feeding fish

[Ruch Hiff]

Greetings!
I have created a 1100 gallon concrete pond.It is about 30" deep. The PH is fine. The pond is in direct sun for part of the day and so since it has been SO hot here (central Cali) the water is lukewarm by afternoon.
Two weeks ago we added several plants, some Lilly pads, hyacinths and several others. And a week ago we added a number of goldfish (from a respected pet store) - some are as big as 4". When I observe them now they appear active and healthy. They seem to spend much of thier time combing around on the rocks and sides of the pond. I can see the pond already has it's own biology and it seems the fish are feeding on that. But when I feed them they are barely interested in the food, a few go for it but mostly they seem to ignore it.
Not wanting to overfeed and pollute the water, should I stop feeding them until I can see they are actually interested in it and are actually feeding? Is it possible there is enough "natural" food in the pond for them to thrive?
Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[mrsclem]

Fish tend to not eat as much when the water gets to a certain temperature. I cut way back on feeding if water temps go above 82°.

 

[Criscar]

If you had water in your pond with no filtration or flowing water for several weeks (maybe you have a great filtration system and just didn't mention it?) no doubt there are a lot of mosquito and other insect larvae in the water, and those would tend to congregate along the edges of things, and are a nutrient rich source of food for the fish, you'll want them to bring those numbers down ASAP (especially the mosquitoes, obviously), so hopefully they are just full from eating those and it's not another issue.

Since you have a brand new pond that you just stocked with "a number" of fish all at once (not sure if you mean 5 or 50), are you checking your water quality and temperature using a test kit, and do you have any sort of bog or cannister filtration now? Have you had an aquarium before that you know about the nitrogen cycle and how new aquariums and ponds cycle? Monitoring the pond in the first 4-8 weeks can help you stay on top of some potentially harmful issues to the fish as the pond cycles and also help prevent/mitigate large algae blooms.

 

[j.w]

@Ruch Hiff

 

[Ruch Hiff]

If you had water in your pond with no filtration or flowing water for several weeks (maybe you have a great filtration system and just didn't mention it?) no doubt there are a lot of mosquito and other insect larvae in the water, and those would tend to congregate along the edges of things, and are a nutrient rich source of food for the fish, you'll want them to bring those numbers down ASAP (especially the mosquitoes, obviously), so hopefully they are just full from eating those and it's not another issue.

Since you have a brand new pond that you just stocked with "a number" of fish all at once (not sure if you mean 5 or 50), are you checking your water quality and temperature using a test kit, and do you have any sort of bog or cannister filtration now? Have you had an aquarium before that you know about the nitrogen cycle and how new aquariums and ponds cycle? Monitoring the pond in the first 4-8 weeks can help you stay on top of some potentially harmful issues to the fish as the pond cycles and also help prevent/mitigate large algae blooms.

My 1100 gallon pond has a modern canister type filtration system with UV light. We have 4 adult mosquito fish and somehow we have at least 20 tiny minnow/babies that I suspect are baby mosquito fish. We also have 4 chubunkins (sp?), and six small "standard" goldfish and two small bottom feeders - a total of 12-14 or so adult/small fish plus the babies...and some snails and the plants.
The PH seems in an acceptable range. Not checking the temperature. I do not know about the nitrogen cycle and how ponds cycle.
Could this factor play a part in this issue?
is it possible they are getting all they need from the algae, duckweed, drowned insects etc.?
How many fish can a pond of this size accommodate?

 

[Lisak1]

You keep mentioning the pH - that's only one important factor to consider (and one of the least critical to be honest). Do you have a test kit?Learning the nitrogen cycle is crucial to pond care - I'd suggest you google it. Lots of sources on the internet with simple explanations.

1100 gallons is a small pond - great for goldfish. At this point I'd say you have all the fish your pond can handle.

 

[gimpy]

Most people seem to add way more fish in the beginning (2 or3 times more, maybe?) than they should (I’m looking in the mirror). Just let the pond catch up to the fish. Sorry my smilies didn’t show up. :>)

 

[Gazzas pool]

You keep mentioning the pH - that's only one important factor to consider (and one of the least critical to be honest). Do you have a test kit?Learning the nitrogen cycle is crucial to pond care - I'd suggest you google it. Lots of sources on the internet with simple explanations.

1100 gallons is a small pond - great for goldfish. At this point I'd say you have all the fish your pond can handle.

That's a bit harsh,, 1100 gallons ain't huge but well big enough for domestic goldfish, not sure about the other species. My 6month old pond is approximately 300gallons, My 10 tiddlers have stopped eating also, after removing the sticklebacks. Possibly more natural food to go around or their wary of me now after lashing 2 nets in to remove over 200 stickleback

 

[Lisak1]

That's a bit harsh,,

Is it? Stick around and read the posts from the sad folks who overstock their ponds and end up with sick, dying or dead fish. I'd rather be honest, especially when the OP asked how many fish their pond could safely hold. 14 goldfish will soon be 40 with no help from the humans at all.

 

[CometKeith]

Greetings!
I have created a 1100 gallon concrete pond.It is about 30" deep. The PH is fine. The pond is in direct sun for part of the day and so since it has been SO hot here (central Cali) the water is lukewarm by afternoon.
Two weeks ago we added several plants, some Lilly pads, hyacinths and several others. And a week ago we added a number of goldfish (from a respected pet store) - some are as big as 4". When I observe them now they appear active and healthy. They seem to spend much of thier time combing around on the rocks and sides of the pond. I can see the pond already has it's own biology and it seems the fish are feeding on that. But when I feed them they are barely interested in the food, a few go for it but mostly they seem to ignore it.
Not wanting to overfeed and pollute the water, should I stop feeding them until I can see they are actually interested in it and are actually feeding? Is it possible there is enough "natural" food in the pond for them to thrive?
Thanks for any help you can provide!

Hi and welcome to the forum! As other posters mentioned above it’s best to understock a new pond than have too many fish and see them get diseased or die from too many harmful waste unprocessed in your pond. So basically ammonia waste from your fish gets converted to nitrites by good bacteria. Then nitrates get converted to nitrates by other good bacteria. Once you have nitrates they are a lot less harmful to your fish and can be used by your plants. Biological filters or a bog is a good reservoir of good bacteria so that is why everyone recommends them. In the spring I actually know when my pond has “cycled” ie gotten to the point where the good bacteria are fully functioning because all my string algae disappears. So the bottom line with any new pond is try to get it to the point where it is fully cycled and be leary of too many fish or too much food until you get to that to that stage. It’s always better to start small and add more fish over time when you know your pond can handle it. The biggest issue most new ponders have if wanting a quick fix to get rid of their algae instead of waiting for their pond to “cycle” or by adding to many fish right away with out regard to how much bioload their pond can properly handle. Good luck!

 

[SarahT]

Hi, welcome to the group. "Yes. Stop feeding them every day". If the fish are active and side-nibbling, they're probably doing just fine. They don't need to be fed every day, so if you try a little food and they aren't racing to get it, skip a day. In my experience, more goldfish die of overfeeding (which becomes water quality issues) than any other problem. That being said, make sure there's plenty of oxygen / aeration during this hot weather, and shade (plants or even a piece of styrofoam temporarily). (Now, the question of "do you have too many fish?" ... maybe ... so start thinking of a plan to re-home some if problems begin.) Good luck, have fun, stay cool.

 

[yorkshire pudding]

That's a bit harsh,, 1100 gallons ain't huge but well big enough for domestic goldfish, not sure about the other species. My 6month old pond is approximately 300gallons, My 10 tiddlers have stopped eating also, after removing the sticklebacks. Possibly more natural food to go around or their wary of me now after lashing 2 nets in to remove over 200 stickleback View attachment 141015

im quite intrigued as to what size you think a domestic goldfish will get to ? plenty of documented info where "domestic" goldfish weighing in at well over 8 lbs and bigger

 

[Gazzas pool]

im quite intrigued as to what size you think a domestic goldfish will get to ? plenty of documented info where "domestic" goldfish weighing in at well over 8 lbs and bigger

I didn't realize they out grew their surroundings, when my tiddlers get to a pound or more, I may have a rethink about a new home, a few yrs yet, I imagine, as their still not eating my flakes ‍

 

[Gazzas pool]

Is it? Stick around and read the posts from the sad folks who overstock their ponds and end up with sick, dying or dead fish. I'd rather be honest, especially when the OP asked how many fish their pond could safely hold. 14 goldfish will soon be 40 with no help from the humans at all.

I don't mind harsh words, when defending the well being of innocent wildlife, but come on, how big do you really need to go? I reckon it's all down to the size of your land layout. But carry on with your good advice with those other newbys whom wanna have all kinds of fish in their ponds. Me, I'm just happy to stick with my tiddlers from the park pond, and look after their environment as best I can, I'm on the sea coast so freezing winters shouldn't be too much of a problem for these, wild carp, rudd, roach, or whatever they are

 

[jgrandmont]

im quite intrigued as to what size you think a domestic goldfish will get to ? plenty of documented info where "domestic" goldfish weighing in at well over 8 lbs and bigger

After seeing the recent news article about the giant goldfish found in a Minnesota lake, I decided to do a little research about how big goldfish can get, especially shubunkins. According to the web site Aquarium Source:

"Like other goldfish species, Shubunkins will grow based on their environment. In a standard aquarium, you can expect the average Shubunkin Goldfish size to reach five or six inches when fully grown. However, when they have access to a spacious pond, they can grow to lengths of 12 to 14 inches. Some Shubunkin Goldfish have even surpassed that, measuring upwards of 18 inches long!"

I'm guessing the two shubunkins I have in my ~700 gal outdoor pond are at least 6 inches in length now. That's after purchasing them last September when they were probably around 4 inches. I do feed them (and the 8 other assorted goldfish in the pond) a couple of times a day.