Bring in the fish

[the reptile guy]

im not sure where this would go so im putting it here becuase this is my first year with a pond. the pond is not deep enough for the fish to live in for the winter and its just going to be mostly ice. we arent getting a heater so i need to know everything there is to know about keeping my fish inside for the winter. i have a spare 40 gal tank that i was planing on making a larger multi species vivarium for my green anole and tree frogs. that can wait however. the fish arent big and they are 2 shebunkin 9 comets and 12 rosies. thats to my knowledge some could have died or gotten killed by animals. thats just an estimate. we are planing on keeping them in there. later in the winter or maby in the fall im planing on upgrading my bearded dragons tank so i will have an even bigger tank open. this is a 55 gal and my grandparents used to keep there fish in it for the winter. i need to know
how to catch all the fish
how to care for the fish
what to feed them
what lighting they need
water temp
what plants (i like plants with my animals)
and anything else somebody who needs to know about fish should know.
the last time i owned a fish was close to 8ish years ago because i got my leopard gecko a year after that so i have forgotten everything i should know to care for fish. also i can feed the fish lots of differant foods like prickly pear dandelion greens earthworms mealworms crickets and other thing that lizards would usually eat

 

[Lisak1]

Let’s back up - how big is your pond? How deep is it? What zone are you on?

 

[Lisak1]

Make that “what zone are you in?”

 

[the reptile guy]

im not sure how the zone thing works but i think im in 5b wich should be around chicago. the pond isnt realy that deep, i think its only about 2 1/2 ft deep the deep part is only like 1 ft by 2 ft and the pond its self is possibly 10ft by 8ft most of it is realy shallow and like a half a foot deep and then the middle drops off quite quickly.

 

[Lisak1]

If you have at least 24 inches of depth, even in a small portion of the pond , your fish are fine. I’m zone 5B also so I can guarantee you that many many ponds in our area over winter fish in ponds that are no more than 2 feet deep.

 

[the reptile guy]

knowing the winter here we are almost certain that the pond will freeze to the bottom. if it doesnt there might only be 1 to 2 inches at the bottom. anyways we just want to be sure that they will be safe so how would i care for them indoors for the winter

 

[JamieB]

If you choose to bring the fish in, be prepared. Adult shubinkin ( or any non fancy wiggle butt type goldfish) are high waste producers, so you want about 60 gallons each, or a very good filter, with frequent ( think every few days) checks of tank water for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. These fish do well in cold water, I’ve had them survive despite the entire top of the pond being about a foot of ice. If you have a basement, enclosed porch with concrete floor, or other room in the house with very sturdy ( concrete floor is best) flooring and supports, you can set up a mini pond inside.
If you do so, use water from their pond to fill it. Also a good idea if you do go the aquarium route and say buy a few more large aquariums to house them for reduced waste/ filtration needs. Goldfish are omnivores, a standard flake or pellets are easy to obtain, I prefer pellets for ease of removal of what’s not eaten. They enjoy cucumber, melon, lettuce, and might enjoy a few small bugs or worms, just watch that you don’t over feed and make them fat. Feeding once a day what they will finish in 5 min is what I’d do, same as I do for my guppies, but out in the pond I’d toss out handfuls of food and watch them eat it all quickly, but I only fed every few days. Inside they don’t have the algae, bugs, natural foods to munch on days you don’t feed them, but they can go a few days between feedings if you forget or have to be out of town for a short bit. Water temps aren’t as important as with tropical fish, just room temp is fine. Cooler water reduces metobolic rate, so they’ll eat less, produce less waste, but you shouldn’t feed them if water temps are under 40F. You’ll want good filtration, like you would use for an aquatic turtle. Test the water frequently, and do partial water changes when numbers get too high.
When I had to keep my fish in tanks, I did weekly 50% changes due to time constraints, medications, and my pitiful filter abilities. They had picked up a parasite, so I had to medicate mine.
Read through the threads here, and do plenty of research.

 

[JamieB]

Solid Gold aquatics on YouTube, she had some good videos on goldfish care. And King of DIY had an indoor pond, huge aquariums he built, and shows how to do those things if you are interested in just building a big aquarium and filter set up that you could later repurpose for reptiles, or save for next winter if needed. It would also be a good quarantine tank if you decide to add new fish or have to treat a sick or injured one.

 

[the reptile guy]

i will try that. how do i check the nitrate levels and such. i dont want to spend a ton of money on a filter but are there any good filters that you can recomend that are under 30 bucks. i wont be able to supply 60 gallons per fish but a filter i can accommodate, weve been feeding them these pellets called pond sticks. i havent seen them eat any yet because they are still skiddish and they think im a preditor still. another thing is how do i make them used to me

 

[TheFishGuy]

i will try that. how do i check the nitrate levels and such. i dont want to spend a ton of money on a filter but are there any good filters that you can recomend that are under 30 bucks. i wont be able to supply 60 gallons per fish but a filter i can accommodate, weve been feeding them these pellets called pond sticks. i havent seen them eat any yet because they are still skiddish and they think im a preditor still. another thing is how do i make them used to me

for 30 bucks you cant get a lot ( a 10 gallon filter or so with aqueon ) but the one I could recommend is marine land bio wheel, probably the cheapest out there, and fine as long as you can do regular maintenance on the wheel.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Is your 40 gallon a 40 breeder or 40 long? A 40 breeder approximately measures 36 longx18 high x 16 high while a 40 long measures approximately 48x12x16. Big difference between them. In either case, the quality of life for your 9 goldfish and other fishes will be awful that terribly overcrowded aquarium. If you really must bring the fish in then be prepared for frequent and meticulous water maintenance. I use two sponge filters in both my indoor pond and also in my Archerfish tank. They work well but you will have to stay on top of maintenance. Here is what I use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002602SM/?tag=fishtankadv-20&th=1

As you can see, the filter is cheap but a quality air pump will set you back about $60. Get an air pump with dual outlets. Don't forget check valves too to prevent a siphon. If it were me, I would reconsider bringing them inside and use your 40 for the anole! I also keep an anole and turtles etc. Reptiles and amphibians rock!

 

[the reptile guy]

ok cool i looked it up and its not an expensive filter at all. do fish need any special lighting like a uvb fixture like most diurnal reptiles and amphibians. i wont be putting them in in side for another month hopefully but i just want to be prepared. the wont be able to go into the big tank yet so they migh need to stick around in the garage for a month or two in the 40 gal until sobek and red get into there new tanks. these will have sliding doors and such so it will be grat for them. what is the absolute lowest temp you can keep goldfish at. we were planing on getting some black moors soon because i absloutly love those fish with the funny looking eyes. also how do you tame fish and make them like you. i have litteraly tamed dragons and im not able to get fish to like me. the anole who i will refer to as julian because thats his name is currently in a 10 gal with a treefrog. its a 40 gal breeder and the large tank i want them to go into is a large tank around 3 ft long almost 2ft tall and 1 ft wide. my grandparents used to have comets and shebunkin and they stayed in there until they gave the tank to me. the problem now is that my 20 inch dragon is still in there. i dont think hed aprreciate living with fish very much, he,d actually eat them cuz he used to eat the guppies that the snake i used to have refused to eat. anyway the fish would not perminitly live in the 40 gal and would be moved to the big tank when my dragon moves out and into a 4 ft long. also none of the fish are big yet. they are all super tiny still, i think the biggest fish in the whole pond is about 3 inches long nose to tail. also i dont think im going to take all the fish from the pond. the chance of me catching all of them is very low so i might only get 9 or so i want to get mainly the goldfish and a few minnows. just enough so we can see if they are able to survive the winter or not and then they can breed in the summer. we arent going to let them out super early int eh spring because i want to be able to see the toads breed and such without being disturbed. some of the frogs around here are sooooo small. i cant even imagine how small the tadpoles are

 

[Stephen Noble]

The 40 breeder is much better with its 18 inch width. More surface area. Best to not purchase any more fish since your tank will be way overcrowded. In my opinion, it will be cruel. Do you have a pond store near you? I highly recommend you stop by there and consult them before doing anything.

 

[Jhn]

No fish don’t need any special lighting like reptiles.... Also, just keep feeding the fish eventually once they are comfortable in the pond they will start eating then will eventually associate you with food.

 

[Lisak1]

we just want to be sure that they will be safe

I said it on another post, but I'll repeat it here - assuming your fish will be "safer" because you bring them indoors can be a false assumption. This seems to be a popular concept right now on the forum. I guess winter is coming...

You still haven't said how deep your pond is, so saying you're "almost certain" the pond will freeze to the bottom sounds like more guess than certainty.