koi or goldfish or something else

[Doctor mcboy]

the water level on my 30 foot by 30 foot by 3 to 4 foot deep pond is staying consistent now so i am thing about putting is some fish. what is hardier koi, goldfish or something else? should i wait for spring? we have plenty of racoons here so i am scared they will eat my fish like they did my chickens. i do not have chickens any more because of that. i am hoping the fish can swim to deep water to escape from those intelligent and downright cute creatures.

 

[TheFishGuy]

If your pond is connected to natural waterways, don't add anything, but assuming it is a closed system,

there are the obvious, like koi and goldfish,

and while you could add game fish, the pond is pretty shallow so it may heat up to much for those types of fish.

hence, I believe just koi and goldfish, but my knowledge of pond fish is very limited.

 

[brokensword]

the water level on my 30 foot by 30 foot by 3 to 4 foot deep pond is staying consistent now so i am thing about putting is some fish. what is hardier koi, goldfish or something else? should i wait for spring? we have plenty of racoons here so i am scared they will eat my fish like they did my chickens. i do not have chickens any more because of that. i am hoping the fish can swim to deep water to escape from those intelligent and downright cute creatures.

goldfish are a bit hardier than koi (we're talking water params and winterizing, not necessarily raccoon avoidance). If you go gamefish, they are probably better at avoiding your predators but you won't see them nearly as easily/much. I know some gamefish need colder water and/or moving current, so research if you go that direction.

If you have straight sides, the raccoons will be thwarted though herons are still going to give you pain if they find your pond.

If you net the pond (check out numerous threads here) you'd probably save your fish a lot of stress.

Good luck!

 

[j.w]

Look into Shubunkins, they are a beautiful type of calico like goldfish. Not expensive like koi. I had to put up a net to keep the heron and raccoons out. I have a short wire fence around the bottom that I tie my net to. Net is up on posts about 4ft above the pond.

Net tied to fence below.

 

[Shopaholic]

I had gold fish that got so big people thought they were koi I would get a kick out of it, survived harsh winters just fine but unfortunately became a target for a heron

 

[Lisak1]

I think both are equally hardy. A better question is - which is more suitable for your pond size. You have plenty of room for some nice koi if that's the direction you choose to go, but with a variety of goldfish you can definitely get a good herd going. I do think goldfish are a bit more independent - you don't have to feed them on a regular basis - or at all, really - if you don't want to. Koi, because they get so large, do require a supplementary food source on a more regular basis, and that's you!

 

[Spartamets]

Why choose? Koi and goldfish coexist very nicely. Both are very neighborly fish.