Goldfish Myth?

[7itanium]

ok.. I have a question that I have been meaning to ask for a while now but I have to know now...

I was talking to my grandmas neighbor a while back who has a large pond in his back yard with several species of goldfish. I asked him one time what he does with all the fish in the winter-- as I know he has no indoor aquariums.. and where I live it can get -10 below in the winter no problem.

He informed me that he lets the pond freeze over and the fish freeze into the ice.. and hibernate in a way.. and that the next spring when he thaws he never loses more than a few fish-- and that most of them survive.

Now aside from the fact that I am sure this is cruel.. and I am not asking if I can do it by any means... im just asking if its possible???

I also talked to one of the guys at the pond store here.. and he told me the same exact thing...

this doesnt seem right to me... or even plausible...


can goldfish (or other fish) be frozen completely in ice and survive to tell the story???

 

[jlink17]

They are not frozen completely in ice. They are laying on the bottom and yes they do hibernate and don't eat. They do kind of what bears do in the winter months. It is not cruel it is just the way goldfish live their lives.

 

[Lupin]

How deep is his pond? What strains are his goldfish? If the pond is at least three feet deep, the pond does not really freeze completely and in a way, the fish are simply at the bottom hibernating waiting for the winter thaw.

 

[7itanium]

I am not sure how deep it is.... but its big-- so I am assuming it may not freeze over all the way some winters

but I know that we have had winters in the past where the local pond at the park (which is 4 feet deep) has frozen solid to the bottom.. and they still have fish... I guess they may have restocked it


so what your saying is that its perfectly ok as long as it doesnt freeze solid??

 

[jlink17]

I know people in S. IL and in Ky that have goldfish ponds and they never bring the fish in during the cold winter months. They always leave them out and the water has frozen almost all the way solid a few times and the fish were fine the following spring. They are fine as they just hibernate just as bears do.

 

[Dexmaster]

How do you guys know for sure its frozen all the way? I'm just curious cause I don't know how to tell if pond is frozen solid or not.

 

[7itanium]

How do you guys know for sure its frozen all the way? I'm just curious cause I don't know how to tell if pond is frozen solid or not.

I was wondering the same thing...

if you miscalculate and it happens to freeze solid is the whole stock gone? or is there still a chance?

 

[Lupin]

I am not sure how deep it is.... but its big-- so I am assuming it may not freeze over all the way some winters

but I know that we have had winters in the past where the local pond at the park (which is 4 feet deep) has frozen solid to the bottom.. and they still have fish... I guess they may have restocked it


so what your saying is that its perfectly ok as long as it doesnt freeze solid??

How cold was it when the four foot deep pond froze completely? It should not freeze that way completely considering the depth.

Even if the goldfish froze completely, it is unlikely to survive. Theoretically, if the goldfish froze over, so does the water inside its body causing the cellular structure to explode and the tissues expand which potentially kills a fish. Unless your friends know the bottom doesn't actually freeze as they thought, I would not believe easily the goldfish can survive freezing temperature. Why do you think it is advised to put goldfish indoors during winter season where ponds are shallow?

 

[Lupin]

How do you guys know for sure its frozen all the way? I'm just curious cause I don't know how to tell if pond is frozen solid or not.

That's my point. There is no way to tell exactly from a deep layer of ice if the bottom has also frozen. It is all nonsense to me that they claim their goldfish survived the frozen temperature. This is why you put your goldfish indoors unless your pond is at least three feet deep. If you really prize your fish, why dare leave them in a shallow pond and risk them to die?

 

[Hebily]

The top layer of ice will often protect the depths from the cold, preventing complete freezing below a certain depth. Even so, I wouldn't want to be that goldfish.