OT - Pond Fish

[Dana19620]

Question for those of you with experience doing this (we have a pond but winter our fish inside). My brother put a 2' deep by 7' roundish pond in for my mother. He told her it was okay to keep the fish in over the winter, that even if the pond freezes the fish will be okay.

What I have read is the pond has to be deeper than the frost line (42" I think) and there had to be some water unfrozen at the bottom where the fish would be.

I was thinking one of the pond heaters might work, but it seems to turn on only when the pond temp reaches 30 degree. In a pond only 2' deep, would the heater be enough to keep the fish alive? Or, will I be stuck finding a tank and having to do the maintenance on it (she is in her late 80's and taking care of it would be too much)?

Thanks.

 

[sharkman878]

here in IL 3' is the rec. min. for over wintering fish in a pond. I've ovewintered koi in my pond for 4 years running now. we use one or two de-icing heaters(depending on how bad the winter is). the important thing is to switch over to weat germ food when fall hits. its easier for the fish to digest and wont rot in their gut. after the first heavy frost stop feeding. They can make it as long as the ice is open for gas exchange. they will slow down so much they wont need food until the spring.

 

[Dana19620]

Since the pond is only 2', should we get a tank and set the fish up inside over the winter? Or, even at 2', with a de-icer would they survive?

Where would we be wheat germ food.

Thanks Sharkman

 

[sharkman878]

the safest thing would be to bring them in, but as long as you can keep h2o in its liquid state, you might be able to do it. you should be able to fing wheat germ based koi food at any good garden center, or call around to some LFS's.

 

[tiababygirl2]

as long as there is and opening ,either by heater or you can use a pot filled with boiling water{might want to put a rope on it} its to let out all the gases in the water .if it was froze solid everything would die.. i've had a pond 14yrs.and never brought the fish in.. the heater is the best ..
we actually leave the pump running on the waterfall .and heater on other end .works great.. good luck..Ruth

 

[Jeff]

My pond is 4 feet deep but we use a winter heater in it to keep the surface open and have not had any problems in years. The heater floats at the top and keeps the surface thawed.

 

[mnestroy]

How many watts are those heaters? I'd imagine they run 24/7 just to keep the water unfrozen?

 

[mnestroy]

Eeek I just google one and it was 1250 watts! Seems like it would be cheaper just to bring them inside

 

[tiababygirl2]

no ,its a 100 watt pond heater .it just keeps it open ,to release the gases.. thanks