jordan Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 hi every1 Im planning on getting some fancy goldfish soon and plan on keeping them outside all year round in a pond. If any of yous can give me some advise that would be sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 not quite sure how cold it gets down there but I winter my fancy goldfish outside with no problems at all. Then again I am in Auckland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Wok.. the pond will probably end up with ice on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Not if you have it deep enough. a shallow pond would be a problem but If it were deeper it may be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 I have read a bit about people with goldfish in the UK having there ponds completely ice over for weeks with no problems. As the water gets cooler they start to slow right down and pretty much hibernate, the only advise they gave was to stop feeding once the temp gets below about 10 degrees cause the goldfish stop eating and the food just rots. I have wintered my goldfish (althrough they are just plain old style) and WCMM's outside with no problems althrough I dont think my pond has ever frozen over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 definitely the pond WILL freeze over in Christchurch in winter. I don't actually know that this causes a problem for the fish, as suphew says....hibernation mode.....but i had heard (please note... this has no substance whatsoever as i can't recall where i heard it from, but other readers here may know if it is true or not) that the ice should be broken daily (it is quite probable in Christchurch that it won't thaw during the day) to allow oxygen (???) Don't know if it is right or wrong, just something it might pay to look into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 Depends on what sort of fancy goldfish, and the position of the pond. My ponds freeze over in winter in Blenheim so I am sure they do so more in ChCh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 the question is, does it ice over or ice solid? If it ices solid then your pond needs to be a minimum of 4ft deep so the fish can shelter. Dont break the ice as the percussive shock can do some serious damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 Sh** no, ya don't break the ice. NO WAY JOSE It sends shock waves thru the water, worse than a tank being tapped. But what ya can go is to have an airstone in there, and confine the bubbles to a circular ring. This leaves a gap for the water to exchange gases, and the warmer water stops it from freezing. You could also, money being the problem, have a heater in doing the same thing. But with the cost of electricity not for me. I wouldn't worry about it tho myself. Gets a darn side colder in Europe, but the fish seem to survive ok. But DO NOT Feed over the coldest part of winter, feed again when you see them moving about. Another trick is to use fine bird-netting in the pond first, then if you want to check the fish, just lift the netting. I saw a goldfish importer doing this years ago. Anyway, who said we are going to have a winter? Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan Posted April 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 I was worried more of the water temperatures rather than the ice. The worst that would probaly happen here is that the pond would freeze over, but most of the time you only get small sheets of ice. I'm gonna be keeping orandas, maybe lionheads in there. My plans were to make it about a metre deep and its gonna get the morning/afternoon sun, does that sound alright to you guys? Isn't it true the deeper you go the warmer it is for the fish during winter? And about the stoping ice from forming i've read that you can leave a bucket with a stone or something heavy, and it will just float around stoping it from freezing over. thanks for the replies everyone Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 In general a pond freezes from the top down - almost all the heat gets lost from the surface. So yes, the bottom is warmer than the top, but not by a lot. The real advantage of having a deeper pond is that it is more water to cool per unit surface area, so it cools slower than a shallower pond. Therefore it won't get as cold in the first place. If the water is moving that will discourage ice formation, but I doubt a bucket floating around will do enough to stir things up to stop ice formation. A bubbler will definitely keep a hole open, although I'm not sure I would bother. Down here in Dunedin people keep goldfish outside over winter (my mother-in-law for one). I think you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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