young minnows between 2 and 4 cm.
The common minnow is a small native shoaling fish common and widespread across the UK. It is found in small streams, rivers, lakes and sometimes ponds. Minnows are omnivorous and will eat small creatures, including small aquatic insects, midge larvae, zooplankton and worms as well as some plant material. They can also be fed frozen bloodworm, daphnia, flake food floating or sinking pellets. Minnows live between 2 and 5 years depending on water conditions and a temperature of 12 - 20° c is preferred. With good availability of food they can reach a max size of 10cm, however a size of 5 to 7 cm is more common. They are the third smallest native fish after the 9 spine and 3 spine sticklebacks, which makes it highly suitable for small wildlife ponds. They are also easy to breed so you can create a self sustaining population in your pond.
Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus)
Minnows start breeding from late March to June where they may breed multiple times in a year. Male minnows start to develope their breeding colouration of a red belly dark stripe along the sides as well as a mix of yellow and green. Minnows breed in shallow running water with a gravel or rocky bottom. To acheive breeding conditions in your pond simply put gravel and small rocks near the outflow of your filter to simulate the fast flowing oxygenated water the minnows naturally breed in. They can deposit around 1000 eggs in a single breeding season and eggs hatch a few days after laying. Minnows are easy to breed and provided you have both males and females plus clean running water, they will breed naturally in your pond. They can also be bred in aquaria.
