It`s 14' by 7' and about 26" deep. I have goldfish and a couple catfish in it. Looking for cheaper alternative than a heater. Any suggestions welcome.
Answers:
A very large, rubber garbage can (or two), with a submersible filter in your basement or garage should suffice. If the water is below 60F, feed them a low protein diet every other day. If it goes below 50F, don't feed them at all.
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I have a couple ponds and just bring my fish inside in the winter, but then again, I am in alaska ;-) You can add a bubbler run by an airpump to keep water moving. As long as it doesn't get too cold, that should keep a non-frozen area for the fish. THe fish will probably go into hibernation mode if the water gets real cold, so don't feed them. If you are in a real cold area, though, you may want to invest in indoor accomodations for them. A floating stock tank heater would work, but the electric bill will probably give you heart failure.
it is small a floating ball would normally do the job but not in your case. you can get small floating heaters try an equatics centre.
first, some advice, get the catfish out BEFORE they cannabilize
your goldfish, they will eat and kill goldfish, one of their favorite things to do is suck out their eyeballs!
where do you live? how deep will your water freeze? you can bundle straw and stand upright in pond to keep surface from freezing solid (and preventing oxygenation) keep a small pump going to keep from freezing solid, some people cover their pond with plywood and then pile hay on top to keep from freezing but i dont like the idea of not being able to check on my fish or them living in the dark for any extended period of time
I'm told that as long as you keep the ice broken, goldfish will be okay; probably catfish too. My grandparents in Iowa had a pond with goldfish. In winter they drained the pond and took the fishes to a farm where they were kept in a horse trough. The horse trough was not allowed to freeze over, they broke the ice when it formed. The fishes would always grow bigger during the winter in the horse trough.
I've heard that fish survive winters and since only the top portion usually freezes the fish will be fine. Take a look at this website:
http://www.abcponds.com/pond-maintenance.
Cheers!
~Cher Q
some sort of metal is supposed to conduct heat into cold things to thaw them but i dont know what it is lol
well it should be alright because it is that deep, and if it gets cold then the fish will automatically swim to the below becuase it is more colder. and you should get a cover of some sort to cover the surface if it hails, snows, or snow storms over there. and if it really gets cold then i suggest a little holiday home. get a huge tank and put it inside the house, and all the fish inside for the winter. good luck.
Where do you live? I am assuming it's someplace that has seasons? Are you sure you are going to receive a freeze this Winter?
Just curious because they might be fine, but then again if they are small enough you could always transfer them to an indoor tank for the winter.
in petland discount they have this thing that would unfreeze the ice on the pond
You should never overwinter fish in a pond that is less than 3 feet deep (36"). It will not allow them enough oxygen to make it through the winter.
Also, NEVER break the ice once it has frozen over! The shock waves will damage or kill your fish. I would reccomend bringing them inside if you have access to a large aquarium.
Do not feed them once the water temp has dropped to 55 degrees, their metabolism slows so much that they cannot digest any kind of food and an intestinal blockage will kill them. Also, do not feed them again until the water temp is back above 55 in the spring. Then only feed them very sparingly until the temp rises into the 60's.
A bubbler is one solution, but you must keep a close eye on it to make sure it functions all winter. A heater is probably the best idea. Just set it to maintain about 40 degrees until spring. Easily checked by just looking at the pond. If it is starting to freeze, then turn it up some.
BTW, did I mention DON'T EVER BREAK THE ICE if you decide to keep them in the pond all winter.
Orrr.. you could call a place called "Aqua-Doc" in Kirtland, Ohio. They maintain small lakes and ponds year round and know what they are doing. They would be glad to answer any more questions you might have.
Where do you live? If you live in the northern part of the US then it will likely freeze. Keep you pump/filter running and this will keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange. The goldfish might be okay, I've never had catfish so I can't help with them. The pond should really be at a 3 foot depth minimum, but you can probably do okay with the goldfish. We've taken them down to 0 degrees and then brought them back up to room temp. with no problems. In the biology lab that is, not at home.
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