Well, the fish are in the basement

[CountryEscape]

Sissy is correct calling them "butt wigglers", as they are a riot to watch swim! My sister in AZ told me I could not keep one alive in the winter in the pond. I intend to prove her wrong. Spot was doing just fine right before the ice formed. There is no reason to assume it will not make it, since the water is as cold as it is going to get right now. JW, they will do fine. My pet shop said they would fine as well as any other goldfish or koi, as long as the water didn't freeze solid. All of our ponds are deep enough to keep fish in water and not frozen in the ice.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Country, i was told that they are prone to more stomach or intestinal issues than koi or regular goldfish. I had one in my pond for a while, and he passed this summer, after freaking out and thinking that all of my fish may be sick, somebody here told me about thier problems, and i decided not to replace him.

Problem is if they do develope any of those issues during the winter, you may not know because they are under ice.

 

[CountryEscape]

• Thanks for the info, Ididntdoit. I supposed that would make sense, as they have been altered from common goldfish, and anything that is altered and the whole body is changed, is probably more prone to health issues. But, if they are healthy, I guess they have as good a chance to survive the winter and cold. If any of your fish get sick during the winter, under the ice, you can't help them or you will not know. Maybe they are more prone to eating problems if fed at warmer water temps than other fish that can handle being fed down to say 55 degrees. I do know that they are slower swimmers, and mostly the problem with them is that they are not quick enough to get to the food, but Spot, my fantail, always makes sure to get her share. She may not get to gobble like some of the koi, but she is determined and I always make sure she gets fed. That may be another problem with stomach issues, if they are not getting enough food. But, either way, I'll watch for possible problems, and keep this in mind.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Yeah, mine seemed to get its share of food too. But suddenly died this summer (it was over 5 years old, adopted from my sisters fishtank)

After doing research and talking to some people here, i just decided not to replace him, it was my sons favorite fish, but i didnt want to keep buying them if they are more prone to issues than regular goldfish and koi.

Obviously, some people keep them just fine in ponds, I just decided not to try another one.

 

[sissy]

I have never had a problem with mine and hope not too .I looked back to see when actually got my butt wigglers and it was in early 2006 .And looking at them in my pond yesterday they look alot bigger than I thought .I guess they must have grown some since the last time I looked closely at them .Looked at the snails also and saw 6 of them all hanging together eating and they even got bigger .I guess the warmer weather and warmer pond temps are giveing them some extra growth time .When I took the snails out of the tank and put them in the pond I left all the babes in the tank and I have 29 in the basement tank and they have grown alot also .Gave them some algae wafers and fresh water yesterday and checked all my plants are they are still growing fine

 

[icsd71]

Do most of the members on here take there fish out of the ponds for winter? Do to the small ponds we have always had we had to take them out and put them in fish tanks for the winter. A couple of guys i work with have ponds and leave the fish out all winter have have done so for years.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Mine will now stay out in the pond for the winter, the only reason they had come inside was because the neighbors dog had ripped a hole in my liner, so i brought them inside or the winter and rebuilt my entire pond right away this spring.

 

[icsd71]

That stinks sry to hear about that. Did the dog disapear? :twisted:

 

[koiguy1969]

Do most of the members on here take there fish out of the ponds for winter? Do to the small ponds we have always had we had to take them out and put them in fish tanks for the winter. A couple of guys i work with have ponds and leave the fish out all winter have have done so for years.

dont know if its a real necessity to winter mine indoors..but i do and will continue to...i get to enjoy my fish year round. but i dont have a tub or baby pool for wintering. i have an 800 gal pond and a 55 gal filter..a pretty nice setup... i have videos posted in the photography section...underwater ones as well (baggy cam)
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/topic/8561-march-5th-2012-baggy-camyay/

 

[ididntdoit99]

nope, the dog is still in my yard constantly, but now there is a fence around the pond.

 

[j.w]

I leave mine out year round but it does not freeze much here. Many here leave theirs out all year in really cold area's. They make their ponds deep like 4 or 5 ft and keep either an air stone,water bubbler or deicer on their ponds to keep a hole for gases to escape. The depth also benefits the fish in the heat of the summer as they have a cooler spot in the lower level to go to.

 

[CountryEscape]

Hey ICSD71, if you would ever like to come over to see my ponds, you would be more than welcome. Just Private Message me. If you are thinking of building in the near future, I'd be happy to share my thoughts, although I'm definitely a newbie! Have learned as I went, and made some mistakes, but I can live with them. Just built my ponds for my own enjoyment. Had baby koi (4-6") in my basement over winter, but only because I bought them in December, and WANTED to put them down there to get them really friendly, which worked very well. If you build a pond at least 3' deep, you don't have to do anything in the winter, except maybe melt an opening in it once a week or so to release any excess gases, especially if you have a full fish load. This past winter, didn't really have to do anything, as ice never stayed solid for more than a couple of weeks at most!

 

[addy1]

Do most of the members on here take there fish out of the ponds for winter? Do to the small ponds we have always had we had to take them out and put them in fish tanks for the winter. A couple of guys i work with have ponds and leave the fish out all winter have have done so for years.

Mine stay out, the first winter the ice was 8 inches thick, had 4 fish in the pond I was not aware where there (thought all had died due to acidic well water learning curve) They did fine.
Now that I have a bunch more fish, man do they breed, I kept a hole in the minimal ice we had with an air stone. The fish did fine, water was around 33 degrees or so

The deepest area of my pond is 5 feet

 

[icsd71]

My pond is 26 inches deep. Wanted to go deeper but was not able to. So i am not sure how well they will do this winter. i have tanks and filters ready just in case.

 

[icsd71]

Thanks for the invite countryescape. if I make it ur way this summer i would love to see it.