I don’t really understand where the tadpoles come from. Well, when a Mommy frog loves a Daddy frog very much… Actually, I had a little 3 X 6 decorative pond in my backyard in the middle of Baltimore City, about a half mile _uphill_ from a tiny feeder stream to Jones Falls, and a bullfrog dropped in every year to serenade me. Dan ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fish-growing-in-isolated-ponds/979359/18 "2023-02-07T00:57:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m mystified at the sudden appearance of several river otters at our pond, happily splashing, snorting and dining on fish. That is so cool. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > As the article observes, vernal pools are great for amphibians, since they generally don’t have fish to eat the eggs. Also tiny shrimp.