Please help a new pond owner with winter care

[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!

 

[Amy Vandertuyn]

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

I am just in awe that I can have so much help by joining this forum, and that you would take the time to educate and help, thank you Meyer. Thanks alot.

 

[brokensword]

Amy, in case no one else mentions it, IF you do get ice cover, NEVER try to create a hole by 'pounding' as that can cause shock waves which can kill your fish. Use the pond breather as mentioned above or aeration (do not suspend the airstone near the bottom but about 12" from the top. I bought a trough heater to melt a hole, in case I ever need to (such as the pond breather dying or the aeration tube freezing up).

Btw, fish can survive periods of time fully iced over but it will depend on how long and how much organic matter you have decomposing in your pond as well as fish load that will affect the chances of any winter kill. Minimize the organic load and keep the fish size/quantity proportionate (or less) to the pond size and you'll be fine. Somewhere there's a formula to calculate fish load to pond size (gallonage/surface area); you'll need to google/search. Or ask Meyer nicely; he's the man re formulas and such around here...

Just a thought.


Michael

 

[RobAmy]

I live close to you in RI so very similar winters, they will do fine. Great advice already. I just use aerators to keep a hole open. I stop feeding mine early November and usually keep the pond running until the end of December depending on the temps. Best of luck

 

[Gavin Orr]

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, dont feel bad, I to am a newbee and living in Scotland UK was very worried that I , also inexperienced, would kill my fish during the cold winter, but you have come to the rite place, the guys on here are really helpful, and dont frown at us newbees. Dont be scared to ask anything on here the experienced guys seem really willing to help us. Lets contact in March and see how we have got on. Good luck.

 

[DaBagBoy]

...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.

Hi Amy welcome to ponding. The first winter with a new pond can be frightening. One thing to point out or not worry about is your smallest 4 inch fish. If you have any die the winter will take you biggest fish first. The littlest ones are pretty safe often even with a full ice cover depending on variables others have mentioned (total water volume, decomposing matter, time covered)....

 

[big ron]

I am seeing that now!

I have a 2500 gal koi pond in Md. zone 7a that I have had for 10 years. Around mid Oct. I shut my pond down with the waterfall and filtration system. I built a PVC frame over my pond and cover it with clear reinforced poly. This acts as a hot house keeping the water from freezing . I also run 2 aerators 12" down to circulate water and I sometimes use a heater if the temps get real low. My koi stay in a dormant state all winter until early spring and as the water heats up you will see them come alive again. ( Nature has its ways ) . I also add 2 chemicals every 2 weeks in the winter to help with disease etc. This method has worked great for me. good luck ,, your fish will be fine.

 

[mrsclem]

2015 thread.

 

[mgmine]

I am seeing that now!

Keep that in mind when you open up the pond. Resist the urge to buy a tester and everything else that goes along with what ever reading you get. Feed the fish and let them be. If a few die don't automatically think something is wrong. Also consider removing a few of the koi. In a pond that size I wouldn't have any more than 4 koi. They can be dirty and grow very fast.