Overwintering common goldfish

KarenL

KarenL

Where'd those fish come from?
Mar 18, 2005
6
0
0
PEI, Canada
www.springwillowfarms.com
I have two common and two fancy goldfish in a tank in the house. we've been planning to put in a pond in our back or side yard and I've been debating whether to put the commons in it or not. My main concern is bringing them in for the winter. It gets cold enough here that I would have to dig my pond 4 and half or five feet deep to keep it from freezing all the way to the bottom. But a friend told me that after being in the pond, the goldfish would have trouble adapting to the bright aquarium environment again and that they would be better off being kept in a rubbermaid tub with a filter on it. Has anyone ever done this and how did it work out for you? I've also heard that you can't put fancies in a pond, but I've never really heard a reason why. Anyone know?

I've never kept goldfish before, just a few tropicals, so please pardon me if I ask any dumb questions.

Karen
 
I can't answer all of your questions but as far as putting fancies in a pond, I will say that they are not good at evading predators such as herons or raccoons.

I know that it is common procedure in some parts of the country (U.S.) to bring goldfish into a large tank for the winter, but I've never heard any discussion about returning them to the pond. Logically though, it would make no sense (to me) that they couldn't adapt. I think that if you put them out in spring before the sun becomes intense, that they would adapt just fine. Taking them from a cool, shaded aquarium to a sunny pond in the middle of summer might be quite a shocker though.

Anyway, I haven't had a pond in a few years, and when I did they were able to stay outside year-round, so hopefully someone else will be able to address your concerns.
 
I,ve had a pond in my yard for 4 years now(sask)...I went against all advice to not put fancy goldfish in the pond........I put in a mix of fancy,comet,common and koi.....all fish are huge and doing fine......every winter i put them in a cattle trough in the shed and keep the temperature about plus 1 celcius just so the water doesn,t freeze.....haven,t lost 1 yet....I think they do better with the dose of cold water......no disease...bright colors....even the babies survive........i have brought some in the house tank just to look at them for a while then moved them back out when i get bored........in the winter we are talking about a huge temp change of a least 20 degrees..just acclimate them slowly!!!!!!!!!!!!...i,ve had no problems.....common or fancy.........later.
 
Thanks for the input--I never thought of putting them out in a cattle trough. i wonder what our cows would think if I just used theirs... :D I'm not sure I'm going to get the pond built this year, so they may spend this year in a 20 g in the kitchen. But I'm hoping and it's nice to hear from someone who lives someplace even colder than here who's made it work.

Karen
 
Goldfish will come back if completely frozen. A friend of mine has goldfish in a pond and they stay out all winter long. At one point she actually found one of the fish in a solid block of ice. She said as soon as the ice melted the fish started moving again and all was well.

In my (very little) knowledge of fish, I dont see why there is a need to bring the goldfish in in the winter.
 
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