Setting up a shallow pond for goldfish

[Lisak1]

Well, I guess we'll just see how your experiment works. Although I'm a little curious about this statement:

They seem to like the environment OK

What would you expect them to do if they DIDN'T like the environment? Obviously they can't leave, so what behaviors are you watching for or observing?

 

[Waleed K]

I guess I was thinking general wellbeing -- they eat well, they appear active, their bodies don't show signs of illness like missing scales, or lost fins, they don't show oddities like swimming sideways, etc. Also -- and I don't know how to put this delicately -- that they don't die.

 

[Lisak1]

I was really just having a little fun with you @Waleed K - imagining your fish packing their little bags and moving on to more favorable accommodations! haha!

You've named the signs to watch for that your fish are stressed or not doing well in their environment - do you have a Plan B in case this doesn't work for them? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that this works, but still have my doubts.

We were walking through a local resort town one summer and admiring the beautiful gardens in front of some of the stores. One of them had a fountain with a basin about 10 or 12 inches deep with goldfish swimming in it. The owner was out front so I asked her how it was that the fish could survive in the fountain when it was so shallow and in the full sun. She replied "oh we have to replace them about once a week". Hmmmm....

 

[Usman]

Well, I guess we'll just see how your experiment works. Although I'm a little curious about this statement:

What would you expect them to do if they DIDN'T like the environment? Obviously they can't leave, so what behaviors are you watching for or observing?

lol , may b in a heavy rain they will run away , i dont see any border
i wud prefer tiny wild fishes , mosquito fish is good choice .

 

[Waleed K]

Here's an experimental update -- about a month since my last post.

The fish are doing pretty well. I lost one of the comets (not quite sure how, couldn't find the fish), but four are doing very well, it seems -- they're getting fatter. The minnows (about 20) and mosquito fish (don't know: 40? They are breeding it seems) are also happy. Temperature does see some variation, typical is 55-75 degrees, but fish do not appear to be bothered by this.

Only really have two problems: algae (since the water feature is in the sun) and pH (I think a lot of the leaves and bark fall in and make it a little more basic, plus I have very hard water), with end-of-day pH being around the 8.2 mark.

The goldfish are a little bit shy/quiet especially in the mornings, but in the evening, I've been offering some brine shrimp and flakes, and they're cautiously coming up to the surface.

I was worried about the water feature pouring on top of them, so I stuck a GoPro under the water to see if it was disruptive. I got some fun footage of the 4 goldfish buzzing the camera, but it seems that aside from the noise, the falling water doesn't really seem to bother them too much.

Video is below. This isn't sped up! The goldfish are really that quick (well, when the water is warm).