How many goldfish can be added to a pond?

[Kristi Kelty]

I am wondering how many goldfish or Reds can be added to a pond that is 16' X 8' X 19" deep? It has a submerged pump and fountain (Pondmaster 1500), some water plants, and is a pond made with a flexible liner over carpet and sand.....(No waterfall or skimmer yet.)

 

[addy1]

around 1400 gallons. Depends on who you ask, some say 10 gallons per goldfish, so that would be 140 fish.

 

[Jason]

You could probably put as many Goldies in there as you would want lol, I see you have the Pondmaster 1500 kit like I got for my smaller 400 gallon pond, it has been working well so far

 

[dieselplower]

There is no concrete answer to this question. It depends on several things. How often are you willing to clean the filter? How much water changing do you wanna do? Do you plan to feed the fish? Etc. Personally I find that 50 gallons per fish is a good balance for me.

 

[capewind]

I have to agree that it depends ... with AVERAGE filtration and plants, I am in the 50 gallons of water, per goldfish... So if the pond is 1400 gallons, that would be 28 ADULTS who should do okay ... Exept for the tiny little thing that goldfish multiply faster than rabbits ... Hubby did a 2000 gallon pond install for a client ... Moved their 10 goldfish into the new pond mid May ... I am guessing there were a couple thousand babies, but a lot got backflushed out of the filter ... Guessing they still have 300-500 fish in total at the moment ... My advice is to buy 5-10 pretty babies that you really like, watch them grow, and next year, be ready to rehome HUNDREDS;-)

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Thanks all! Beautiful job with your ponds, Jason and Dieselpower!

 

[Jason]

Thanks

 

[sissy]

remember they will have babies also .

 

[JohnHuff]

There is no one answer for your question. It's like asking how many people can live on 1 acre of land. You could build an apartment building and fit 50 people on it, or a single family of 4. And like one poster above said, the fish will multiply every season. Best that you chose a few fish you like and add every season. That's what's happening with my pond. I don't go out looking for fish to buy, but sometimes I see one who's so good looking I have to buy him!

 

[Mmathis]

This is a helpful guide to follow, but it's not carved in stone.

http://www.your-garden-ponds-center.com/fish-load-calculator.html

 

[Waterbug]

7

 

[JohnHuff]

WB, do you have a link to your previous post, the one with pics?

 

[addy1]

I keep population under control by not feeding heavy, esp if I see them chasing, they get hungry and snack on their eggs, eat them right up. They get fed 2-3 times a week, sometimes just once a week if I see a lot of chasing.

 

[Waterbug]

WB, do you have a link to your previous post, the one with pics?

Yes

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Thanks all for the advice!
I know this is off subject, but I now realize that I need to carefully re-calculate the volume and GPH in this pond.....It is difficult because of the center island and underwater shelves that are around about half of the pond. Does anyone have a clear idea about how to do this?
Length= 16 '
Width=8'
Somewhat kIdney shaped
Center "island area" that is 3.5'
Two deeper areas are each 19" (each about 2' diameter)
HELP!