winterizing

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jparnell

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Aug 29, 2004
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Yeah, ok, so winter is still a few months off... But I'm starting to think about it now, because if I make the decision to bring the fish inside, I have to get an aquarium set up to house them.

Location: Ontario Canada - Ottawa to be specific. So yeah, it gets pretty cold.

Pond is 6' by 5' by 4' deep, with a nice waterfall on one end. Residents: a bunch of frogs and 5 shegenaki pond fish (I hope I spelled that right). It's the fish I'm worried about. I have read that if I keep the pump going all winter, the fish will be fine - they'll go to the bottom and essentially hibernate, and with the pump going there should be enough oxygen in the water to keep them alive.

I've read other alternatives as well:
1- don't keep the pump going, but keep part of the water surface clear of ice, and that will be just as good
2 - take the fish inside, in a cold water aquarium (ie no heater at all), and they'll be fine. Which would mean setting up a new aquarium and cycling it... which I'd have to start sometime in October I guess. The fish are already getting big though - about 3" each... that might mean a rather big aquarium that I don't really have space for.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Thanks
 

jparnell

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Aug 29, 2004
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
ok, so now it's only 4 fish. My cat, after two months of there being fish in the pond, has finally realized it. And got one.

Hmmm.... that might also explain why the pond has dropped from 14 frogs to 4....

darned cat.

So maybe I won't have to worry about winterizing after all. Depends how many are left at the end of the summer.
:sad:
 

*TJ

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Oct 14, 2004
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ON, Canada
www.backyardpuddle.ca
Never heard of shegenaki pond fish? Do you mean shubunkin goldfish? http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/bshub/bshub.htm

Ottawa is a toughie for over-wintering fish, but do-able considering you have a 4' depth. I would suggest you look into a pond deicer and use of a small air pump + air stone for keeping some pond surface area free of ice. Another suggestion in addition to the afore mentioned would be to cover the pond in a hoop-house (greenhouse) type structure to keep the Ottawa winter elements away (wind, snow, etc.) this will also help to keep water surface open to air.

If you are concerned about survival (and goldfish, if that what you have, are quite hardy) then bringing them indoors to an appropriate size aquarium set-up or stock tank would be best for your nerves as well as the long term health of your pond pets.

Sorry your cat likes to fish... ours just likes to eat the fishes food. As for the frogs, they don't stay put, most have probably gone looking for their very own water hole... don't be so quick to blame your kitty for their disappearance.
 

jparnell

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Aug 29, 2004
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Yeah, you might be right on the name of the fish. I didn't take much notice when I purchased them. Bad me. And the LFS hasn't restocked them since.

I'm now down to three fish (yup. the cat again). And unfortunately, I've seen the visual evidence on the frogs too. Sigh. At this rate, I won't have to worry about winterizing!

Thanks for the advice... we'll see how many are left by September....
 

fantail

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Sep 22, 2004
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scotland
Put netting over the pond so the cat doesnt get in.
Shubunkins are great at over wintering and four foot should be ok, I would be more worried about the filter. Where about is it located? If its out in the open then it will freeze and then break down. If you have a rough idea of when the worst of the weather will be then switch it off but if you do switch it off then leave it off until the spring as the beneficial bacteria will die off, and you dont want to keep re cycling it. You can get little heaters that just sit on the top of the water and will keep an area ice free. A football *soccer ball* will do the same thing.
For feeding, try and fatten then up now by feeding a high protein pellet and then when the water temp gets to below 10c give wheatgerm based food. Once the temp gets to below 5c then they will start to hibernate and shouldnt be fed unless they seem to come and look for it.
 
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