Please help a new pond owner with winter care

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Hello there!
I made my first goldfish and koi pond this past summer. It is four feet deep and around 1800 gallons. It holds 11 fish koi, comet goldfish and 2 fantail goldfish. The fishes are young and range from 5 inches ( my fantails) to 9 inches the comets and koi. (Although the fantail goldfish are REALLY wide too.)

My question is about wintering them in New Jersey. I am really freaking out and clueless about what I am doing.

I have heard they can just hibernate and to stop all feedings and just run a deicer and aeration. However, because they are smaller I thought I could heat the pond water all winter to avoid hibernation, and I bought 2 1000 watt aquarium heaters. I built a protector around them so the fish could not get burned. I also put a thick tarp over a framed gazebo all around the pond to keep any wind chill out.

Now I am afraid I have screwed things up. I get water temp readings of 60 degrees or a bit higher while air temps are 40 degrees yet all my fish have hidden in their cave and stopped swimming. I see them dart out sometimes. Are they hibernating? Am I interfering with it ? What do I do? I am so scared that I will kill them, and I love them all very much. They deserve an experienced owner and I don't want them to suffer because my plan of keeping them warm enough to not hibernate seems to not be working. Can anyone please help?

Anyway

 

[Smaug]

I winter fingerling babys over winters every winter with no heater. It's better to just let them chill so to speak. Stop feeding after the wate temps dip below 40,until then feed only wheat germ based foods. Don't start feeding again until the water temps go above 50 and stay there,again feed wheat germ based foods til the water temps go over 60 and stay there. That's my regimen,it works for me and my fish,never a loss from winter but once some losses from too quick a spring warm up with a failing pump.good luck,it will be fine.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Unplug the heaters.

 

[Dave 54]

@Amy Vandertuyn I wrote this article especially for the novice fish keeper ientering their first ever winter to help them understand what to do from removing dead leaves etc to prepping your filters please read it as it should help you greatly
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/art...e-long-slow-decline-in-temperature-begins.40/

Also:-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/prepping-your-pond-for-the-winter.29/

Do you happen to know the frost line and how deep it goes into the ground , our own pond is 4.5 feet and the Britsh koi keepers Society recomends a depth of between 4.5ft - 5ft , did you insulate the liner when you made the pond ?

Dave

 

[morewater]

Stick an aerator or a pond breather in the pond to keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange.

Next...... ignore it until the Spring.

 

[addy1]

Unplug the heaters like said above. I use pond breathers. My ice was around 16 inches thick. The fish did fine.

 

[Mmathis]

Ditto what everyone else said. Heaters aren't used to actually heat the water in a pond, but they are used to keep a hole open in the ice for air/gas exchange. A heater isn't necessary, but if you do use one, use one intended for ponds, not an aquarium heater.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

I winter fingerling babys over winters every winter with no heater. It's better to just let them chill so to speak. Stop feeding after the wate temps dip below 40,until then feed only wheat germ based foods. Don't start feeding again until the water temps go above 50 and stay there,again feed wheat germ based foods til the water temps go over 60 and stay there. That's my regimen,it works for me and my fish,never a loss from winter but once some losses from too quick a spring warm up with a failing pump.good luck,it will be fine.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

I cant believe the messages to inform and help me, Thank you all so much . OK I unplugged heaters and will hope they will be ok. I will watch and of course make sure there is always an opening in the top of the pond and the aerators are on. I think my tampering may hurt them and I love them. I am inexperienced but want to do what is right, The whole hiberantion thing scares me as as new pond owner I guess I am afraid I will kill them.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

For an inexperienced person, it is scary not to see their happy faces and I would hate for my ignorance to kill them. That would be the worst.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Thank you to everyone who has told me to let them be natural and let nature take it's course.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

@Amy Vandertuyn I wrote this article especially for the novice fish keeper ientering their first ever winter to help them understand what to do from removing dead leaves etc to prepping your filters please read it as it should help you greatly
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/art...e-long-slow-decline-in-temperature-begins.40/

Also:-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/prepping-your-pond-for-the-winter.29/

Do you happen to know the frost line and how deep it goes into the ground , our own pond is 4.5 feet and the Britsh koi keepers Society recomends a depth of between 4.5ft - 5ft , did you insulate the liner when you made the pond ?

Dave

I do not know the frost line. What should I look for or do? Our deepest area is 4 ft and they are all there. But, I made them a cave and can't see them. Will a 4 inch fish survive ? They are all together at the bottom in the cave. I just don't want to do something wrong and harm them. Thank you for replying. THANK YOU

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Thank you so much for your help. I am more confident to let them be. THANK YOU!

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Unplug the heaters like said above. I use pond breathers. My ice was around 16 inches thick. The fish did fine.

Thank you. I feel more confident to stop meddling and let nature take its course, that they will be ok.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Unplug the heaters like said above. I use pond breathers. My ice was around 16 inches thick. The fish did fine.

I want to say thank you I am going to do this.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

I winter fingerling babys over winters every winter with no heater. It's better to just let them chill so to speak. Stop feeding after the wate temps dip below 40,until then feed only wheat germ based foods. Don't start feeding again until the water temps go above 50 and stay there,again feed wheat germ based foods til the water temps go over 60 and stay there. That's my regimen,it works for me and my fish,never a loss from winter but once some losses from too quick a spring warm up with a failing pump.good luck,it will be fine.

Thank you so much for your help > I am so grateful for the information I am getting from more experienced pond owners.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I cant believe the messages to inform and help me, Thank you all so much . OK I unplugged heaters and will hope they will be ok. I will watch and of course make sure there is always an opening in the top of the pond and the aerators are on. I think my tampering may hurt them and I love them. I am inexperienced but want to do what is right, The whole hiberantion thing scares me as as new pond owner I guess I am afraid I will kill them.

Nature has made arrangements to take care of its own. It is usually man's excessive interference that will bolix things up.
BTW, the fish do not actually hibernate, their metabolism just gets extremely slow. They do periodically move about and feed.

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Stick an aerator or a pond breather in the pond to keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange.

Next...... ignore it until the Spring.

Thank you. It seems the best action is do no harm. I am very thankful that you answered. I am going to follow the advise of all of you more experienced pond keepers. I am so amazed at how many of you reached out to help. Thank you so much for doing that.

 

[Mmathis]

As long as there is a place for air exchange, they should be fine. We all worry about our little finned babies, esp. that first winter (I have box turtles that dig in around now, and won't emerge until spring -- every year I hold my breath until I see that each and every one made it through the winter!). It's important to make sure the water is clean (bottom leaves & crud scooped out), before it gets really cold. Stop feeding at 50F. Make sure there is a hole in any ice that forms. But even when we do everything right, sometimes we lose some, and it's just not possible to be 100% all the time. So take a deep breath, and focus your attention on that cute little person in your picture! Love that little grin!

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

Nature has made arrangements to take care of its own. It is usually man's excessive interference that will bolix things up.
BTW, the fish do not actually hibernate, their metabolism just gets extremely slow. They do periodically move about and feed.

I am seeing that now!