My goldfish have barely been seen in the last 4 days. The pond temp is down to 56 F. Is this normal for them to be moving around so little at this temp? I hate this overwintering stuff. How do I know they're ok if I can't see them...blah spring can't come soon enough.
Fish have disappeared..
- Thread starter Lenae98
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that's why I got a permanent UW camera.
If you have given them a good home , then you have little to worry about. The one thing you will need over winter is mean to keep an opening all winter be it a pond breather/ heater . or air stone/ bladder
mrsclem
mrsclem
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Once the temps drop, the fish slow down and keep to the bottom. Still at 64f here water temps but have the under water cams for winter.
Yes. You will probably see them on warmer days. How many gallons is your pond? How deep is your pond? How many fish and how large are they? Do you live in an area where it hard freezes in the winter? Is there water circulation (filtration or aeration etc.) at this time? Is this your first winter keeping a pond?
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Yes, they slow down in lower water temperatures.
They also gradually eat less and less as the water temperature decreases.
So, they are way less active.
Perfectly normal.
They also gradually eat less and less as the water temperature decreases.
So, they are way less active.
Perfectly normal.
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I will add that if they were spooked by a predator, they can be reluctant to show themselves, but being the weather has been changing, I would think it's the low temperature that they are responding to.
Pond is approximately 125 gallons. 18inches deep. 2 Shubunkin goldfish the largest is approximately 5 to 5.5 inches the smallest about 4. I live in zone 5b near Indianapolis Indiana. No filtration the pond balances it's self but there is a waterfall and double aerator as well as lots of plants life.
I am aware thanks to this group that my pond is too shallow to over winter them. Unfortunately I have only one 20 gallon tank cycled that I am using to grow food for them. The fish have to overwinter in the pond. I have built a green house structure and have bubblers, a pond breather and two pond deicers, one rated for a much larger pond then mine incase the smaller gets overwhelmed. I also bought straw bails for a wind break around. They have to winter this winter in this pond. Next year we plan to build a bigger deeper pond. This is our first winter with fish