Water lilies and lotuses and insects/fish?

Alright, I'm just gonna get plain, simple and to the point on this one.





Water lilies. I LOVE just about every variety of water lily and lotus. I want to plant some in a few small ponds around my property, plus a couple man-made ponds near my pool and a large fountain I want to build. But I have a few questions before I make any choices.





Because I am deathly allergic to wasp stings (not sure about bees, but not willing to chance it) which variaties are least likely to attract insects?


Also, in the ponds near my pool and in an outer, uncycled, ring around the fountain I want to build, I would like to add fish. Which variaties are fish friendly?

Water lilies and lotuses and insects/fish?
Water lilies and lotuses are insect pollinated plants so you cannot totally avoid them.





But these insects do not bother you unless you interfere with them and threaten them . In short you steer clear of them and they do the same ,





About fishes. All fresh water fishes are friendly except Piranhas .


Piranha is a member of a family of omnivorous freshwater fish which live in South American rivers.





In Venezuelan rivers they are called caribes.





They are known for their sharp teeth and an aggressive appetite for meat.





Consult a pet shop owner that sells pet fish .





EDIT = All water lilies and Lotuses do not mind the company of fish and do no harm to them . Some fishes ( Except Piranha ) may nibble at them , but that does not cause any harm to them ! What is important they ( Plants ) do not nibble back.
Reply:To a large extent, the answer (i.e., the water lily that's right for you) depends on where you live, and you haven't mentioned that. That is, a water lily that fits for somebody living in Edmonton will likely not the be appropriate for somebody living in Dallas, and vice versa.





I have found a useful web site, where they lay out the type of information that you're looking for:





http://www.moorewatergardens.com/catalog...





Once there, click on the drop-down menu under Information Guide on the right.





Hope that helps!
Reply:What type of fish you'd be able to keep largely depends on the volume of your pond. If the pond isn't at least 18 inches deep, it's best to avoid fish altogether since they wouldn't be able to escape from cats or raccoons. It also would make a difference where you live and how deep the water might freeze into your pond - you want it deep enough that it would never freeze solid, or you would need to have a tank or container set up inside where the fish could be kept over the winter. Actual ponds would be okay to keep fish, but in the fountain base, unless this is extremely large, I doubt would be a good area to try to keep them with much success.





If the pond is at least 100 gallons, you could keep a number of fish, such as shubunkin goldfish (these look like small versions of koi and only get to be around 10 inches long) mosquitofish, or rosy red feeder minnows. Unless the pond was over 1000 gallons, don't consider any koi, which grow to be around 3 feet.





Most plants are fish-friendly. They provide shade and protection from predators and help to remove nutrients from the fish and their food (you still have to do periodic cleaning and water changes, just as you would in a fish tank to prevent algae building up though). Some types that only grow beneath the water help to add oxygen, although a filter and aerator should also be used. Your fish might even use edible varieties to supplement their feeding.





The reverse, though isn't always true - fish aren't always friendly to your plants. Besides eating them (a little nibbling isn't bad as it will keep the plants pruned, but if fish find them tasty, tender varieties can be eaten completely) fish like koi and goldfish have the tendency to uproot plants by digging in their soil. Buy the larger plastic mesh baskets to plant your lily bulbs and place larger pebbles or rough gravel at the top to discourage their digging. And water lilies shouldn't be one of the more "choice" plants for the fish to eat.





As already stated, you can't control what insects come to pollinate your flowers. But you might try controlling when your flowers open, since bees and wasps are more active during the day. If you limit your plants to night-blooming tropicals, you should at least reduce the number of stinging insects that visit your pond. And a few solar lights in or around the ponds will still allow you to enjoy the flowers.





If you do live in a colder climate, that doesn't prevent you from keeping tropical lilies - you'd just need to pull up the baskets and overwinter the plants indoors.