Bring in the fish

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i already said the depth but i was wrong the first time though, sorry about that i actually stuck a tape measure in there and its a few inches under 2 ft. we built it kind of in two tiers. the sides are very shallow once you get to the middle it is about as i said a little under 2 ft. it isnt alot of room down there and is only like 1 by two feet of deep area assuming that the pond freezes at least a foot the fish will be cramed down under the ice litteraly like sardines. when it comes to animals especially my animals i like to take extra precaution because after all, they still are a living breathing creature
 
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Goldfish can’t take freezing water, but just shy of that the are ok, they will go into a fishy hibernation. Don’t feed them when water temps are under 40. If they are under 3 inches, they should be ok in that aquarium if you do good filtration and water changes. Get aquarium test supplies, the test strips are cheapest, but not what you will need later on. Get a liquid pond test kit as soon as you can. They work for aquariums as well as ponds. Fish take time to learn their human means food. Once one learns it, the others will catch on
 
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Goldfish can’t take freezing water

I would amend that to "frozen water", but I know what you meant!

when it comes to animals especially my animals i like to take extra precaution because after all, they still are a living breathing creature

And like I said - sometimes what seems like the right thing to do for US isn't always the best thing for the animals. We are all out to do the best for our fish - understanding what that is can be a subject for discussion.
 
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ok thanks everyone for the feedback,i think i will bring in SOME of the fish and il leave the others out side snd see how they will do. what im still confused about though is the water testing. what i dont get is say i test the water for amonia and it comes out high. what would i need to do to get rid of the amonia. also so with taming them they just need time. they will learn to know im not going to hurt them and wont freak out when i come around. also can you clicker train them. or like train them to come out of there hiding places and to the surface. to eat. ive done this before with a few of my other pets like my leopard gecko who when i call out her name or tap on the lid she comes out of her cave. ive also done this with my baby grey tree frogs. a have a small clicker that makes them come out to the un planted side of the tank where they wait for a cricket.if there is one thing i know about this is that it takes time. i know that some fish arent as intellegent as say a dog so do goldfish have the mental capacity to be able to associate a certain sound with feeding
 
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Your fish will associate you showing up at the side of the pond with feeding - they are indeed very smart. I've seen people train their fish to come when they bang on a rock or bridge, but most garden ponds are so small that your fish will be there ready to eat long before you can make any kind of noise at all.
 
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ok cool. i realy like how on this forum website there is the notioification feature so everyone replys so fast. :)
 
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ok intresting. if we end up moving the fish out of the pond somewhere in the winter because the pond is freezing through and all the fish would be trapped in ice would they be ok as long as we aclimate them.
 
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I’ll address what I know. Testing water: if ammonia is high it can damage their gills. There are products you can get which will bind the ammonia so it won’t harm them, but it’s not a dose it and forget it kind of thing. Instead, you should consider how high it is, why it’s high, and address that. Ammonia is just step one of the nitrate cycle. We have threads on that which can explain it better than I can. Long story short, ammonia breaks down into nitrite( I think it’s that one) which is still pretty toxic to fish, then a different bacteria turns that into the other form ( nitrate?) which won’t be near as bad for the fish, but plants love that form, so having a pothos or peace Lilly in the hang on back filter will help remove that from the water. The thread on the nitrogen cycle can explain better than I can what steps should be taken when. If things are a little high for a short while, it shouldn’t harm the fish. But if it’s a lot high and isn’t changing for the better, things like water changes should be considered. As for training fish, my guppies know if we are washing dishes, they can con us into food. And my bettas know if they stare hard enough, I’ll feed them too. If you use the clicker every time, and toss out a bit of food, they’ll eventually hear the clicker and head your way. But it could also be that they see you and head you way with no clicker... they keep an eye on the edge surface of their pond for scary stuff. Same will go for the aquarium, they’ll be watching for scary stuff.
 
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ok intresting. if we end up moving the fish out of the pond somewhere in the winter because the pond is freezing through and all the fish would be trapped in ice would they be ok as long as we aclimate them.
If they are trapped in ice, they die. However, goldfish can survive in a smaller amount of water than I ever thought. My first goldfish were feeders for my turtle ( I was stupid, I know that now) but he couldn’t catch them so I put them in my goose pool. Jerk gander let most of the water out on a night it froze, I figured they were dead till I went out to set the pool up after that cold spell broke. Fish were still alive in just inches of water under a thin crust of ice. They went into the aquarium. I don’t know how many survived from how many went in, but the ones I brought in survived.
 
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wow and wow. that is crazy. i didnt know that they were able to do well in only a few inches of water.how do they get air if the top is frozen. also those geese sound pretty awsome ive never met anyone who owns geese. what kind are they, like the white ones or canada geese.
 
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how do they get air if the top is frozen.

They get oxygen from the water, same as they do when the pond isn't frozen. However, you do need to be aware that a frozen pond can trap gases from fish waste which can be deadly for your fish. A number of small goldfish in a large pond would likely be fine, but add bigger fish to the mix, or a smaller volume of water and your fish could be in trouble. Some people use a de-icer to keep an opening in the ice, or a pump that keeps the surface stirred up so it won't freeze. We keep our waterfall running all winter long to keep the gas exchange going.
 
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ok would it be bad for the pump though to keep water thats almost freezing going through it
 
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Where's your pump? If it's in the pond, it's fine. If it's external, you probably can't keep it running. Unless you have it in a protected spot like a shed or garage.
 
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the pump... its in the pond, what kind it is i dont know. in the morning i will try to check. this is a guess but i think the brand is like sun something or something like that it looks a tad something like this exept with a pipe sticking out from the top.
Screenshot 2020-09-09 at 7.16.40 PM.png
 

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