Bad winter start

[snoozer]

I am wondering if anyone in southeast Wisconsin is having problems with fish deaths this year? We had warm weather this fall, and fish and frogs were very active right up to the cold finally showed up. I have had my pond for almost 20 years, and I did nothing different this year. I pulled the main pumps the weekend before Thanksgiving, put my 2 small pumps on the shelf bubbling just under the surface as well as air stones about 4 inches below the surface. The last week or so, i have found dead fish in the open area. Also saw some frozen in the ice before it was buried in a foot of snow. I am trying to figure out what is going on, not that there is anything I can do, but this year what always worked, isn't. The pond is 25x35 and 30 inches deep.

 

[JRS]

Sorry to hear about your issues. This is only the second year I have left the large goldfish out in the pond over the winter. I use a pond deicer to keep a hole open. Just had to add some water to the pond today to make up for evaporation but saw some of the fish hanging around the heat. No problems noted so far.

 

[Lisak1]

I wonder if they just got caught off guard with the sudden change in weather. One year we had a fish get caught in the ice and die.

You are correct - we had a BEAUTIFUL fall and then BAM. WHAT THE HECK?!? We've already had 13 inches of snow and it's not even officially winter yet!

 

[snoozer]

I wonder if they just got caught off guard with the sudden change in weather. One year we had a fish get caught in the ice and die.

You are correct - we had a BEAUTIFUL fall and then BAM. WHAT THE HECK?!? We've already had 13 inches of snow and it's not even officially winter yet!

That was my thought but I thought I would ask. We have gotten 16 inches of snow in the last 2 weeks. Mother nature and her mood swings makes me crazy sometimes.

 

[Lisak1]

You're just a bit north of me. One thing I can say - when you garden and/or have a pond, you really pay a lot more attention to the weather. Last winter we didn't even have ice on the pond well into late January. This year it's already iced over. The heavy snow cover is a plus though - it's insulating the plants that may also not have been quite ready!