Tag: Goldfish Pond

Categories
Feeding Fish Feeding Goldfish Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care

Feeding Pond Fish – When Should I Start Feeding Fish In Spring?

Spring has arrived and when should you start feeding pond fish in spring in your garden pond? What people should do is only start feeding their pond fish when the water warms up past 55 degrees farenheit. People need to remember that your fish need to come out of hibernation over winter. Their immune system is still low and vulnerable to diseases and parasites. As the water warms your fish metabolism will increase.

 People should start feeding their goldfish a wheat germ based food that is easy to digest in spring and low in protein. When the water is below 55 degrees farenheit the metablism of the fish slows down that is why you should only start feeding fish once water warms up past that.

Koi Fish Pond

People should also have a thermometer on hand so they can check the temperature of the water in their pond come spring. I know after a long winter people are very eager to start feeding their goldfish and getting their pond operational again. I know because I am one of those people. It’s exciting to know your pond is open and you see your fish swimming around but this is also the most crucial time that pond fish are vulnerable to many things as well.

Feeding Goldfish and Koi In Fish Pond

Spring Fish Food For Pond FishIf people are eager to start feeding their pond fish such as goldfish and koi you can buy Autumn and Spring Fish Food that you can feed your fish down to 42 degreees farenheit. You can go this route but I would suggest just letting your pond fish be until the water temperature warms up to 55 degrees. If your pond fish are hungry their is plenty of food for them to pick at in a pond. Just let nature feed them until your water temperature in your pond is safe to start feeding them regular fish food. Remember always start feeding pond fish a wheat germ based food until water warms up then you can switch over and start feeding your fish a higher protein food. Feeding pond fish is one of the most exciting parts of owning a pond so lets feed them the appropriate food at the time of year to ensure they maintain healthy and disease free.

Categories
Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care How To Pond Filtration

Goldfish Pond- Cleaning and Pond Spring Start Up Tips

Now that spring has arrived your going to need to clean your goldfish pond and get it already for the pond season. Pond maintenance is needed and you will need to clean your goldfish pond of any debris and organic matter that has decomposed over winter. If you did not cover your goldfish pond last year with a pond netting you will need to scoop up all the leaves that are decaying. This decaying matter is prime areas for when goldfish diseases and parasites occur. Remove all the sludge at the bottom of your goldfish pond to prevent diseases and parasite outbreaks.

For small ponds you can completely clean your pond rinse it out and refill it. If you have goldfish in your pond simply remove them and place them in an indoor aquarium until you finish cleaning your pond. It would be best to keep them in a fish tank for about 3-4 days before you re-introduce them to your pond. This would be a great time for you to observe your fish and look for any signs or symptoms of diseases and parasites. If you notice any sick fish treat them as needed.

goldfish pond

For any pond plants that you have in your pond such as water lilies and other marginals, this is a great time to divide them. Simply divide and re-pot your pond plants and fertilize them as well. When you clean your pond for spring this is the ideal time for dividing your pond plants and water lilies and you can place them where you want in your garden pond.

For larger ponds which you may not be able to drain your pond and clean it completely make sure you remove as much as the sludge as possible. Do a partial water change and remove about 25% of the water.

Now that your pond is cleaned out your going to need to start up your pond for the season. Now you can hook up your pond pump and filter and get the water circulating. Be sure to add beneficial bacteria to get your biological filter working properly. Also add water conditioner to remove chlorine from the water to make it safe for your goldfish.

In spring is when people tend to have problems with algae blooms with their goldfish pond. After you have finished cleaning your pond and hooking up your pond pump and filter add a bag of barley to your pond. A bag of barley right by the pond pump will help reduce the the chance of algae. Barley works great for algae control in ponds. Simply add barley straw, barley extract or pellets in your pond at the beginning of spring and this will help your pond stay clear.

After you have cleaned your pond and started it up for spring most people want to start feeding their fish. Remember you can only start feeding your fish when it warms up to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fish foods on the market today you can feed your fish at 45 degrees but general rule is about 55 degrees you can start feeding your goldfish. When you do start feeding your goldfish in your pond start feeding them a wheat germ food that fish can easily digest. Feed them once a day and then as summer approaches you can switch fish foods later. Remember goldfish in a pond don’t really need to be fed, their is plenty of food in the pond for them.

Now that your goldfish pond is all cleaned out and ready for the season you can start to enjoy it. To fully enjoy your water garden make sure you have enough pond plants, water lilies and floating aquatic plants. Having your pond about 70% full of plants will help keep your water crystal clear all summer long. Make sure you have great pond filter as well as consider buying a UV sterilizer for your pond will help keep your water quality perfect all summer. Enjoy your goldfish pond and get your pond started up for spring for another pond season

Categories
Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Ponds How To Pond Predator Protection

How To Protect Your Goldfish From Pond Predators

By Jamie Boyle

Many pond owners today often face the problem of pond predators visiting their water garden and they need to learn how to protect goldfish from pond predators before becoming their next meal. A lot of people don’t even realize they even have a problem until it’s too late. People should always try and count their fish come feeding time to make sure all fish are accounted for. It also makes a great time to observe your fish for any signs of goldfish diseases or parasites.

If you notice your fish scared or frightened or any goldfish missing then you may very well of had a tall-feathery creature stop by for a meal or two. Blue Heron Pond PredatorHerons, kingfishers, raccoons, snakes, cats and even frogs are pond predators. Yes! Even frogs! I have seen many frogs shoot out there tongue and catch small fish when they dash up to the surface. You see a frogs tongue is shot out based on movement and we have seen many goldfish eaten at an early age. The good news about pond predators is that there are many ways you can protect your goldfish from wildlife and I’m going to show you how.

How To Protect Your Goldfish From Pond Predators? 

Raccoons Are Excellent At Fishing - Protect Your Fish!

Heron Decoy Will Protect Your Pond FishThe first step in protecting your goldfish from predators is to go out to your local hardware store, pet store and often even garden nurseries today who stock pond supplies and equipment and purchase a heron decoy. A heron decoy will stop other herons from dropping by as they are very much territorial. They automatically assume that there is already a heron there so there must not be too many fish left. In turn the heron continues flying on in search of a free water source to fish. I know many people who have had pond predator problems and they have used them and they haven’t had any problems since.

Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler System For Pond PredatorsAnother way to protect your goldfish from pond predators is to buy a scarecrow sprinkler system. These work great! Why you may ask? Is because they have a built in motion sensor so when anything comes even remotely close to your pond a blast of water shoots out scaring off anything near. This is a sure way to defend your goldfish and give them a fighting chance. It’s also a great laugh in the scare you put the pond predator through with a blast of water right at its butt! 🙂 It will make that heron or other animal think twice about coming back 😉

Laguna Pond NettingAnother suggestion pond owners can do is to protect your goldfish pond from predators using a pond netting. Again you should be able to buy pond netting at any local hardware store and also you can buy it online as well. Using pond netting will protect pond fish but it takes away the beauty and look of a pond. I know I hate using pond netting but hey, if it protects your pond fish then you did solve your problem. It also stops leaves from going into the pond and falling to the pond bottom messing up the water. It works, but what you decide to choose is up to you.

I hope these above mentioned ways at learning how to protect your goldfish pond from pond predators has helped. Pond predators are annoying but at least there are things we can do to help protect our pond fish.

Have you ever had pond predators drop by your pond? What did you do to protect your pond fish from being eaten? Lets here your stories on the problem that faces many pond owners – pond predators. How to protect your fish from pond predators? A question most pond owners will have one-time or another.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

Categories
Feeding Fish Garden Ponds Goldfish Goldfish Care

Do Pond Goldfish Need To Be Fed?

By Jamie Boyle

Goldfish in a pond, do you really need to feed them? Well yes and no. When people build a garden pond in their backyard they want to enjoy it, add some pond plants, water lilies and most importantly some fish. The best part about having a water garden feature in your pond is feeding them. Feeding your goldfish is just one of the joys of having a pond. You can relax, observe your fish swimming so gracefully in the water and watch them feed and perhaps even feed them by hand. Kids and adults all enjoy this part of taking care of the pond and fish.

But do you really need to feed goldfish in a pond? Technically no as depending on the size of your pond there is plenty of food in the pond itself. Fancy GoldfishYou see goldfish will pick and feed on just about anything, they will eat the mosquito larvae, water fleas, worms and just about any insect that will come close to your goldfish. Goldfish are basically a scavenger and very similar to the koi in that aspect. On top of all the microscopic animals in the water that your goldfish can eat and consume there are always plants that they will nibble on such as duckweed ( which is very good for fish )and your fish will also eat the algae that is in your pond as well. Any green vegetation such as duckweed or algae they will eat.

One Of The Many Ponds At Country Koi Fish Farm With Goldfish, Sarassa Comets, Koi and Butterfly Koi. It Also Includes Many Different Types of Water Lilies and Yellow Flag Water Iris along With Other Types Of Marginals.

So when people ask themselves do you really need to feed your goldfish in a pond the answer is yes and no. If you want to enjoy your fish come feeding time then go ahead by all means and feed them, other then that your fish will just be fine with all the available things it contains in your pond. So it really depends on you and what kind of enjoyment you want out of your goldfish pond.

One of my brother's pond pictures which is a nice looking waterfall. His pond is filtered with elodea and parrot feather which helps keep his water healthy and clean. Water plants is the best form of filtration a pond can have.In my opinion you should feed them as this is a great way to observe your goldfish come feeding time to see for any signs of injuries or diseases. Plus feeding them is the best part of having a garden pond other then the looks and sounds that a water garden can bring to your backyard. So go ahead feed them and see the beauty that your fish bring to your water garden.

Do you feed your goldfish in your pond? If so, what type of goldfish pond food do you feed your fish?

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

Other Related Posts

Why Are My Goldfish Not Eating?
How Much Fish Food Should I Feed Goldfish?
What To Feed Your Goldfish?

Categories
Uncategorized

Goldfish Pond Opening – Spring Is Here !!!

By Jamie Boyle

Well it’s about time spring is finally here and our goldfish pond is finally beginning to open. I just took this photo April 7Th which was a beautiful warm spring day. It was 16 degrees Celsius outside and the goldfish in our pond was beginning to swim around coming out of hibernation. We started to take some ice out of the pond and you can see some left but not much at all. We also hooked up the pond pump to give some more circulation and that started to melt the rest of the ice fast. You may notice in the photos of the garden ponds it says 01/01/2005 my digital camera reset itself and I wasn’t aware of it. It does that sometimes and I still don’t know why it always goes back to that date. Oh well I’ll figure it out someday but those were just taking this past week.

Goldfish and Koi Swimming Under The Ice In The Pond As Spring ApproachesAm I ever glad spring is here! We had such a long winter this year in New Brunswick Canada. It was a crazy long winter with all kinds of snow. Our goldfish pond stayed open all year using just an air pump to allow bad gases to release into the air. We did however end up losing three goldfish over the winter. Last year we didn’t lose any fish but when you overwinter goldfish, sometimes that may happen. The rest of the goldfish are swimming around fine and we think some goldfish breeding will occur not too long from now. Lets just say they are starting to swim around pretty good and staying very close to one another. There may be some goldfish babies here pretty soon! When this happens I will show you all the eggs and the baby fry as they hatch.

A Hole In Your Pond Is Needed To Allow Toxic Gases To Escape

I also took a quick spin over to my brothers goldfish and koi pond and he still had quite a bit of ice in his. That same day he did hook up his pond pump to start to melt the ice so won’t be long to have his clear either. I’ll show you some photos of some beautiful pictures of his fish once it opens up. He has some nice big koi in his pond, goldfish and sarassa comets. A very nice water garden pond in the summer.

A very long overdue farewell to old man winter, glad spring is here to enjoy our garden pond and fish! Time for some nice weather 🙂

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy