How to take care of your outdoor goldfish in winter. That’s when it starts: winter. You look out the window and see the pond, now something to be concerned about because it’s getting cold.
And then it slows down, the fish slow down; everything freezes over on top; the water is stagnant. New people is worried they’ll freeze. No worries!
Don’t freak out! They also can lives in a frozen pond naturaly. Goldfish are designed to endure cold water.
Don’t treat goldfish like tropical fish that needs to be kept warm. The reason why you don’t want your pond water to freeze is not because they die at 32 degrees, but rather because ice locks out harmful gases. Knowing their limits in the cold will help you go with nature’s plan rather then fighting it.
Knowing what’s realy dangerous and maintaining a breathing hole in the ice makes all the difference between success and failure. Water chemistry are also affected by temperature. Dissolved oxygen content increases with colder water temperatures.
Guide To Keeping Goldfish Safe In Winter
Understanding Goldfish Winter Survival
That sounds good right? Yes, but frozen water acts like seal on the surface, preventing gases from being exchanged. The cleaning bacteria is slowed in cold temps as well.
Managing Feeding and Water Chemistry
Filters don’t pull out toxins as well in winter months, so waste products lingers in your tank longer. Because of this you need to adjust feedings. Stop feeding when the water hits fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
Fish won’t eat well below that temp anyway. Rotting food will foul the water. A simple adjustment can save lives.
Creating an Ice Breathing Hole
The real threat lie in freezing. And pure water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the water in ponds isn’t pure, it might remain unfrozen a degree or two further down.
But consider anything below thirty to be risky. When it reach this point, anything could happen and you’ll need to worry about your whole pond. Thankfully, goldfish has natural antifreeze proteins in their bodies which allow them to survive under ice for months.
However, don’t assume that the fish hibernate. Instead, they goes into a state of semi-activity, relying on oxygen passing through the ice and stored fat to get by. Fish don’t die from ice.
They die from the sudden change in temperature. It’s bad when someone brings me a cold goldfish and puts it in a warm room. The body isn’t adapted for cold water.
When they gets thrown into heat, their heart races too fast and can kills them. This is immediately stressful for them. Best: Let them stay outside if the pond is deep enough.
Next best: You have to slow-acclimate them indoors, and that takes time, several weeks. You need patience. You need a lot of patience in the winter.
Avoid covering the pond. Tarps, leaves etc. Will block out gas exchange and smother the fish. To avoid this you must has some way of maintaining an opening in the ice.
An air stone or small heater are good ways to do it. The hole will allow oxygen into the water and let CO2 out. Use a small battery-operated air pump for this.
It’s cheap and will provides constant airflow. Don’t try to melt all the ice, only make a small hole that lets gas exchange occur. Make it big enough to provide gas exchange but small enough that it doesn’t loses too much heat.
Ensuring Proper Pond Depth
Before winter comes, check your pond for depth. At a minimum, you want at least eighteen inches of water on top of those goldfish to keep them safe. The deeper the water, the warmer the bottom will be compared to the air.
This means that shallow ponds is stressful because the bottom temperatures varies so widely. If the water evaporated and lowered the level of your pond, add some back! You want a deeper pond because it offer stability to the fish.
It also ensures that good bacteria have a spot to hang out until spring. Less is more with winter care. Don’t over feed.
Leave the surface area open so it can breathe. Provide enough depth that the fish can withstand the cold temps. Monitor general water temperatures rather than daily low temperatures.
Follow those guidelines and your goldfish will make it through the winter. After all, they’ve been surviving for thousands of years in the wild. Now they are at home with you in your pond.
Have faith…they know how to get by when it’s cold out.
