When can I buy gold fish?

[zac]

New house with a pond. I got the pond dialed in pretty well I think. The filtration system is, according some pond people I have asked, over the top. I've come to the conclusion that there use to be a lot of fish in this pond. Anyway, I got UV light and the water is gyn clear. Got a couple of water lillies in there and I'm ready to populate it with fish. I want fish that I don't have to feed. I am told that 2 feet is to shallow for koi but I just want something simpler and cheaper anyway.
I live in the willamette valley. The water temp right now is 49 F. I was told that March is when people usually transplant goldfish but i was hoping that I could jump the gun a little since this is an El Nino year.
I would also like to know how many I can put in there.

Thanks
Z

 

[DrDave]

First of all Zac you don't need 2' or more for Koi, it is just better to have more than that depth. I went years with only 18" depth and my Koi did fine and spawned every year.

For gold fish, I think any time is good, they are hardy and if you lose any, they are cheap. If there are no fish in the pond now, then start with a few and add a few more every couple months until you get the number you want to maintain.

Your filtration system does not have the right balance yet for very many fish, their very existance, will establish the filtration bio elements.

 

[koiguy1969]

your looking like your pond is well over 1300 gals... why may i ask do you want to not feed your fish? the time spent bonding with them over their meals is one of the greatest rewards to ponding, or atleast in my opinion. start your filter off with some beneficial bacteria...its the same bacteria that will occur on its own but without all the waiting. and youll be able to start off with a larger amount of fish. my first pond was only 500 gals and i started it with Microbelifts PL GEL filter innoucculant. i had atleast 20 fish in the pond in 2 weeks and never had a bad water parameter test. of course these were 3" to 4" koi and goldies i wouldnt have tried this with 12"ers.and its true deeper is better there is woman on this forum (pondlady) who has successfully wintered large koi in a pond only 14" deep. and theres no such thing as too much filter..just not eough.

 

[koikeepr]

If you are not looking to FEED a pet, then you should not own one. Not feeding a goldfish or a koi is like saying you won't feed a dog or a cat. Any animal that is in your care needs to be fed--particularly if it's in a captured setting and cannot swim to a better hunting ground to find it's own natural food.

If you just want to enjoy a pond without feeding anything then just set up a water garden with plants.

 

[zac]

Thanks Dr Dave that is good info. I guess I must be some kind of jerk for mentioning not feeding my fish. I was under the impression that fish are capable of living off of the insects that are in the pond. There are a lot in this pond but apparently I am wrong.

 

[DrDave]

As koikeepr stated, all captive animals need nurishment and if you don't suppliment with food where are they going to get it. In a large established pond, most fish can survive for a while. The question is how good is the nurishment they are getting? So, even with a pond full of plants, you need food of some sort. With fish that are well fed, they take care of your plants while the plants take care of the water quality and of course the pond occupants.

 

[zac]

Thanks again Dr Dave. Good info. I will consider that. I have another problem though. After reading your reply I went to a pet store and bought some 27 cent comets. So I have heard something about not feeding fish when it gets cold. I'm thinking it is pretty cold so should I feed them.

 

[DrDave]

Under 50 degrees water temperature, absolutley not. 50-55 you might try a few flakes in case they haven't eaten anything for awhile.

 

[oldmarine]

DrDave is right about the feeding. I have held back on feeding my shubunkins until my pond water was consistantly 55*F for at least a week. I have a pond heater still in use and my pond water has been staying right about 55*F. A couple of weeks ago it was raining and I observed a worm hanging over the edge of my pond into the water. I waited to see witch way it was going, and as I watched the 8" female shubunkin cautiously moved in and ate the worm. I figured they would eat any worms that happened into the pond, but have never seen that before.

Happy ponding,

Rich :faint: