Temporary aquarium, how many gallons?

[chelsea54_46]

Hello, I wasn't sure which subject to post this under so I'm going to go with general. I have a pond outside that's about 150 gallons, with 4 small goldfish and 1 small koi. They're not adjusting well to the weather outside (low 30s and 40s) and one of my fish is lethargic so I want to just take them all in for about 2 months until temperatures get up again. What size aquarium would I need? I know for aquariums they say 1 inch fish per gallon of water and twice that for goldfish, but my fish are small and will only be in there for a month or 2 so they won't get bigger than they are now. Can I go with a 5 gallon just temporarily? Thanks!

 

[Sonomakid]

You realize that Koi, which is a japanese gold fish, go into a hibernation mode when the weather changes for the cold. They dont do much of anything, they really dont eat either

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

What is the size of your goldfish? Your koi, if it is a true koi will do as sonomakid said and go into a hibernation mode so there really is no need to worry about that one. I would maybe just check it so make sure the water is not freezing (pond fountain, plenty of water flow, etc..). IMO Your goldies would be good in a well filtered 10 gal depending on the size of them obviously larger if they are bigger.

 

[Sonomakid]

have kept Koi and goldies in ponds since i was a kid, as long as you dont let the pond freeze over you should be fine

 

[Etunes]

Actually you can even let the pond freeze over and it is fin depending on how deep the pond is. If it is deep enough they will hibernate under the ice were it is not frozen at all just fine. If it is not deep i would do like broncofan said and make sure there is plenty of flow and not worry about it.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Actually you can even let the pond freeze over and it is fin depending on how deep the pond is. If it is deep enough they will hibernate under the ice were it is not frozen at all just fine. If it is not deep i would do like broncofan said and make sure there is plenty of flow and not worry about it.

Totally forgot about that, if you have an inground pond (which is nice btw) and it is atleast and i mean atleast 1.5-2 feet deeper than ground level you shouldnt have ANYTHING to worry about as my father in-law has an above ground and our weather gets to freezing and he has not had a fish die through winter....ever.

 

[jsoong]

Totally forgot about that, if you have an inground pond (which is nice btw) and it is atleast and i mean atleast 1.5-2 feet deeper than ground level you shouldnt have ANYTHING to worry about as my father in-law has an above ground and our weather gets to freezing and he has not had a fish die through winter....ever.

Actually that should have said "1.5-2 feet below FROST level"!

Our frost level is 4 feet down, so you need a 6 foot deep pond to over winter fish at our area. <Our neighbor made fish Popsicle last year as his 3' pond froze solid.>

It does sound like the OP should have no problem with overwintering, if he is just getting ice in Feb .... If you need to overwinter 4 goldfish & 1 koi, a 5 gal won't cut it. I say minimum 20-30 gal, even if the fish is small .... they need room to swim. You don't need to have an aquarium, a rubber maid tub/feed trough or some other water container will do just fine. Up here, lots of people use DIY plywood box & pond liner & basically make an indoor pond for the fish.