Issue With Goldfish And Mums Pond...

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Basically my mum wants to have fish in her pond again, but there are a couple issues that i am concerned about in her getting fish again; a while back she used to have koi karp, but she didn't feed them for 8yrs and they eventually starved to death...She wants fish again, and my brother is living at her place again and has agreed he will feed the fish properly if she gets any, but there are a couple of issues facing the pond she wants to have fish in that i am concerned about;

a. The pond is 9-10ft long, 5feet deep and 4 and a haft feet wide- im not sure on the gallons as it isn't exactly pefectly rectangle shaped but its probably at least a 900gallons.
b. The pond has no filtration and very little pond plants and is generally very bare- she has never dechlorinated the water and the last time it got cleaned out was about 8yrs ago when i did it, the water is very clear though- if she gets fish i will dechlorinate the water though.
c. The winters are quite harsh where she lives and it usually gets about 5inch thick ice on the pond in the colder winters..


Now i know that goldfish need heavy filtration like most other fish out there, but i was thinking if only got her 3 or so comet goldfish there would be enough gallons to disperse the ammonia so if wouldn't effect the fish's health? I seriously doubt she will get filtration for the pond, and i havn't a clue how to go about it myself...Would the ice and lack of filtration be an issue for fish in a pond that has so many gallons?
What are your opinions on this? She's been quite depressed recently about her father(he hasn't long to go til he dies) and i know if she had some fish she would probably cheer up a bit, but do you think a couple of goldfish would be ok in such a pond if the water was dechlorinated and fish were fed regually?

 

[OrkyBetta]

Sorry to hear about your mother's depression, Tokis.

Comet goldfish can pretty much survive in anything, and you would be doing a huge favor to them letting them live in such a nice condition. So long as you kept up on maintenance and w/c's every so often, they should be ok without filtration. That is more than enough surface area for them.

A heater though, I would think is a good thing for the winter, or just set her up with a tank to keep them inside in the winter.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks so much for the reply , it really has put my mind at rest as i didn't want to put any fish's health at risk by putting them in the pond, what do you think is the maximum amount of comet goldfish the pond could easily handle roughly? Are there any other large colorful hardy types of goldfish that don't mind living in cold unfiltered large ponds ?

 

[OrkyBetta]

Welcome.

I don't know much at all about pond fish, so don't take my word as law, but I would assume that some kinds of catfish would fare just fine in the same conditions. I would assume that you could fit more than just a few comets in the pond, too. If you did, I would suggest also adding in some live plants.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Will do, my mum is going to Australia this christmas to see her father while my brother looks after the house so i am sort of planning to do the pond up for her as a suprise for when she comes back, unfortunatly the only pond fish i know of are comet goldfish, koi karp and sturgeons and my experience with pond plants is pretty limited- i don't know of any apart from lilys and reeds, so...If anyone has any suggestions for nice pond plants that don't need much care/looking after to survive and prosper and are easy to get hold of i'd also be really grateful for any suggestions .
Im thinking of doing a pond picture diary on here if i can, im going to have to do this during this winter but i don't mind the cold.

 

[LucyHurst]

I think a few comets should do well in there, but start with a couple and work up.. i wouldnt go over ten without filtration, i wouldnt go with sturgeon or koi.
You dont need to dechloirinate water that is already in the pond as it wont have any chlorine in it, it will all have evaporated, just when you do waterchanges it will need dechlorinating.
and put loads of pond weed in there!
test the water aswell to see how it copes with the pair of fish, if its not coping well then you will either have to buy a filter or rehome the fish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well i have talked over the pond fish thing with my mum a little bit, she's leaving for australia in a couple of hours so i probably won't see her for a couple of months- apparently one of her freinds who has a goldfish population problem got 100 comet goldfish for her but put them in a container and left for a holiday as well and all but 10 died...Since its going to be months til my mum gets back im going to sort out the pond thing and talk my mum out of accepting goldfish off friends before anymore of her friends offer her goldfish("eek"!).
I'll start a picture pond diary on here when i start the work on the pond, but will probably be a while yet.

 

[LucyHurst]

100 ...yikes!

 

[bribones]

the simple solution to filtering the pond would be a pump and a bio filter ie hozelock or green genie ,easy to set up and maintain 900 gallons could easily house dozens of goldfish or even koi

catfish in a natural pond would reach large sizes and negate putting any other fish in the pond

once you have filtration in place the pond shouldnt freeze due to the water movement

even a small amount of fish in a unfiltered pond will eventaualy lead to derbis build up and it will have to be cleaned but if you do constant water changes and use a few water treatments it can be done ,IMO filtering is a cheaper option once youve done the first outlay as you wont have to keep buying the water treatments

hope you get it sorted