Bringing the fish in the garage this winter

[waynefrcan]

Hi Wayne. Hate to start thinking about winter already..... but I have some questions.How deep is your pond? There are a lot of people in the Chicago area that don't have deep ponds but build a little tent over them in the winter to keep them warm. This might be easier than taking the fish out. Also if you are losing big fish you could have a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.

YA winter talk shame on me. I thought I wouls start early with the research in case I needed to build up good bacteria etc. Finding that it's not needed as the good bacteria die below 45 F. Water changes and aeration and a low watt heater should do it.

 

[Grammatogoldfish]

Thats the almost perfect garage wintering experience I wanted, thanks for that. No water changes? Difference here is the garage freezes but aheater should take care of the ice.

And welcome, concrats on your first ever post here!

No water changes, and I rarely find poo in the spring--the fish are truly dormant. By the time I take the fish out in the fall, they have slowed down and stopped eating due to cooler temperatures and the cold pond water.

Thanks for the nice welcome!

 

[waynefrcan]

No worries and thks for the info on water changes. I'll do the normal tests once in awhile to confirm over winter.

 

[Dave 54]

No water changes, and I rarely find poo in the spring--the fish are truly dormant. By the time I take the fish out in the fall, they have slowed down and stopped eating due to cooler temperatures and the cold pond water.

Thanks for the nice welcome!

Welcome to the forum and glad to see your already helping members with their questions we live in Plymouth UK where our winters are a little bit warmer than your neck of the woods

Dave

 

[CometKeith]

I am going to quote Richard Heimberger. He is a pretty smart guy and is a professional pond keeper for some folks that have very nice ponds in the Chicago area. I got a chance to meet him on the recent pond tour I attended. He addresses aeration of ponds during the winter in his latest newsletter:
"An odd subject for August, I know, but I got tired of hearing how everybody lost their fish due to the bad winter. First thing you must realize is that winter for a fish is the same every year in USDA Zone 5. They are cold (33F) and they are in the dark. Regardless of below zero wind chills, fish stay at 33F. So what was the problem? I couldn’t keep a hole in the ice with my heater. No wonder your fish died. If you think a heater, by itself, will keep a hole in the ice...you're wrong. Besides, two square feet of open water will not gas off the carbonic acid in 33F water enough to save your fish. Everybody I talked to did not have adequate aeration, or had no aeration at all, to gas off CO2. That is why your fish died. Aeration is mandatory in Zone 5 to keep fish alive during winter. You must have a minimum of 45 lpm per 2,000 gallons of pond water. Aquarium size aeration is inadequate for pond use. Even if a dome of ice forms over where the bubbles are coming up, you are still gassing off CO2 under the ice. Melt a hole in the dome with a watering can of water, and it will vent the ice.
My fish endured 33F for 90 days, and they are still alive. I have 9 fish, each about 60cm, in 2K gallons of water. Why is this? The answer is simple. I had aeration. "

 

[Dave 54]

I am going to quote Richard Heimberger. He is a pretty smart guy and is a professional pond keeper for some folks that have very nice ponds in the Chicago area. I got a chance to meet him on the recent pond tour I attended. He addresses aeration of ponds during the winter in his latest newsletter:
"An odd subject for August, I know, but I got tired of hearing how everybody lost their fish due to the bad winter. First thing you must realize is that winter for a fish is the same every year in USDA Zone 5. They are cold (33F) and they are in the dark. Regardless of below zero wind chills, fish stay at 33F. So what was the problem? I couldn’t keep a hole in the ice with my heater. No wonder your fish died. If you think a heater, by itself, will keep a hole in the ice...you're wrong. Besides, two square feet of open water will not gas off the carbonic acid in 33F water enough to save your fish. Everybody I talked to did not have adequate aeration, or had no aeration at all, to gas off CO2. That is why your fish died. Aeration is mandatory in Zone 5 to keep fish alive during winter. You must have a minimum of 45 lpm per 2,000 gallons of pond water. Aquarium size aeration is inadequate for pond use. Even if a dome of ice forms over where the bubbles are coming up, you are still gassing off CO2 under the ice. Melt a hole in the dome with a watering can of water, and it will vent the ice.
My fish endured 33F for 90 days, and they are still alive. I have 9 fish, each about 60cm, in 2K gallons of water. Why is this? The answer is simple. I had aeration. "

I did say that pur Canadian friend also runs an airpump CK, even we have some aiflow on our pond which is outside and not in a garage it is viral your pond be allowed to gass off

Dave

 

[Aaron S]

Man do I feel for you guys. I freak out if I get an inch of ice over my pond. That has only happened once in 4 years.

 

[waynefrcan]

5 months of this. We aren't exactly koi pond friendly here lol!!

 

[Dave 54]

Man do I feel for you guys. I freak out if I get an inch of ice over my pond. That has only happened once in 4 years.

We have insulated our pond and filter housing nd cover the pond with policarbonate roofing sheets so ice never gets to forn on our pond and it never drops any further than 7c the whole winter .

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

I didn't think I agreed that the BB's will die at 45* so I did a bit of searching. This article says no activity occurs at 39* and they die at 32*. Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46 to 50*.
http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

 

[waynefrcan]

Dave how big is your pond? Mine is 22 feet x 35'.

I didn't think I agreed that the BB's will die at 45* so I did a bit of searching. This article says no activity occurs at 39* and they die at 32*. Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46 to 50*.
http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

Not just for this subject but I would like to see a report on a working pond in an outside lab setting to really find out what happens in the pond fish environment. IS there such a thing? AS people throw around numbers and ideas all the time 50% of which is bogus info.

 

[koiguy1969]

Just a couple of personal observations.... i winter my fish indoors in a
basement pond. but i just cant keep 300-400 fish in it, so i have left goldies, and koi outdoors over the winter. 2012-2013 winter i left 120 2-3 inch koi in my 1200 gallon pond.here in a Michigan winter. no pump, no aerator, no attention given to pond. so no hole kept in ice or anything else. spring came around..they were all there live and doing well.. now I am not recommending this by any means. as far as the aeromonas alley...since 2007,i have kept 100 - 230 koi in a consistant 58*f water for 7-8 months a year, (october til june). i have yet to have any issues with fish health. but, i may just be lucky. now this has been my experience, i am not suggesting you follow my footsteps.

 

[addy1]

I had fish in a tiny preform pond no water moving, no air, no cleaning, that survived our minus 15 this last winter (didn't know they were there) 18 inches deep, a fish in my deck pond 12 inches deep did fine.
A friend of mine, deep pond, cleaned, aerated, all fish died. Another friend, no air, his died, a different person, aerated they did fine.......what is the final answer ......who knows.

 

[Mmathis]

I am new to this site and am thrilled to be able to share how I overwinter my pond goldfish. We live in northern Minnesota where it can get to minus 40 F. Our first snowfall can be as early as late October, and we usually have snow on the ground through April. YES, winters are LONG! (but our summers and falls are beautiful!) My pond freezes solid so I bring my shubunkin and sarasa comet into our unheated garage, but I must add that we have a tuck-under garage with common walls to a mud room and sauna/bathroom so the garage does not totally freeze. The goldfish live in their large bin for 6 months of the year with no aeration or food!!! I leave the bin cover ajar, but they are in total darkness and go into a dormant hibernation-type state. The water never ices over on the top.

In the spring, they become more active as the water warms up. Since they've been in total darkness for so long, I slide the cover back a little each day to let in more light as I gradually move the bin outside to the sun and warmth. They are always happy to go back into their pond This is the 4th summer I've had my fish. They are 6-8 inches long now and have thrown many eggs this summer so I have started a nursery and am enjoying being a "Gramma to Goldfish". Hope this helps you, Wayne from Canada.

Hi, Gramma! Have you posted in our "Introductions" area yet? We'd love to hear all about your ponding experiences!

 

[waynefrcan]

Just thought I'd bump this up as it might be a good idea for some folk in the colder zones. I'm not overwintering outside.