At what temperature is it to ?cold? for a Goldfish?

Master Zero

Master Zero

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Sep 5, 2005
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At what temperature is it to “cold” for a Goldfish?

Good afternoon all!

When is it to “cold” for a goldfish? The winter is coming soon and I would like to know at what temperature should I move them to an indoor tank?

Thank you!
 
temp and feeding

Goldfish can live as long as there is an airhole in the ice and it does not freeze solid.

BUT, you have to reduce feeding as temps drop. Full feeding at 80 degrees, no feeding at 55 degrees, drop to once a day at maybe 70, once every few days at maybe 60, then none at 55.

You see the bacteria in the filter go silent as the temp drops and the fish's ability to digest drops with temp too. If the temp drops suddenly and they have food in their gut, it can go toxic.

So, only feed on nice warm days, plunge you arm into the tank for a few minutes to see if it is actually a pleasent day to feed the fish. If it hurts your skin after a few minutes, don't feed.

As it cools, the fish swim more slowly. They can eat algae if they need food so don't worry about them.

Do be sure to clean the filter seveal times after you are no longer feeding them, for that filter can go toxic as well if it is full of junk when the temps drop.

IME, taking the fish indoors is more of a problem than leaving them out all winter (Houston, TX) it is very hard to help them adjust to the temp change from 40 degree water to 70+ indoors then back out later in spring, and it is hard to have a tank large enough and cycled so they do not suffer.

If the pond will freeze solid, then you must bring them in somehow. You can run a heater or de-icing ring to allow for air passage if the pond will not be solid, just know that as the fish crowd, the water quality goes down more.

If it is just really cold, be sure to stop fountains that will chill the water even more. I suggest leaving an internal pump going with out the fountain to break the surface of the water but not chill it much, or just an airpump. Some books say to raise the pump off the bottom, so the fish can stay below that water that has circulated at the cold surface.
 
I've kept goldfish in a pond for 3 years, and never moved them inside.

Whenever it ices over, I just try and crack the ice at a thin point. They've always been fine.

I have a very wild/natural pond, so I rarely feed my goldfish at all. They do fine on what they would normally eat in the wild (bugs, algea, etc.).
 
Thank you for your reply!

The pond water usually freezes around the winter time. I have a fountain and the filter that also break the surface of the water, but they too usually freeze. I do have a 125 gallon tank ready for them just in case. Bringing them inside is also not a problem for me; I use a bucket with some pond water. Ok, now just to make sure that I understand you correctly, If the water does not freeze solid then they can stay, but less feeding time because their metabolism slow down. If it does freeze solid then bring them inside. Since the pond usually freeze at night fall, at what temperature would you consider to be the “red zone.” The reason I ask this is because if the water freeze then I will not be able to break the surface (because I don’t have the proper tools), and if I do manage to break it, it will be a hassle to remove them from underneath this big board that they use as a hiding place.

Thank you once more!
 
My pond does have algae but I don’t think that my Goldfish can survive on it alone; I doubt that they even eat it. I have observed then pick at things that would fall into the pond, but never eat it. My pond is in the ground and it has a tree that covers the top part of the pond; it looks like a cave, or the entrance to some deep forest. A bug did fall in once and got eating by one of the bigger ones; but that is alone one small bug, and there are 11 big Goldfish. One is about 7 inches; two are about 4.5-6 inches the others are from 3-4 inches. They eat a lot and are very robust. I’ am just a little worried that they will not make it on grass, algae alone. I just can’t take that chance; I could never forgive my self if anything happened to them.
 
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I’ am not sure how deep it is, cause of a sandy bottom, but I have estimated it to be 250-300+ gallons. There are there levels (the second level is going inwards about halfway, the first level is the bottom, the last being the surface). It is shape like an eight (8), but the top and bottom part are going inwards like its sides. It is very hard too get an accurate reading with those dimensions. I did not build it nor did I buy it; well we did buy it since it came with the house when we moved in about one year ago. If I had to guess then I would say it’s about 4-5 feet (width), and maybe 6-7 feet (length). Don’t take my word for it (it only an estimate). The water evaporates really quickly (1/3) on a sun day. I currently live in Philadelphia.
 
I've heard that fancy goldfish do not do as well over-wintering than commons. The short bodied slow swimmers are the fancies that should be brought inside.
 
in Philly, I would hardly think a pond being 6 or 7 feel deep at it's deepest spot would freeze solid. They say that for the area, anything over 4 foot would be safe enough not to freeze solid. You can buy a heater that will keep a section of the surface from freezing over to calm your fears. Bringing them in might be a waste of time unless they are facies though. I would suggest, get the heater, follow anona's feeding regime and you should be good throughout the winter.
 
300 gallons not very big

(4'wide x 6' longx 1'deep ) x 7.5 gal/cuft= 180 gallons

if 2' deep on avg it would be 360 gallons

If you are correct, at 300 gallons it is likely not more than 2' deep on avg, perhaps 3' at max point.

Is this a preformed pond shell, hard plastic, or is it made with flexible rubber liner?

In any case, get a broom and stick it in the water at the deepest point and try to estimate how deep it is.

Sounds like it will freeze solid in PA, you probably need to call a local pond store and ask their advice.
 
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