Its abut 6 ft deep, and there are shallow parts that could completely freeze during a hard ice storm. any attracitive fish you could think of that would survive a harsh winter. how about if i break up the ice as often as it freezes?
2006-08-01 14:46:43 · 5 answers · asked by darpdarp 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Never, ever break up the ice on a pond with fish in it. That will definitely kill them. The shock waves from hitting the ice damages their internal organs.
Goldfish, koi and fish native to your area are about the only fish that will overwinter in a frozen pond. Six feet deep is deep enough so that they will not be frozen stiff and die in the ice.
Their metabolism slows way down as the temperature goes down and they do not need to eat. If you feed them, the food will not be digested and it will block their intestines, killing them. As the weather cools down, 55 degrees is the stop feeding point and as it warms back up in the spring, 55 degrees is the start feeding point also.
If you want to have open water, the best thing to do is get an air pump and run it all winter. If it freezes over anyway, just shut it off, do not break the ice! The fish will be fine in 6 feet of water.
2006-08-02 19:33:56 · answer #1 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Koi or goldfish would both survive as long as your pond is deeper than your local frost zone. Where I live the frost zone is 32" deep.
You do need to buy a floating pond heater though. There must always be a vent hole in the ice to let built-up waste gases escape.
The fish will go dormant after water temp reaches about 50 degrees & you quit feeding them until it warms back up over 50 again.
2006-08-01 14:54:15 · answer #2 · answered by applpro 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only kind of fish that will survive are koi and maybe goldfish. The are "pond" fish for that reason.
2006-08-01 19:02:01 · answer #3 · answered by july 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have a koi pond at my home. koi are very strong fish and can survive in the harsh weather. you will not have to feed the koi in the winter.you can also add water lilies, turtles, and goldfish. but never add frogs( they tend to eat baby koi). raccoons and kingfishers also eat koi so you should put a net over the pond. good luck!!!
2006-08-01 15:17:24 · answer #4 · answered by . 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've heard that Paradisefish can survive in outdoor ponds, but I don't know whether this includes ice-over temperatures.
2006-08-02 17:16:07 · answer #5 · answered by gshprd918 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋