Should I add goldfish (or koi) to my pond?

[MK3]

Sigh...I got a big "no" from everyone else so it looks like there will be no fishes

 

[MK3]

So I was talking to my aunt and she seems to think that adding goldfish will not be a big responsibility/stressor for my parents because you don't need to feed them since they live off what's in the pond. Is this true?

She also thinks I should take my barley bale out because it prevents algae and fish eat algae.

 

[CometKeith]

Goldfish are really easy to manage. They will eat stuff in the pond and you aren't required to feed them. Most people throw in a little food from time to time because it is fun to watch them eat but it's not neccesary. I doubt your barley will remove all the algae so things will be fine. Again goldfish are easy to care for and it's pretty hard to mess up a pond with a few of them in it. Usually all the problems people have on the forum are too many or too large fish for the pond size they have...ie too much bioload.

 

[addy1]

I didn't feed mine most of last summer, we were not around much, the fish did fine. They do inhale the algae, you can see them eating it up.

 

[MitchM]

I do want goldfish that can survive winter and an iced over pond.

If you are going to over winter your pond with fish, it would be a good idea to post here as much as you can about your pond and what equipment you will be using.

 

[Dave 54]

Keith is right goldfish are much more forgiving than koi , many koi keepers first start out with goldfish and sort of happen into koi.
We were given one with a fish tank we had bought from a friend called Kevin 28 years later we are still keeping koi , which can live to 80+ years.
Goldfish live around about 40+ years and there are many varieties which you can buy as such they can compete with koi but not surpass them .

Dave