are they safe?

Hello guys! Are goldfish safe in a garden pond?

I'm planning to put goldfish in my garden pond.

Reply to
habitat
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Do you have raccoons, or similar creatures? Be sure the pond is deep.

Reply to
Billy

I guess I killed Banter. Biggest problem I can think of is chlorinated water.

Reply to
Bill who putters

Raccoons will eat them. Also some birds will, too, depending on the size of the pond.

gloria P

Reply to
gloria.p

In a pond?

Reply to
Billy

It depends. If the water is polluted, if it is too hot, or predatory birds or animals can get them, or there is not enough food then no. Small shallow ponds have the greatest risk.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

Runoff from lawn chemicals (fertilizer, weed killer) is also a danger.

gloria p

Reply to
gloria.p

I have goldfish in my pond. I also have ruby reds. Both are good for mosquito control. The fish breed, but I add a few dozen fresh ones each year to help the gene pool. Some eventually turn a brown color which are better at camouflage.

Reply to
Phisherman

Sure if you have city water.

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I have well water no chlorine no chemicasl no filter just an air stone and frequent water removal. Pond is over 35 years old.

Reply to
Bill who putters

snakes will also go after and catch your goldfish. It's the reason my mother no longer has a small garden pond. It wasn't deep enough so the fish had no escape or a place to hide. Not a pretty sight seeing a big ole bull snake swimming in your pond and then crawls out with a goldfish.

Donna in WA

Reply to
dodge 57

I don't think that raccoons are a real problem in the UK unless someone has them as pets. A friend with a large koi pond in Hastings had her major problem with a very persistent heron which would hoover up fish at an amazing rate. "Invisible" netting will pretty much take care of that problem but it makes maintenance a real PITA.

Reply to
John McGaw

You might buy a copy of Koi Ponds & Gardens, a long-standing UK magazine. You can easily apply what they say about koi to gold fish since they are all just glorified carp when you get right down to it. You should be able to find it a your local news agent or perhaps you can check at

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It used to cost £3.25 but it may have (and probably has) gone up since I last looked at it.

Reply to
John McGaw

When I think pond, I'm thinking a hole in the ground, or are we talkin' a gentrified, plug-in kind of a deal? Even with city water, if the addition is small enough, though pr'aps continuous, I don't see a problem. The above site does have a conflict of interest in giving information, and trying to make a profit at the same time. Kinda like Northrup-Grumann, and Lockheed Martin opining about national security.

Reply to
Billy

Many ways to make a pond I chose poured concrete. Some go with a plastic liner. Some info from the 60's said lining your hole with organic matter would form a seal. This Large Scale BTW. This was a Russian technique. My suggestion to future son in law with city water and liner. Purchase cheap fish and wait a year. Plants like water hyacinth add O2 and food but the purity aka dead water in my perspective takes time to mellow or find its own center. With acid rain it gets more complicated too.

That site I posted wants to sell chemicals because of a chemical problem. Round and round it goes etc.

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Ponds and water reflection noise movement add or make an environment that attracts life and beauty. Worth the work.

Reply to
Bill who putters

My pond is shallow, less than 2 feet deep. A cow on the loose took a drink and swallowed the two largest goldfish. Luckily the raccoon have left it alone. Just last night however I left 2 almost full fish food containers outside. Of course they were empty this morning.

Reply to
Tony

I left a container of concentrated fish fertilizer outside last year and it was taken. This spring I found the container in the woods seems someone ate or drank it.

Unbeliveable.

Reply to
Bill who putters

For a pond ten feet in diameter: Less than 1 foot, and the fish would be gone in a night. At one foot to 2 feet, small fish may survive. Two to three feet, you'll lose the occasional large fish. Three feet and deeper, your fish should be safe.

Lilies would help give cover

Reply to
Billy

Check out your neighbours, smell their breath.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

Tony said

Wow, how big are your racoons? They can take-on a cow?

;-)

Reply to
DirtBag

"The Cow" is what he calls his wife. LOL

Reply to
brooklyn1

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