Freezing Fish
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Freezing Fish

by Janet
(Waterbury,ct)

What happens to a fish if the pond freezes solid? Does the fish thaw out and start swimming when the pond thaws?


Doug says most of the time when the pond freezes solid - the fish die. They'll take really, really cold but when the oxygen disappears, so do they.

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Freezing Fish

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frozen fish
by: LiLyn

Some fish (carp) will survive a day or two of freezing. But, use a pond pump to move the water around during the winter months and use a heater disc so there is an opening on the pond surface.

DO NOT pound on the ice, it will kill the fish. You want an opening to let the gases escape and keep a healthy pond. Do not feed the fish in the winter. They can't digest the food and it will rot in their bodies. Start feeding again when water temperature is above 50 degrees F. and the fish are moving around.

LiLyn
you should see this
by: sienna

my mom once froze 10 fish for a science project, and some lived. (the fish were still alive when she put them in.) she put them in a medium sized plastic bowl, and left them in the freezer for 2-3 hours. then she thawed them out and some were still alive!
Pond pump in winter for fish
by: Donna

We didn't take the pump out of our pond last year like we always did before and it circulated the water all winter even though the pond froze over at times. The fish were alive and well in the Spring! We left the pump in again and can hear the water running under the snow. WHo says pumps have to be taken out!

Doug say - not him! I've written about doing this quite often (check out http://www.water-gardens-information.com for more water garden tips)
So sorry
by: Janet

Sounds like experience talking there. My sister is devastated that she lost ALL her goldfish and koi with the extreme (for us) weather over the holidays.

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