Goldfish And Winter?

[afishdude]

hi all, i am making a 10 X 4 X 4 pond and it will be done by end of week. now comes my question, its pretty small (had to do what i could with the limited space) and has one small koi in it. what kinds of SMALL-ISH goldies can i put in there that can survive temps down to -10ºF. the pond will freeze over and i will have filter shut off, but i might leave the founten going just to keep it from freezing completly. it will be way over filterd, a canister filter, and a founten with a pre-filter on it.

any ideas?

and the koi might be going soon because im not sure if i can keep him properly in that pond.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Comet and Common goldfish are the most ideal, in fact they can actually thrive in temps close to freezing, they are very cold-loving fish and are very adaptable fish too- as far as i am aware the Bristol Shubunkin can also be kept outdoors, but these are a rare breed of goldfish and you are unlikely to find them in your average lfs. Either way though, Common and Comet goldfish come a large variety of colours and patterns and grow to a good size too .

Goldfish varieties;

http/www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/goldfish.htm

 

[afishdude]

ok, if i go commet or common, how many of each would you suggest for my size pond? it will have 1 koi in it remember.

 

[fish_fingers]

Yeah - I agree that comet and common goldfish are the best. We have some in our pond they have lived for over three years and grown quite large.

One word of advice I would give you is if the pond freezes over - don't break the ice. That just stresses out the fish. We lost some fish a few years back beacuse we didn't know this. They tend to slow down in winter and don't need feeding much either - some people don't feed their fish at all during winter as they go into a sort of hibernation. Over feeding in winter can cause the food to rot in th gut and the fish to die.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm your pond is about 1000 gallons, a lot of people advise 1 goldfish per 50gallons as a general rule of thumb, but with good strong filtration you can stretch this rule of thumb a bit depending on the size of the pond- take into consideration that comet and common goldfish can grow up to 18inches-2ft long in ponds .

 

[tetraqueen]

Yeah - I agree that comet and common goldfish are the best. We have some in our pond they have lived for over three years and grown quite large.

One word of advice I would give you is if the pond freezes over - don't break the ice. That just stresses out the fish. We lost some fish a few years back beacuse we didn't know this. They tend to slow down in winter and don't need feeding much either - some people don't feed their fish at all during winter as they go into a sort of hibernation. Over feeding in winter can cause the food to rot in th gut and the fish to die.

I was told the opposite that you must break the ice or was that because there would be frogs/toads there

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm i've heard breaking the ice on the pond is not good because even though the ice itself is obviously very cold, it actually helps insulate the pond from the wind chill- breaking the ice can cause the temp of the pond to drop even further, which can be stressful for the fish.

On the other hand though, it is not good to have the pond completely freeze over, because pockets of gas being released from any silt/decomposing matter at the bottom of the pond may get trapped under the ice and become toxic to the fish in the pond.

So the best solution is to float something like a plastic ball in the pond- this ball will move enough to prevent it getting frozen into the ice, the area surrounding the ball will not freeze over and will thus give an exit for any gasses building up under the ice to be released out of .

Frogs are like goldfish either way though when the weather becomes freezing cold, they also go into a semi-dormant sort of hibernative state as well due to the cold and lack of food there is during freezing weather, i think most frogs just sit at the bottom of the pond waiting for the waters to warm up when conditions get freezing .

 

[tetraqueen]

I often think that is the beauty of this forum.

Reading and analysing others ideas and experiences is a very good way of finding out what is best.

I guess too thats why my sister in law has windmills planted here and there. Not just fro decoration
.

 

[black angel]

You could add a couple more goldies to it.

As for ice, i tried the ball method and the ice formed under it pushing the ball up out the water. I wouldnt run a filter in winter either as the water in the bottom i think stays at a regular temperature. As for ice we just used hot water to break it up, but there were times when it was solid for a few days and the fish were ok. As for frogs i dont think they hibernate in the water. They would more likely be in the garden somewhere.

 

[Meds081603]

We have had our pond for about 7 years now. All I do during the winter is run a powerful airstone. Normally the stone keeps at least a decent sized circle open when the pond freezes. On occasion a thin layer of ice develops even over the stone. I can't say if its better to or not, but I have always lightly used my foot to break that ice. We have never had any issues with fish surviving the winter. I do not feed them from the middle to end of October until around March or April. I also turn off my filter and store it away during the period they are not eating.

 

[black angel]

I keep feeding my fish until the water gets to a steady 5c or they dont come up to the surface to look for it. Last year I was still feeding my fish in November.

 

[KhaosInc]

I've had a pond not a whole lot bigger or deeper than yours for several years and I'm about the same latitude. I cut my waterfall off when I set up my halloween decorations (need the outlet anyway) unless your KOI is HUGE, I wouldn't worry about several goldfish. There are (give or take) about 20 fish in my pond, 4 koi and the rest one of a few generations of comets..

Personally, I quit feeding about september, as the spawning bugs are a fine natural food that works as needed. I also crawl in the pond one last time, and hack out all the lilly pads..