How to make sure fish survive winter in ornamental pond?

Question

I live in southern Michigan and was wondering what I can do to make sure my fish make it through the winter.

Answer 1

If the pond is deep enough where it doesn't freeze solid, then your main objective will be to make sure they have enough oxygen. Don't let the snow cover the ice on top all the way or it can choke out your fish.

You can run an air line to the pond to keep air going in and keep the water moving. You can also add a small tank heater to keep it from freezing solid if that is a concern.

My biggest problem is all the leaves that try to get into them.

Answer 2

I own a landscape company in Minneapolis. My sister and mom each have ponds with fish in them.

You didn't mention whether your pond has a waterfall. If it does, I assume you remove the waterfall pump for the winter, yes? If not, you will need to buy a small pump from Home Depot to do this.

Those heaters mentioned above are a possibility, but up in my climate they can barely keep up and they're expensive to run. Also, heaters can keep a hole in the ice, but they don't circulate the water to provide oxygenation for the fish. Depending on the size of your pond, without water circulation all winter, it's possible for the fish to breathe up all the oxygen in the water and suffocate.

So what we do is take the waterfall pump and put it in the pond so it shoots a plume 1 about a foot in the air. This will keep a hole in the ice and constantly oxygenate the water all winter. If it gets super cold, sometimes an ice dome will form over the pump. You can either hit it with a stick to break it, or just wait a couple days until it warms up and usually it will collapse on itself.

One other thing is we put a bit of wire mesh over the intake on the pump before putting it in the pond, to make sure it doesn't suck up a fish. Anything that covers the intake but lets water through is fine (like some of that rabbit fencing if you have any.)

In my experience, the pump in the pond gives you the highest likelihood that the fish will live through the winter. You want a pump as least as strong as the one I linked below.

Good luck

Answer 3

I live in South Central Ontario, Canada. My fish survive the winter, the pond is frozen over and lots of snow on it. My deepest point is 3 and 1/2 feet, and I put in a pond heater. It just sits on top of the pond so that spot does not freeze over, thus allowing air to get in and any gases to get out. I have done this for 3 winters and every spring my fish are still living. The first year I tried to keep a pump running and for some reason it just stopped, we do not know why, if it was too cold or not?, so we got the heater. As far as power consumption goes it only uses the power of a 100 watt lightbulb. The depth of your pond is very important factor. Best of Luck.

Answer 4

I live in a similar climate in Central NY. First, make sure you clean any debris/leaves out of the bottom. If not, it can lead to toxin build-up.
Next, use a heater/de-icer. Most now are thermostatically controlled and don't come on until about 35 degrees or so. There are a variety of wattages and styles. For ponds greater than 18" deep, use a floating model. Take care to check proper operation every day, sometimes they fail. They can be set on an outdoor timer to prevent energy consumption. Just keeping a hole in the ice at several points in the day (12 hrs apart) is sufficient.
Don't run the pump. This circulates the colder air temp. water to the warmer lower water the fish are trying to get to.
Don't feed the fish below 50 degrees pond temp. Their systems can't handle the digestion. Because they are cold blooded, they'll be fine.
Good luck (I work at a pond shop, so if you have other Q's, you can e-mail me or:

http://www.landmasters.net

Answer 5

As long as the fish pond is deep enough so that the fish do not freeze, they will survive the winter in a sort of dormant state.

Answer 6

Put a heater in it. Not IN ITin it, outside of it that Circulates the water, stores 5 gallons and heats 2, it never turns off, and fishies stay all warm and cozy.
Or put em in a Fish Tank inside.

Answer 7

Zardoz.. just about had the entire answer....
forgot to tell you to make sure to put the
wire cage
on it to keep it from touching the sides of the pond..........make sure you don't feed them when temp is down to 50..........

My favorite hobby...........have about a 2000 gal +
pond I made myself.

PLEASE DON'T PUT PLASTIC OR ANY SOLID COVERS OVER IT. IT WILL CAUSE A METHANE GAS BUILD UP AND KILL THE FISH.

Answer 8

your fish should be ok for the winter. ponds need to be at least 4 feet deep to prevent complete freezing throughout the water column.

Answer 9

They will servive if the pond is deep enough. If it freezes too deep they will die from lack of oxegen.You could add a heating coil and an air pump as insurance

Answer 10

first put chicken wire over the top so the birds don't get the fish.if there is a chance of freezing put plastic aver the pond make shure to feed and check on the little guys from time to time and they should be fine