how deep

[doobry]

my pond is only 2 ft deep could i put goldfish init, its 110 gallons and shelved 6ft by 3 ft
reason im asking is i read somewhere that it should be 3ft deep at least for koi
and stop it fully freezing in winter
im living in a zone 9a-9b

 

[MajorDan]

I am in zone 7 and my deepest part is about 30”. We never have had a long hard freeze. At most, the lakes have about 2 inches of ice.

 

[sissy]

koi get very large mine are way over 2 feet long and are in over 5000 gallons .My pond is just over 4 feet deep and an aerator is a must and koi need lots of filtering as they are messy fish

 

[Stephen Noble]

Your pond is large enough for a couple of small goldfish assuming you have sufficient filtration. In my opinion, a 110 gallon pond is not large enough for even one Koi. Stick to goldfish with your pond. In Zone 9, it is unlikely your pond will develop very thick ice and if so, you can easily keep a hole open with aeration or a pond heater or pond breather.

 

[Lisak1]

Your pond isn't going to freeze at all in zone 9.

2 feet deep is plenty for goldfish. And koi too. The bigger concern for koi is water VOLUME. 110 gallons isn't enough for one koi.

 

[doobry]

so whats the recommended no of gold fish per gallon/litre as im only doing this once ,im planing on making a homemade bio filter
and eventually a bog with a water fall for filtration as kindly suggested here,

 

[Lisak1]

A pond your size would be perfect for a couple of goldfish. If you get a male and female, you'll end up with babies, so I wouldn't start with more than two. And while they may start out small, even goldfish can grow to 6 or 8 inches in a pond. So better to err on the side of less vs more.

 

[doobry]

thank you for the reply, but you say only 2 fish for a 110 gallon pond? would 55 gallons per fish be right so

 

[Stephen Noble]

I have a small garden pond (150 gallon) and only have one, very spoiled goldfish in there. It is a 'feeder fish' and turned out to be quite beautiful. No worries of over crowding if you keep the bioload very low. This is just an opinion but less is better when dealing with small volumes of water. I would start out with a single goldfish and lot of waterlilies etc. You will be surprised with the beauty.

 

[doobry]

I have a small garden pond (150 gallon) and only have one, very spoiled goldfish in there. It is a 'feeder fish' and turned out to be quite beautiful. No worries of over crowding if you keep the bioload very low. This is just an opinion but less is better when dealing with small volumes of water. I would start out with a single goldfish and lot of waterlilies etc. You will be surprised with the beauty.

as you say he is spoiled with all that space but probably felling lonely with no companions

 

[BittenSCW]

I will differ from the responses so far. I would think that as long as you have filtration and aeration your pone could handle 3-4 without putting stress on them. If you are in 9a/b then I am sure you have moving water otherwise the water would get too hot in the summer.

I am in 9b. My pond is partially shaded, approx 550 gallons. I have about 12 comets and shubunkins. fish are between 5 and 7 inches long. No crowding whatsoever. I have 2 waterfalls and a 5 foot stream.

 

[doobry]

i just read this
Pond fish typically need 10 gallons of water for every inch of their length, but keep in mind they will grow larger over the years. So no matter how tempting it might be to add just a few more fish, be careful not to overstock! Some pond experts even go so far as to recommend only ½ inch of fish per 10 gallons of water as a maximum stocking density.

 

[Lisak1]

The inch per gallon rule is flawed. A 20 inch koi is a lot more biomass than twenty 1 inch goldfish. Could you pond hold more than 2 goldfish? Sure. But are you planning for right now or planning for the future? Those two fish will quickly become 10 or 15 or 20.

 

[doobry]

thanks for your support on this thread,and if they breed im doing something right as they would be happy little fishys

 

[JamieB]

My goldfish are pushing the foot long size, and that’s not including the long flowing tails. Shubinkin are very pretty, long flowing fins, reasonable price, nice colors. But: goldfish come in different max sizes based on what kind they are. Comet, common, shubinkin, the standard body type goldfish get up to a foot long. Bubble eye, celestial, the round type stay smaller, swim slower, and are bred to be kept as a pet. If your pond is close to your house, with few predators in the area- no neighborhood cats, herons, cranes, other fish water animals, you could stock more of those. However: all goldfish will breed if given the chance and good conditions, and you have a mix of genders. 2 could quickly become a hundred if the eggs aren’t eaten, and the fry survive. Then you face the dilemma of finding them new homes, either by building a new bigger pond, or by giving them away. And that’s every year that they breed. Sometimes even twice a year. Not to scare you off fish, I love mine, but it’s good for thought. If you can get someone who raises goldfish, they can help pick out fish most likely of one gender. I have to base my assumptions on gender on how they act in the springtime. There are ways to tell based on anal fins... I’m no expert.