Ceramic pots are a blank canvas
With a ceramic pot you can create an enchanting aquatic ecosystem, a home for your favorite plants, or an anchor for your rain chains. With a beautiful vessel that holds water, you can create a balanced aquatic ecosystem with plants, fish and snails. Come and browse our beautiful selection of ceramic pots, as we have just fully restocked our inventory of small, medium and large ceramic pots of every color! We also have bird baths, fountains, saucers, orchid pots, rain chain vessels, and more.
Fish Fascination
Humans have been keeping fish for ornamental reasons for over 4000 years – it is an ancient part of human history. Likely in large clay pots, fish were kept and bred in these micro ecosystems because of a fascination and a desire to see them up close and personal.
When setting up an aquatic ecosystem, we love to add orange platy fish. They add a nice pop of color and do a wonderful job at eating mosquito larvae. A water garden can reduce mosquitos in your area, thanks to these larvae-eating-fish. We recommend starting with three platies and allowing them to populate the ecosystem organically. They will graze on algae, helping your aquatic ecosystem stay balanced, and they are simply sweet to peer down upon and observe in the dappled underwater scene.
Snails are Unsung Heroes
Are snails the unsung heroes of the water garden? Snails are the “earthworms of the water garden”, helping to break down organic material, which is a big help in a closed ecosystem. However, not all snails are created equally. Some are destructive to plants, but we love the Ramshorn snails. Only two are needed to begin your water garden, and they will help keep balance by cleaning algae and aiding in organic decomposition.
Underwater Plants
Underwater or submerged aquatic plants do a great job at both oxygenating and clarifying the water in your container. They will ingest excess nitrogen, helping to keep the balance. Too much nitrogen can be fuel for algae growth – something that we aim to keep in check. In addition to adding oxygen and cleaning the water, underwater plants create habitat and offer cover for fish. Underwater plants can be curated to look beautiful from above, adding interest to your water garden when peering in from above.
We like to add tape grass and hornwort to our water gardens as foundational plants. The tape grass will grow up and looks sort of like a kelp forest. Hornwort can be bundled into small bushels and placed on the bottom with a rock. The hornwort will grow up, resembling a forest from above. The fish love to swim between the plants and will often use the protection of the greenery for breeding.
Feature plants
Feature plants can be chosen to thrive in both shade and sunny spots. Choose the feature plant based on how much sun your pot gets. Waterlilies love sun and make a stunning water garden feature. Low light plants can also be a beautiful addition to an area where not much else grows. The underwater plants, fish and snails are available at Garden Ponds by purchasing our $25 “starter kit” which includes all these foundational elements for your underwater aquatic ecosystem. Come by and see if we have something to complement your garden including a beautiful water garden set up, ceramic pot, statue, fountain, bird bath, bench or more.
Garden Ponds is located at the Kilauea Jungle Oasis beside Anaina Hou Community Park and Mini Golf. We are open Wednesday to Friday 12-5pm and Saturdays 9:30 am – 5:00 pm. You can visit our website at gardenpondskauai.com or call us at 808-828-6400 for more information.
