Summer vacation

[dsmith8550]

I have 5 goldfish about 6 inches each in a 1500 gallon garden pond.
I am going on an extended vacation this summer (3 months) and I'm not sure what to do with them during that time.
I dont know my neighbors well enough to trust that they would feed them correctly and watch water levels. I lose a lot of water to evaporation and possibly a small leak. I have a timer set up on my well pump that runs twice a day for 10 minutes and this keeps the water level up.
This must be a fairly common thing so what do people do with their fish?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I have an Intex pool/pond, approx the same size. I have lots of submerged plants…..and about 2 dozen goldfish. I rarely feed them. Mine is in mostly shade.

Do you have any kind of filtration? What kind of liner do you have? What makes you suspect a leak (there are other reasons for water loss)? Please post pics so we can have a better idea what your setup looks like.

 

[dsmith8550]

I bought this home 3 years ago and the pond was already here so I am not an expert on filter types and liners but I can tell you it has a filter at the intake and another at the waterfall. I clean them every couple of months. It is mostly shaded. I keep a netting over it in the fall and winter months to keep out leaves and pine needles. Located in South Carolina so not much of a winter.
Water is clear and the fish have been healthy for 3 years. I bought them from the feeder goldfish section at the pet store and they are currently over 6 inches but haven't grown much in the last year.
My concern is less with the water leakage and more with what to do with the fish. I'm surprised to learn they can go without any feeding. If they can that would solve the problem. I have a good amount of Lily Pads but not sure it would be enough to support them without external feeding.
I was actually just looking to see how to give them away or other means to make this work. I don't really have an emotional attachment but want to keep it humane.
Thank you for the response.

 

[j.w]

@dsmith8550
You don't ever really have to feed the goldfish. I did not feed mine for yrs, then I decided to give them food once per week so they would like me.
I have left mine for a few months at a time. I just added an auto water timer to my hose from my well and each day it would add a certain amount of water to keep the level up.

 

[dsmith8550]

Good to know. I should be ok then.
Thank you

 

[Mmathis]

Goldfish are hardly little critters.