Another Winterizing Question from CT

[lindsayanng]

So this is my first winter with my new pond that is fully stocked and planted. I did my research before building it, looked into our zone, and built the pond accordingly based on the HOPE that I can keep my fish in the water.

My pond is about 1500 gallons. There are two basic levels. The center is 3.5feet deep and about 3ft wide by 4ftlong. There is a 2ft deep shelf that goes around the entire perimeter as well, but I am assuming that that area will possibly freeze solid.

I have 6 small goldfish (no more than 3" long) but I also have my pride and joy Koi fish. One is about 9" long butterfly pink fish and the other is about 6" long basic platinum koi. I really want to make sure these guys are 100% safe over winter.

So my questions about the fish are.. When do I stop feeding them? What type of water treatments (if any) need to be done before winter? Do you suggest getting in and doing a complete water change and trying to scoop out any debris that you can? We have some hair algae that I have been trying to get out, but most is tangled into the plants.


So now onto the plants. I have 1 really large and beautiful hardy lily. It is submersed in the deepest area of the pond, but I'm not sure if it should come inside for winter or not. If it SHOULD come inside, does it need grow lights? Or just near a window for some minimal natural sun?

I have 2 dwarf papyrus plants that I would like to try and keep. I am pretty sure I read that those will not survive a frost. So what Do i do with them? Again, is a tank inside the basement near a window ok?

I also have Taros, iris', and some water clover and hyacinths that I would want to try and keep. With the hyacinth, i dont care if i just keep ONE alive because those things COVER!!!!


So as you can see, I am a real newbie, and could use some help...

I plan on adding an airstone, and trying to decide if I should run the fall or not. I might run it at first and see how "frozen" it would get.

 

[GoldfishGuy]

First off your goldfish and koi should be fine in 3.5 feet deep pond. I live in Canada and have extreme weather and they do just fine. One thing you will need to do is keep an opening in the water in which you can use an airstone which works fine. You can also get a de-icer to be more on the safe side. Reagrdless either way will work.

When it comes to feeding your goldfish you should stop feeding them when the water is below 55 degrees. Their digestive system begins to shut down and won't be able to process food. Up until 55 degrees you should be feeding your fish a lighter wheat germ based foods. This they will be able to digest and process easily.

For your hardy water lily, sink it to the deep end and you will be fine. As long as the crown does not freeze, hardy water lilies will survive the winter with no problems at all. I have albida hardy water lilies that survive the winter frozen in ice in less the 12 inches of water as it rooted in the rocks and was left there years ago by mistake.

As far as the tropcical plants like dwarf papyrus you can simply bring it in for the winter along with taros. The water iris will winter out outside. The water hyacinths you can try and overwinter them but it is not worth it as many people try with no luck. You can try but would be better to keep it as an annual as when you do buy it next summer they grow really quick as you mentioned.

Hope this helps answer your questions, please feel free to ask anymore you may have.

 

[lindsayanng]

thanks so much for the detailed answer.

When you bring the tropicals inside, what do you do? These guys are pretty solidly rooted in the rocks on the side of the pond, and I dont want to shock them by moving them

So since they are a bog plant, do I just put them in a bucket with a few inches of water and some dirt near a window? or should i cut them off from light and make them go dormant? Or do they not go dormant?

 

[koikeepr]

hi lindsay. You may not get as many answers because we've just run a slew of threads on winterizing, plants and all the topics you just mentioned. Take a peek at all the forum topics and you'll likely find your answers.

 

[lindsayanng]

I have read lots of articles on winterizing plants.. It seems that Ican't find a lot of information on these papyrus plants though. I have read over and over how to winterize a lily inside and outside of the pond.. fish inside and outside of the pond.. even floaters.

I just dont know about the papyrus because they are half and half.. They really dont live underwater, so they cant be sunk..

If you can link me to a good article on winterizing tropical "bog" plants, i would appreciate it

 

[koikeepr]

right. papyrus is more like a bog/marginal. These need to be brought inside during the winter or they will die. You can put them in a pan on some stones with some water and you just change the water out every few days... Usually they do fine.

 

[lindsayanng]

Do they need grow lights or sunlight? Should I try and keep them "alive" or make them go dormant? Thats the main part that I am confused about. if they should be kept alive i will bring them inside my house into the livingroom somewhere.. if they should go dormant, i would put them in the basement in the cold (but not freezing) and dark room

 

[koikeepr]

yes, bring them inside. Think about the type of light they had in the pond that made them happy, and that's what will make them happy in your house. They are considered tropicals, so they don't go dormant--if they do, they're dead. You need to treat it like a tropical plant in your home. You can google search papyrus plant and get lots of great info on how to keep them alive in your home.

They are one of my favorite pond plants. So pretty.

 

[lindsayanng]

thanks.. I will bring them into the house then, in a temperature controlled room near a window. They were getting just a small amount of sun (maybe 2-3 hours) and they did just fine..

All i have to do is figure out the best way to keep my cats away from them inside the house

 

[MassKoi]

I wintered Tropical plants in a big tub in the basement next to a window with a grow light. I add 2 airstone to keep the water moving so it didn't stagnate.

 

[GoldfishGuy]

Great point form MassKoi, make sure the water doesn't go stagnant and if you do, do any water changes make sure water is equal to the water temperature as they are tropical plants.