I have a pond that is about 12 ft long, 8 ft wide and 3 ft deep. In that pond are five goldfish--two large Sarasa Comets and 1 large and 2 small fantails--and 2 Bluegills. One Bluegill is little more than a minnow. The other is around 6-8" long. Her name is Jessie, and I love her dearly. I brought her to my pond early this spring to keep down bug larvae and goldfish fry populations. Jessie is extremely intelligent and incredibly tame, now about as much a pet as any dog or cat--far more so, actually, than any of the goldfish. She eats right out of my hand and always waits around for me to come back.
Anyway, what really breaks my heart is that she won't be around next year. If she is to survive, I will have to catch her and put her back in the lake I found her in. So far, I have never been able to successfully overwinter a bluegill in my pond like I do with my goldfish. For my goldfish, I keep a pump going all winter long to aerate the water and keep at least a gap in the ice open to get the air through, and that works for them. But it hasn't worked for any of the Bluegills I've tried that with; they never make through the winter. I'm not really sure why; maybe the pond just isn't big enough. I'd love to find some way to overwinter Jessie, however, be it indoors or outdoors, because she's such a neat personality!
If I overwinter her indoors, would a 55 gallon tank work (that's as big as I can get)? If so, how should it be set up? Or is there a way to overwinter her outdoors? If there is, how?
P.S.--I live in southern Michigan
Anyway, what really breaks my heart is that she won't be around next year. If she is to survive, I will have to catch her and put her back in the lake I found her in. So far, I have never been able to successfully overwinter a bluegill in my pond like I do with my goldfish. For my goldfish, I keep a pump going all winter long to aerate the water and keep at least a gap in the ice open to get the air through, and that works for them. But it hasn't worked for any of the Bluegills I've tried that with; they never make through the winter. I'm not really sure why; maybe the pond just isn't big enough. I'd love to find some way to overwinter Jessie, however, be it indoors or outdoors, because she's such a neat personality!
If I overwinter her indoors, would a 55 gallon tank work (that's as big as I can get)? If so, how should it be set up? Or is there a way to overwinter her outdoors? If there is, how?
P.S.--I live in southern Michigan
