Overwintering a 50 gallon pond in zone 7b

SeaRobin wrote So, you're saying if I can just keep the water from freezing
over, it
won't matter how cold the water will get, the fish should survive?

I live in a zone 7 area and I use an air pump and bubbler.
Keeping a hole open in the ice is what you want to do in the winter. Our ponds
are pretty fish heavy compared to Mother Nature's ponds. The hole in the ice
allows gasses from decomposing matter to exit the pond.
The fish will do fine at low water temperatures. Their metabolism slows way
down and they just kind of hang out. They don't need to be fed until the water
temp. reaches about 55 degrees and is going to stay there sometime in the
spring.
I bet springtime in Alabama is something to see!


kathy :-)
3000 gallon pond
800 gallon frog bog
home of the watergardening labradors
zone 7 SE WA state

Ka30P wrote:
SeaRobin wrote So, you're saying if I can just keep the water from freezing
over, it
won't matter how cold the water will get, the fish should survive?

I live in a zone 7 area and I use an air pump and bubbler.
Keeping a hole open in the ice is what you want to do in the winter. Our ponds
are pretty fish heavy compared to Mother Nature's ponds. The hole in the ice
allows gasses from decomposing matter to exit the pond.
The fish will do fine at low water temperatures. Their metabolism slows way
down and they just kind of hang out. They don't need to be fed until the water
temp. reaches about 55 degrees and is going to stay there sometime in the
spring.

It seems kind of remarkable they can go that long without eating.

I bet springtime in Alabama is something to see!

It's all new to me. I'm from the Great Lakes area originally. Here, I
am planting pansy beds this weekend to replace the begonias that just
got hit with the first cold front. We even get a bit of sunshine in the
winter, and it often warms up to 50 at midday. Quite different from
"lake effect snow" and endless gray skies...We do pay a price for all
this in the summers, however. I've been attacked by red ants twice -
how can anything that little bite that bad? Summer was endless and as
humid as the Belizean jungles. You're right though, we do have a very
lovely spring!



kathy :-)
3000 gallon pond
800 gallon frog bog
home of the watergardening labradors
zone 7 SE WA state