too cold to put goldfish into a pond?

[phaedraeos]

I'd like to follow the advice of a number of aquaria central members and release Huey, Dewey III, and Louie II into a local pond (they are all at least 5 inch long feeder goldfish). However, I know that goldfish/carp/koi usually have a number of months to acclimate to dropping water temperatures in an outdoor or pond environment. Even if I let the fish acclimate to the pond water temperature in a large bucket or bag for 1/2 hour or so, will it be too much for them to go from a 70 degree farenheit tank to a 50 degree farenheit pond overnight?

Thanks!

ps - this is a rather large pond that already has a well established population of overwintering carp and bass in it, and it doesn't freeze. I do live in upstate NY however, so we can have some pretty cold nights in January and Febuary.

 

[InR reason]

This is a "sucky" situation. Just curious how it came about that you have three common goldfish you can't keep. I'm sure you already know (and this may be the reason why you're planning to release them) they get too big for most aquaria.

 

[SquirrelOsO]

i was in a similiar situation where i bought a platinum koi late in the season when the temps got too cold for him to go in the pond (im in PA)
i have him in a 26g tank now waiting for spring
its not a good idea to add fish to a pond now IMO

 

[WeeNe858]

your realeasin them into the wild :O

 

[phaedraeos]

i got the common goldfish when i was very new to fishkeeping, and have since learned a lot . . . i know i can't keep them, but i'm not about to kill them. and they're way too big for our two carnivorous fish to eat! (needlenose gar, ornate bichir - in a different tank.) turns out though that a good friend has an uncle with a heated pond upstate a little ways. i think that's where they'll end up

 

[Mgamer20o0]

its never a good idea to put your fish in ponds not own by you. putting a fish back into the wild can spreed diseases. you might be dooming the whole pond with your little fish.

 

[wataugachicken]

putting fish into someone's pond is not the same as releasing them into the wild. for the most part, a pond is isolated from other bodies of water and a goldfish can't really go anywhere. the pond owner has to right to stock it, and if the original poster has permission to put the fish there it is not a problem. otherwise nobody would ever have goldfish in ponds.

i would say you could put them in the pond, but you shouldn't do it now. if you really have to though, take a week to lower the temp. you might have to move the tank out to the basement or garage so that the temp is low but they are still protected. you can't put the tank itself outside b/c any wind will drop the temp drastically.

 

[phaedraeos]

just an fyi to the "releasing into wild" posts - this pond is in the middle of a college campus, and i promise there is nothing "wild" about it. i would never release a pet of any sort into a wild habitat. thanks for all the advice though!