Fancy goldfish in pond?

[fishboy123]

Hello,



So I have two fantail goldfish in my 4ft pond and it is winter at the moment. It is like -2c ousted and I don't want the goldfish to freeze to death. Are they ok to handle such cold water. I went outside and they seem to be fine swimming but isolated themselves from the other common goldfish and koi and are staying quite close to the surface. Should u bring them in or is it to late? Will they be ok or should I bring them in?

 

[Reygan2]

Bring them in!!! You'll need to slowly acclimate them to room temperature though.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I've seen both schools of thought on this. A friend of mine leaves his outside year round without issue, and I've also heard to bring them in. What's your location?

 

[limnologist]

here in missouri it gets to be around 5 degrees F over winter. all the fancy gold ive ever had were perfectly fine outside, even in the smaller ponds.

 

[Reygan2]

Interesting. I'd always read that the super cold temps were rough on their longer fins, causing eventual issues. No real experience though.

 

[54seaweed]

From everyone I know who have ponds in the colder climates they say a pond 3ft or deeper is best for survival as usually only the first 2 ft freeze .
deeper the pond the water stays warmer at the bottom so they say

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Depends on your climate, my pond didn't freeze last winter, even in the snow. You should have a pump running or a doughnut heater. If you're in the great white north things might be different.

 

[limnologist]

Interesting. I'd always read that the super cold temps were rough on their longer fins, causing eventual issues. No real experience though.

Yea Ive never had that problem

 

[limnologist]

From everyone I know who have ponds in the colder climates they say a pond 3ft or deeper is best for survival as usually only the first 2 ft freeze .
deeper the pond the water stays warmer at the bottom so they say

mine was 4 foot deep