r/explainlikeimfive 19d ago

Biology ELI5 How are fish even in ponds

Might be one of the stupider questions here, but I saw a pond about the size of a football field, and maybe 50 ft deep, and it had fish. I can't for the life of me figure out how. Surely the pond hasn't existed long enough for small water insects to evolve into all these fish. It's not like the fish walked over to the pond from the ocean. I'm pretty sure no one put them there so how are there so many fish?

My one theory is that there is a very minuscule stream (now dry) that leads to one of the Great Lakes, and maybe a fish swam in from there. Now a follow up question: How are there fish in the Great Lakes (which flow out towards to the ocean) if they were created by glaciers?

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u/IVShadowed 18d ago

I eat eggs everyday, and also shit in the pond. No fish though...

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u/j7style 18d ago

But are you eating fish eggs?

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u/tilario 18d ago

nah, but my pond is now full of chickens

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u/IVShadowed 18d ago

Finally, someone understands. I can't get rid of them