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| If you must move fish inside for the winter, do this gradually. Move a few fish
inside to an aquarium or stock tank that has been set up in advance using pond
water. Make sure that their winter home is large enough to accommodate them
without over crowding them. Figure 1" of fish length for every square foot
of water surface.
If you have a lot of extra filtration or lots of surface
coverage with plants, you can bump that to 2 or 3 " of fish for each square
foot of water surface. Bring in as many plants as practical so that you have
good water surface coverage. A tank, pond or aquarium that has a nice amount on
surface plants will make for happier fish. Rarely, if ever does a fish
"jump" if you have good plant coverage.
When they get scared they will
hide under the plants. If there are no plants and the fish gets scared, he will
jump out. I have never had a fish "jump out" in ponds or tanks that
have good water surface coverage of plants! But over the years I have lost my
share of jumpers to tanks that do not have plants. I now keep netting over my
non-plant tanks. Place lights above tank to support plants. Use a timer on the
lights so that they have 10-12 hours of light a day.
If practical, move your pump and filter too so that fish will be in almost
identical situation as they were in outside. Do not move all fish inside in a
new tank all at one time or they may all die. Plan to do this task early enough
in the fall so that you can add a few fish every week. Monitor ammonia, pH,
nitrite, and nitrate very carefully and take corrective measures if these
measurements go out of balance. Feed very sparingly daily so that you do not get
an ammonia spike. After a few weeks, increase feedings. My one stock tank where
my favorite fish spend the winter, get fed 3 or 4 times a day and they grow like
weeds all winter long in 70 degree water.
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In order for the fish to remain outside for the winter, your pond has to be a
minimum of 3'. If less than that, see article above
about moving fish inside.
Leave the pump run all winter or use a de-icier. Move the pump close to the
surface of the water by placing it on cinder blocks or upside down clay pots.
You want to have the water just bubbling just under the surface of the water.
This will keep an open spot so threw which gases can escape. Once the weather
gets real cold, disconnect the filter, clean it and store it. Give your filter
and pump a thorough cleaning before the frosty weather hits. Store your pump in
a bucket of water somewhere where it will not freeze during the winter. This
will protect your seals in the pump from drying out during winter storage.De-icers are energy hogs. In the late
90's we figured they used $40.00 a month in electricity.
Less expensive than leaving the pump run or
a de-icer is pump and air stone. One that bubbles the water works very
well.
Remove frogs and tadpoles and snails because they will not live in anything
but warm climates during the winter. Snails and tadpoles have a hard time in the
winter. Bring snails and tadpoles inside for the winter. Or release the frogs
(they WILL find your pond in the spring) Check ponds frequently throughout the
fall and early winter for frogs and remove them. They will probably not survive
in your pond for the winter because they need to burrow into the dirt for the
winter. Any experienced pond person will tell you that if you leave frogs in
small ponds, you will be scooping their bodies out of your pond next spring. The
decay from these dead creatures will wreck havoc with your fish. Let alone the
smell!
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| If you live in a zone that gets cold but little or no ice during the winter,
leave your filter run all winter long. It will be easier to get started in the
spring. Clean it thoroughly before it gets too cold. Bacteria will not die if
chilled. They will remain dormant and ready to start growing again in the spring
when temperatures begin to warm up the pond. |
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Cover pond with netting or skim pond with skimmer net daily. Decaying leaves
produce poisonous gases. Leaves are double trouble, solids pollution and
chemical (hydrogen sulphide gas) pollution. Leaves are much easier to remove in
fall as they are dropping then from the bottom of the pond next spring.
Water quality at this time of the year is usually very good.
The water should be
crystal clear. If it is not, do small water changes every couple of days, so
that it is crystal clear. Do not raise or lower the temperature more than 2
degrees at a time, as this will stress the fish. Add water slowly and watch your
thermometer. Once algae has died off the water is usually crystal clear. It is
very important to keep it that way by keeping leaves; frost damaged foliage from
the plants, and any other debris out of the pond. You want the bottom of the
pond as clean as possible.
A lot of harmful bacteria live in the fouled water.
These specific pathogens are Pseudomonas and Aeromonas. These bacteria's depend
on foul water to attack fish. They will not be a problem in the winter, but come
spring, you had better watch out. Entire populations of fish have been wiped out
in March, April & May from Aeromonas and Pseudomonas.
Because cold water holds a lot more oxygen than warm
water, this is a very satisfactory time of the year for your fish because of
their lower metabolism rate
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Some folks prefer to use a de-icier in their pond rather than leave their pump
run all winter. The thermostat clicks on when the water temperature reaches 32
degrees and clicks off when it reaches 38 degrees. The de-icier will keep an open
spot in the ice to allow toxic gases to escape and oxygen to enter. If the pond
should completely ice over do not try to open a hole by force. A blow to the ice
can cause waves that will shock the fish and possibly kill them. Use a hot
teakettle and place directly on the ice to melt a hole in the ice.
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Add 0.3% salt to your pond. Figure the total amount of salt that you need for
your pond and add 1/3 of the TOTAL amount over a 3-day period. This equates to 3
lbs. per hundred gallons of water. Remember that salt kills 7 of the 10
parasites that attack fish. Yes, the parasites can live in cold water! They will
begin attacking the fish in the spring as the pond starts to thaw and warm up.
The salt will be removed in the spring by water changes when the temperature
warms up and you are ready to start adding plants.
Fortunately, bringing the fish through the winter is fairly easy. I have had a
lot of customers tell me that their fish survived the winter with flying colors
then died in the spring. One word: BACTERIAL INFECTION.
The salt will help tremendously.
The salt to use - Water softener salt. This is what we used. Good old Morton in
the yellow bag! Or you can use Solar Salt in the blue bags. Read the label
and make sure it says 99.9% pure. . You can use any kind of salt as long
as it does not contain iodine or YPS (an Anti caking agent). Non iodized table
salt will work but it is more expensive. Don't waste your money on expensive sea
salt or aquarium salt. I give you my word that what we used is Morton water
softener salt and it worked well.
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Fish do not have stomachs. Secretions in the intestine digest food. Their
ability to digest is directly related to water temperature. Mix equal amount of
wheat germ with regular food in September. Gradually switch over to fish food
containing wheat germ. It is more digestible.
The fish do not eat when the water drops below 46 degrees. If you continue to
feed it will just sink to the bottom where it will decay and pollute the water.
Essentially your fish will go to sleep at 46 degrees. Their heart and breathing
will slow down to where there is little or no physical movement. You must treat
them accordingly.
When we get into the "spring-like" days of January and February it may
be tempting to feed your fish especially if you see them gathering on the
surface of the water. Avoid this urge. Use your thermometer and check the
temperature. Feed strictly by the thermometer and not the calendar and you will
not have any problems. The temperature has to be above 46 degrees. If you load
up their bellies with food and we get a fatal cold snap, it could wipe out all
of your fish. They cannot digest food in cold water.
Use a reliable water thermometer
Feed as follows by water temperature |
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61 degrees+ |
Twice daily or more: |
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56 - 60 degrees |
Once a day |
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51-56 degrees |
Two to 3 times a week |
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46-50 degrees |
Once a week
NOTE: many stop feeding at 50 |
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46 degrees |
Do not feed. |
Watch water temperature in the spring. Reverse above temperature chart and
start feeding fish food with medicated food when water temperature hits
approximately 46 to 48 degrees. Followed by wheat germ, then wheat germ mixed
with regular food.Monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels weekly during the winter. I
check mine daily or at least every other day once the water begins to warm up in
the spring. Be prepared to do water changes if ammonia is present in even the
slightest amount.
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· POWER LEAF SKIMMER OR LEAF NET · REGULAR FISH FOOD (preferably Aquagen/Impact)
· DE-ICIER OR
PUMP LEFT RUNNING OR A PUMP AND AIR STONE
· NETTING FOR FALLING LEAVES OR ELECTRIC POND SKIMMER
· POND WATER THERMOMETER
· HOLE-LESS POTS OR CONTAINER FOR WATER PLANTS
PLANTS
· REMOVE PLANTS IF YOU ARE ADDING SALT
Keep in mind though that light frost may not do any damage as the
water will be warmer than the air and will offer protection to the plants.
You may want to take the tender plants inside on frosty nights so that they
can adjust to the inside environment. If weather permits you can move them
back out the next day
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Clean up frost damaged foliage by trimming all foliage with shears or pruners
even with the top of the pot. Drop the pots all hardy plants to the deepest part
of the pond, where they will spend the winter. Move non-hardy plants inside for
the winter
TIP: If you have a lot of plants that you plan to bring in for the winter, purchase
one of those little plastic kiddy pools. Depending on your light situation, you
may be able to place it near a real sunny window for the winter. Or, set it up
in a basement or other out of the way area. Add 3" to 4" of water to the
pool. The plants do not need to have water over the top of the pot for this type
of winter storage. If you do not have a sunny location, place plant grow lights
over them with a timer and let the plants grow all winter long. Leave the timer
on for 10-12 hours a day. You will have loads of plants come next spring!
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