Moving fish in winter

[uconnhusky2]

Hi. Newbie here. I've had my ponds about ten years. My primary pond with 4 koi and about 35 goldfish is leaking. I've barely made it through winter - I add water and two days later I've lost a foot. I'm in CT. Is it safe to catch and move the fish to the other pond in the cold weather until I can repair or replace the liner?

 

[Big Lou]

Welcome uconn! I would think it would be okay especially given the situation but I recommend you rely on more cold weather pond keepers to post their thoughts.

Great to have you on GPC.

 

[sissy]

Welcome and i am just getting near done replacing my leaking liner and posted my progress in the showcase forum .It is a lot of work but better done before they start eating food and causing more problems where they are stored .It is not easy

 

[Dave 54]

|Hello and welcombe from Plymouth in the \uk:
Your present situation cant go on so you can do one of a numbe of things ,
One is to allow the pond to drop to see how far this leak is down. leaving your fish in situ.
You can catch our fish and gently transfer them over to the other pond as they are .and be abl to manage them better thabn ain a straight transfer
Or better still can you catch your fish and transport them indoors to an emergancy QT pond holding them there till you have fixed your pond.
This way you have control of the situation, both fish and water temperature wise and an take care of any injury or prasite wise so that when you release them again you have that peace of mind all is well

Dave

 

[uconnhusky2]

Thank you for the replies. I think I'm going to try to start moving them with temps ranging from 35-50 the next few days. I agree it is best to move them before feeding season starts. My pond is about 30" deep. At first the water was just dropping to the ledge and staying there, but now it drops lower. It also loses water with 24 hours of filling it back up. Ice is not a problem now, especially with my defroster, but I worry the water level will drop too far for the koi. Plus they are more visible targets for predators.

 

[Dave 54]

If that is the case I would move them indoors to an emergancy QT fasility which many members on this site make out of those large inflatable swimmimg pools say perhaps set up in your garage .
I have a Canadian friend who moves her own koi into her husbands Work hop to stop them succumming to temperatures as low as -26c and a wind chill of -54c wich was simply killing off all her koi each and every year.
Since our suggestion of moving them indoors she hasn't lost one koi .
You could also move your filtration with them as she has, if you feel the filter isnt mature enough buy some Microbe_lift PL filter pad innoculant follow Gel, follow the instructions and in next to no time you'll have a fully mature filter.
The glory of this is your safe in the knowledge that no preditor can get to your koi and you'll then have the time to find and either make good the repair to the pond or remove the liner and replace it


Dave

 

[uconnhusky2]

Thx Dave. Fortunately my climate isn't that brutal. I've never lost a fish in the winter. My pond defroster gets the job done. A couple years ago the second pond (without a defroster since I had no fish in the pond) had such a deep snow cover I found about five dead frogs in the spring. Otherwise frogs are drawn to my ponds.
I did find multiple tears on the perimeter ledge so I will have to replace the liner. The first fish I transferred last night seem to be doing well. Temps hit the 50's yesterday but will drop back to the 39's next week.

 

[Dave 54]

Thx Dave. Fortunately my climate isn't that brutal. I've never lost a fish in the winter. My pond defroster gets the job done. A couple years ago the second pond (without a defroster since I had no fish in the pond) had such a deep snow cover I found about five dead frogs in the spring. Otherwise frogs are drawn to my ponds.
I did find multiple tears on the perimeter ledge so I will have to replace the liner. The first fish I transferred last night seem to be doing well. Temps hit the 50's yesterday but will drop back to the 39's next week.

Good it seems that you have everything in hand but if you come across any health issues whilst transfering them dont be agraid to ask for help many of us are more than willing to help you in these issues


Dave

 

[dieselplower]

Personally I would transfer them into large containers that I filled with pond water and left outside. You don't want to shock them by warming them too quickly.

 

[BlueOrca]

Thermal shock would be a concern for me as well, especially bringing them indoors from 30 F to 72 F for me would be too drastic of a temp change. Good Luck.