moving goldfish, should I?

[mariah]

I currently have a 29 gallon tank that I have 5 gold fish in.I know! Way to small! I was given three that are 6-7 inches maybe. They are all feeder fish but Two have fancy tails and the other is just a feeder fish. They are apparently 8 years old and they were in a 5 gallon barrel maybe smaller! I only had a 10gallon to put them in which they were in for about 3 months and loved it! Since then (i have no idea... maybe 4-6 months) i bought a 29 gallon. They did great for the first month then they got slow and just sat in the corner. Water was fine, everything was the same. Since my plan for them was to go into our pond i figured that i could go buy two more feeder fish and they will only be in there for a few months. My plan worked! They are as happy as could be now... So that's how i have 5. The small ones have doubled and the big ones are stunted big time but might have grown a bit more ( hard to tell when you see them everyday) Okay, so we have a pond and it has to be at least 100 gallons and we want to make it bigger and a water fall next year. The goldfish have been inside all their life ( almost 9 years and almost a year) the tank was at 76 ish but its currently sitting at 72 ( no heater) i would wait a bit more for the weather to get warmer and sitting at about what they are in now but will they die during winter? I love these fish and i don't want them to die we have had fish I'm the pond before but usually only two years because they get eaten. This year we have grates on it but if an animal really wanted them they could get one i guess. What should i do!?!? Thank you

 

[mariah]

I currently have a 29 gallon tank that I have 5 gold fish in.I know! Way to small! I was given three that are 6-7 inches maybe. They are all feeder fish but Two have fancy tails and the other is just a feeder fish. They are apparently 8 years old and they were in a 5 gallon barrel maybe smaller! I only had a 10gallon to put them in which they were in for about 3 months and loved it! Since then (i have no idea... maybe 4-6 months) i bought a 29 gallon. They did great for the first month then they got slow and just sat in the corner. Water was fine, everything was the same. Since my plan for them was to go into our pond i figured that i could go buy two more feeder fish and they will only be in there for a few months. My plan worked! They are as happy as could be now... So that's how i have 5. The small ones have doubled and the big ones are stunted big time but might have grown a bit more ( hard to tell when you see them everyday) Okay, so we have a pond and it has to be at least 100 gallons and we want to make it bigger and a water fall next year. The goldfish have been inside all their life ( almost 9 years and almost a year) the tank was at 76 ish but its currently sitting at 72 ( no heater) i would wait a bit more for the weather to get warmer and sitting at about what they are in now but will they die during winter? I love these fish and i don't want them to die we have had fish I'm the pond before but usually only two years because they get eaten. This year we have grates on it but if an animal really wanted them they could get one i guess. What should i do!?!? Thank you

This is them eating am algae waffer

 

[Sharpchick]

Comets and commons (comets are sold as feeder fish) are the typical pond fish. All of them get too big for a 29 gallon aquarium, and the ones you say are already 6-7 inches really should go into the pond.

At 100 gallons, your pond really isn't big enough for all 5 five, but would be better than a 29 gallon tank.

You say you are concerned about the cold. Where do you live? Is it winter there now?

With comets, the only thing I would be concerned about temperature would be making sure you acclimate them to the pond water, using a 5 gallon (or similar size) bucket that you carry them out to the pond in, with some of their current tank water.

Then, add pond water to the bucket - you can use a plastic Solo cup or something similar. Add a couple of cups of pond water, then wait a few minutes. Add a couple of more cups of pond water, wait. Repeat that until your bucket is almost full.

Then take the bucket and kind of balance it in the pond on its side so the fish can swim out, instead of being dumped into the pond.

If you are in the southern hemisphere and it's winter, I don't know that I'd make the transfer now. If that's the case, then you might want to consider getting a tub larger than 29 gallons to keep them in for the remainder of the winter, and then transfer them into the pond in the spring.

In your 29, with that many fish and some of them already large, you should be doing daily water changes.

 

[mariah]

Comets and commons (comets are sold as feeder fish) are the typical pond fish. All of them get too big for a 29 gallon aquarium, and the ones you say are already 6-7 inches really should go into the pond.

At 100 gallons, your pond really isn't big enough for all 5 five, but would be better than a 29 gallon tank.

You say you are concerned about the cold. Where do you live? Is it winter there now?

With comets, the only thing I would be concerned about temperature would be making sure you acclimate them to the pond water, using a 5 gallon (or similar size) bucket that you carry them out to the pond in, with some of their current tank water.

Then, add pond water to the bucket - you can use a plastic Solo cup or something similar. Add a couple of cups of pond water, then wait a few minutes. Add a couple of more cups of pond water, wait. Repeat that until your bucket is almost full.

Then take the bucket and kind of balance it in the pond on its side so the fish can swim out, instead of being dumped into the pond.

If you are in the southern hemisphere and it's winter, I don't know that I'd make the transfer now. If that's the case, then you might want to consider getting a tub larger than 29 gallons to keep them in for the remainder of the winter, and then transfer them into the pond in the spring.

In your 29, with that many fish and some of them already large, you should be doing daily water changes.

I live in Canada, b.c. and the temp does not go below freezing anymore. I do water changes about every 5 days when i change my other 4 tanks. Yes i would slowly acclimate them slowly. The pond is going to be cleaned before they go in because its very brown right now. We only clean the pond after the winter is over. When my mom buys fish for the pond usually every year she buys about 10 and maybe a few live through the winter that's what I'm scared of

 

[Sharpchick]

For a 100 gallon pond, that's too many fish. That may be part of the problem with them making it through the winter.

I wouldn't put more in the pond than you have in the tank now.

 

[mariah]

For a 100 gallon pond, that's too many fish. That may be part of the problem with them making it through the winter.

I wouldn't put more in the pond than you have in the tank now.

Okay sounds good. It will just be the 5 of them in there. I hope the haring (i think that's bow you spell it, its a bird...) doesn't eat the fish. I will take a pic of the pond currently... doesn't look nice but then you have an idea

 

[mariah]

For a 100 gallon pond, that's too many fish. That may be part of the problem with them making it through the winter.

I wouldn't put more in the pond than you have in the tank now.

I am assuming its 100 gallons because it looks twice as big as my 55 gallon tank. I am going to measure the depth length and width... once i kind something to measure it with

 

[mariah]

Okay sounds good. It will just be the 5 of them in there. I hope the haring (i think that's bow you spell it, its a bird...) doesn't eat the fish. I will take a pic of the pond currently... doesn't look nice but then you have an idea

Its 141.82 gallons. Its 14 inches deep 78 inches long and 30 inches wide

 

[Sharpchick]

Its 141.82 gallons. Its 14 inches deep 78 inches long and 30 inches wide

That's a good size for the five.

I wouldn't push it much farther than one more.

 

[mariah]

That's a good size for the five.

I wouldn't push it much farther than one more.

Okay i think i will just stick with the 5 for a year then next year maybe add another. We do put a nice filter thing in the pond with a fountain but it gets clogged after like 2 months. The waterfall next year will be way better and have a nice stream until winter. Can you heat a pond anyway??? So it doesn't freeze??

 

[jlk]

Great advice offered by Sharpchick! I agree to keep the fish to the number you presently have. Another aspect to keeping fish through the winter would be if you run a de-icer or some other form of water movement at the surface to keep the water from freezing/icing over. Canada is quite a bit further north than where I reside (PA) and keeping a pond from freezing over is an issue where I live. Keeping the pond from icing over during the winter months will also ensure your fish survive the winter.

Do you keep the pond covered with grates all the time? If so, a heron should not be an a major issue but if you discover him on top of the grates picking fish out, you will need to add further protection for your fish. A pond net I think works better than grates as a heron can not stand on a net and spear his supper easily. If you can sink a garbage can or some other similar type cave-like protection for your fish, it will help protect them as well. Lots of floating plant cover helps, too.

One additional thing to keep in mind here. If you plan on 'cleaning the pond out', make sure you keep an eye on your parameters because you may cause it to recycle (it recycles every spring anyway in northern climates). Total cleanouts at one time are not a great idea as it will imbalance a pond. Work on cleaning it gradually with water changes and removal of debris prior to each wc. The fish wont mind if the pond is a bit dirty either.

 

[Sharpchick]

Okay i think i will just stick with the 5 for a year then next year maybe add another. We do put a nice filter thing in the pond with a fountain but it gets clogged after like 2 months. The waterfall next year will be way better and have a nice stream until winter. Can you heat a pond anyway??? So it doesn't freeze??

Google stock tank heaters. Horse and cattle farmers use them in stock tanks (like I'm using as a pond) to keep ice from forming on the surface of the stock tank in the winter.

I don't know if they would work for you, but looking at the shape of your pond, it might be worth a shot. In any event, you have to keep a hole in the ice on the surface for gas exchange.

You may want to cover the pond in the winter, too (not tightly covered - you gotta have the gas exchange). Some ponders have come up with some really creative greenhouse looking covers on frames to use in winter.

The greatest risk for temps dropping is when it snows into the pond. That can cause a very fast drop in temps, which is not good for the fish.

You may also want to sign up (for free) on one or more pond forums. There is a wealth of information there.

 

[Shanny]

Where abouts in bc are you? I'm from Penticton (currently living in northern ab) and there are still days in winter in Penticton where the temp drops below 0. When I lived there I used a trough heater for my horses' water in the winter so it didn't freeze over. It worked really well and the trough was about 100 gallons.

 

[mariah]

Where abouts in bc are you? I'm from Penticton (currently living in northern ab) and there are still days in winter in Penticton where the temp drops below 0. When I lived there I used a trough heater for my horses' water in the winter so it didn't freeze over. It worked really well and the trough was about 100 gallons.

I live a few hours west from there. I have a weather thing on my phone and tonight is going to be 7 as a low. Over the next month (which might not be right) its all 8 or higher