Adapting a goldfish to outdoor life

[Yenko]

So, I recently was offered a goldfish. A plain old pond goldfish; it's about 1.5" long now and living in a tropical tank heated to 23-24C which isn't too excessive considering that our pond is warmer than that in the summer.

I was planning to introduce him to the pond as soon as all the snow and ice is gone, but someone on this board said that you have to wait utnill summer to make the transition from tank to pond.

The problem is that I want this fish out of my tank and in my pond as soon as possible; would it be possible to acclimatise him to 10C water over a week or so?

 

[black angel]

i would say it was possible but you couldnt do it until late spring when the danger of frosts has gone and the water has started to heat up again..
are there any other tank mates and if so what are they?

 

[bribones]

sound advice
the shock of going from a tropical tank to a pond would more than likely kill the fish at this time of year ,the only way you could possibly do it is to house the fish in a coldwater tank first then try to acclimatise the fish ,you cant do it over a long period of time as small amounts of water are prone to temp fluxuations,

pick a warm day then put the fish in as large a bag as possible with water and float the bag in the pond for a few hours to level the tempretures out ,keep an eye on the fish at all times and any signs of stress remove it straight away,once the bag is at the same temp as the pond release the fish into a net if you can and see how it reacts if its fine then release it from the net ,itl most likely vanish from sight as the water at the bottom of the pond will be warmer

but if it was my choice id wait till late spring as stated by black angel

 

[Opcn]

Frost isn't a bg problem in water really, I'd say that you coudl transfer him to that in 24 hours or so, a week would be good thought, You just have to remember that during a trasition in temp immune systems are compromised so keep a close eye on him/her

 

[Yenko]

I'll probably just wait untill late spring; the fish isn't causing any problems, and actually is a pretty good alage eater.