| Aquatic Plants |
Click to Skip Plants & Go to Fish |
| Wakoola Water Gardens stocks the area’s largest selection of aquatic plants. We carry hardy varieties, which can be likened to perennials on land because they come back year after year, and tropical varieties, which do not live through the winter in north Georgia. We suggest a combination of both types of plant in your pond. Pick hardy plants that you like and then spice it up with some tropicals, which can be tried new each year. |
Aquatic plants are divided up into four main categories:
Lilies, Marginal (Bog) Plants, Submerged Plants, & Floating Plants
|
Lilies: Lilies come in two main categories: Hardy and Tropical. Lilies provide beauty in the pond with flowers that bloom all summer long. They also provide shade in the pond because of the floating leaves. We recommend that the backyard pond have 60-70% coverage of the surface area with lilies and floating plants to help control sunlight, which in turn helps control algae growth. Also, shade in the pond helps keep the water cooler for your fish. Cool water creates more oxygen that your fish need to thrive.
Hardy Lilies: Hardy lilies have smooth edges on their leaves. They start growing in mid spring and bloom all summer long. Their flower colors range from white to light pink, dark pink, and yellow. The flowers bloom when the sun is high in the sky in the morning and close during the mid afternoon.
Tropical Lilies: Tropical lilies have serrated or ruffled edges on their leaves. Their leaves can also have distinct variegation in green and purple and can be quite large in some varieties. They start growing well when the water temperatures reach 70 degrees. Their flowers are generally brighter than hardy lily flowers and come in white, pinks, blues, and purples. The flowers stand up out of the water. They bloom longer into the fall than the hardy lilies. The tropical lilies are either day bloomers, which bloom the same as the hardy lilies, or night bloomers, which bloom at dusk and stay open until around noon the next day. Some tropical lily flowers have scents.
|
|
Marginal or Bog Plants: These are the plants that naturally grow in the shallow areas of ponds and streams. They come in many well-known varieties such as Cattails and Rushes as well as lesser known varieties and native plants. Some flower and some are foliage only. We recommend a combination of textures and heights for a balanced water garden. |
 |
Submerged Plants:These aquatic plants grow under the water. The most common submerged plants are Anacharis and Cabomba. Submerged plants help provide oxygen in the water. They consume fish waste nutrients to help control algae and provide a food source for fish. |
 |
Floating Plants: Floating plants, like lilies, cover the surface area of the pond and provide shade and hiding places for the fish. The most common floaters are Hyacinth and Water Lettuce. These plants are tropical and will not survive a north Georgia winter. They both multiply very quickly in warm water. These plants are among the hardest working pond cleaners. These plants collect the nutrients that are dissolved in the water and reassemble these materials into neat removable extra plants. Now if only someone will come up with a plant that will dust my house… |
 |
| |
| Terrestrial Plants
At Wakoola you will find a wide variety of terrestrial plants in the spring and summer. We try to carry plants that compliment the water garden. Based on seasonal supply, we have perennials, annuals, bamboos, ornamental grasses and native plants. Our stock changes weekly so make sure you check back with us often.
|
 |
| |
| Koi & Goldfish |
Click to Return to Plants |
|
Wakoola sells a wide variety of Koi and Fancy Goldfish. Our fish are quarantined for two weeks prior to sale to ensure healthy stock. We strive to buy fish from well-known fish farms with the highest health standards.
As a general rule of thumb, you can have one Koi or two Goldfish per 100 gallons of water because of the size the fish will ultimately reach. However a more appropriate stocking rate would involve the type of filtration you are using. Once Koi are a couple of years old, they do not live well with water lilies and submerged plants, as they will eat them. For pond owners who enjoy the flowering lilies, it is recommended that you have Goldfish instead of Koi in the lily pond. Many pond owners have a two-pond system with Koi in one pond and plants and Goldfish in the other.
|
Koi: We stock Koi in sizes ranging from 3-4” fish to 12” fish, but we can special order larger fish. We carry Butterfly Koi and standard Koi. Our Koi are graded by quality of color and priced according to the size and color. |
 |
Fancy Goldfish: We also stock several types of Goldfish. Comets, Sarassa Comets, Shubunkins, and Fantails are regularly sold. On occasion we will get in a shipment of more unusual Goldfish such as Orandas, Moors and Pearl Scales. All are priced according to size and color. |
 |
| |
|
Fish Food: We carry a high quality fish food that we sell in re-usable, refillable containers. You can choose either staple or color enhancing food in 1.5 lb., 5 lb., and 10 lb. containers. You purchase the container once and bring it to us for refills to take advantage in substantial cost savings.
In the spring and fall we also stock NishiKoi wheat germ based food. This food can be fed during those times that the water is cool and the fish metabolism is slower than in the warm months.
|
 |
Fish Health: Wakoola recommends salt for your fish health. We stock 10lb and 50 lb. sizes. To keep a healthy slime coat on your fish, a level of 1lb. per 100 gallons of salt in the spring will help. However, once salt is added to a pond, it does not dissipate on its own – the water will need to be changed out.
We also stock Aquarium Pharmaceuticals and Tetra products for fish care and health.
|
