Bringing in fish

[smithyardfarm]

Hi there.... Hubby and I have a new pond and of course could not resist the koi. We are planning on building a bigger and much deeper one in the spring.
We live in nh so we are planning on bringing them into the basement over the winter. When do we bring then in? Do we still feed all winter normally or do you decrease...? at what point do you bring them back outside? Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[Marshall]

Hi there.... Hubby and I have a new pond and of course could not resist the koi. We are planning on building a bigger and much deeper one in the spring.
We live in nh so we are planning on bringing them into the basement over the winter. When do we bring then in? Do we still feed all winter normally or do you decrease...? at what point do you bring them back outside? Thanks for your suggestions!

How deep is your pond? If adequate depth and gallons then you may not have to bring em in.

 

[CometKeith]

Most people on GPF leave their fish out for the winter. I'm in the Chicago area and by having a section about 4-5 ft deep it's fine for the winter. I keep a little water flow going all winter with a small pump. Fish should not be fed under 55 degree water temp. Good luck with your pond and fish!

 

[Marshall]

Most people on GPF leave their fish out for the winter. I'm in the Chicago area and by having a section about 4-5 ft deep it's fine for the winter. I keep a little water flow going all winter with a small pump. Fish should not be fed under 55 degree water temp. Good luck with your pond and fish!

I did not realize the 55° feeding rule. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

[Dave 54]

I did not realize the 55° feeding rule. Thanks for mentioning that.

Most koi ponds are recomended to be 4.5 at the shallowist 5 foot at the deepest to enable hem to over winter in relative safty from freezing solid
Most cyrpinid species including both koi and goldfish dont posses a stomach , the 10c temperature limit is to stop food rotting in their intestine as they slow down ready for the winter
Most koi foods now state you can feed as low as 5c but consider this just 3c lower and our fish are nearer to death than alive personally I'm old school and wont risk it .
This is why we koi keeper feed such high amounts of food during the late spring, through summer into the early Autumn months.
Many koi keepers feed up up 6 meals a day dependant on size and amount of koi readying them for the lean times late Autumn Winter and Early spring .
The protien they take onboard during this time can often mean a difference between life and death through the winter

Dave

 

[Dave 54]

Hi there.... Hubby and I have a new pond and of course could not resist the koi. We are planning on building a bigger and much deeper one in the spring.
We live in nh so we are planning on bringing them into the basement over the winter. When do we bring then in? Do we still feed all winter normally or do you decrease...? at what point do you bring them back outside? Thanks for your suggestions!

In reply to your post the best person to ask about this would be @koiguy1969 he has a basemnt pond .
I have a Canadian friend who brings hers in each year , it involves taking in your mature filtration that I know.
By doing this she has a continuation of maturity and finds no need to re-cycle her indoor setups
I'd plan ahead and bring them in prior to the temperature reaching 10c.

Dave

 

[smithyardfarm]

The pond we have now is too small. Only 2 1/2 feet deep. I think it will freeze over. We bought them knowing we were planning the expansion. My question was about bringing them in... when and when to put back out. Our new pond will be able to sustain them over the winter next year.

 

[Dave 54]

The pond we have now is too small. Only 2 1/2 feet deep. I think it will freeze over. We bought them knowing we were planning the expansion. My question was about bringing them in... when and when to put back out. Our new pond will be able to sustain them over the winter next year.

I recomend for koi in colder climes 4.5-5ft in depth of pond , our own is 4.5ft if you do an above ground pond think about insulating it as we did .
If you creaate a flat surface you can then cover the pond with policarbonate roofing sheets to help against the cold, our pond never gets bellow 7c thanx to everything we put in place to protect our own koi

Dave

 

[sissy]

Geeze Colleen in Medicine Hat Canada does not bring hers in and they are huge ,but you may have to invest in a pond heater and as long as you have a decent depth you should be able to get by .But also how big are your fish

 

[Marshall]

Geeze Colleen in Medicine Hat Canada does not bring hers in and they are huge ,but you may have to invest in a pond heater and as long as you have a decent depth you should be able to get by .But also how big are your fish

That was what I thought too.

 

[sissy]

2 of her ponds are not that deep either ,last one she just built is the deepest .If she can do it any one can as long as they have heaters and don't mind there utility bills going up some .I have all my ooutlets down by the pond on swiches that are inside my house so i can choose what to turn on or off from inside the house

 

[Marshall]

The heat system I designed and installed is a little more expensive initially and complex as far as installing but super cheap and efficient in the long run. I use a ceramic heat coils with pumped fluid (oil) to carry the heat and return to the central boiler.
PS: Uses about the same power as a cell phone charger 6.2 - 7 volts

 

[Marshall]

Most koi ponds are recomended to be 4.5 at the shallowist 5 foot at the deepest to enable hem to over winter in relative safty from freezing solid
Most cyrpinid species including both koi and goldfish dont posses a stomach , the 10c temperature limit is to stop food rotting in their intestine as they slow down ready for the winter
Most koi foods now state you can feed as low as 5c but consider this just 3c lower and our fish are nearer to death than alive personally I'm old school and wont risk it .
This is why we koi keeper feed such high amounts of food during the late spring, through summer into the early Autumn months.
Many koi keepers feed up up 6 meals a day dependant on size and amount of koi readying them for the lean times late Autumn Winter and Early spring .
The protien they take onboard during this time can often mean a difference between life and death through the winter

Dave

Thats like turtles in a way. They will become lethargic at around 65° F but just go down to 62° F and they are in the "dead zone"

 

[sissy]

I had a heated driveway in my NJ and it used heated fluid in it and it was so nice at first but heavy snows it could not handle .Especially a couple of the bad storms we had .Problem was I still had to shovel out to it and then since we lived on a privately owned road no plowing for us .4 houses on the road and half the time no one helped me .They would shovel there own driveways and ignore the road

 

[MitchM]

...
PS: Uses about the same power as a cell phone charger 6.2 - 7 volts

Whoa...what?
Could you explain please?