Goldfish in Ponds: Care and Feeding

Goldfish are perfect fish to keep in a garden pond. They are undemanding, good to look at and become very tame. They are far easier to keep than koi.

Provide the goldfish with good basic pond conditions and they will flourish and breed.

The following factors play a role in keeping goldfish in a pond.

Water Temperature

Goldfish can withstand big differences in water temperature from water close to freezing right up to about 30 degrees Centigrade. They thrive best in warm water and do not like sudden and significant changes in temperature. They breed in water temperatures as low as about 15 degrees Centigrade.

Oxygen in Pond Water

The amount of dissolved oxygen that can be tolerated by Goldfish is much lower than that for koi for example. This makes them far more hardy and tolerant to non-ideal conditions. However they will still gasp for air at the pond surface if the dissolved oxygen level is too low. A fountain spray is enough to mai9ntain levels of dissolved oxygen.

Pond Filtration

A pond filter (biofilter) is essential in any fish pond. Such a pond filter purifies the pond water into which the goldfish excrete bodily wastes on an ongoing basis. Without a biofilter toxic chemicals build up that can result in goldfish deaths.

This is especially so when the water temperature is high and pH of the water is also high and in green water conditions..

Plants in a Goldfish Pond

The goldfish use plants for shade and protection from predators. They also lay their eggs on the plants and the small goldfish fry hide in the plants to escape being eaten by other fish.

Goldfish will also graze on the plants which assist in removing nitrates and adding oxygen to the pond water.

Testing Pond Water

This is rarely necessary in a goldfish pond especially one with an efficient biofilter.

Feeding Goldfish

Goldfish will feed so long as the water temperature exceeds about 8 degrees Centigrade at which point they will tend to lie motionless on the bottom of the pond.

If your fish are moving around then they can be fed.

Goldfish when small should be fed flaked food and as they grow change to a floating pellet or stick food with a protein content of about 30%. Do not overfeed since this will place unnecessary loads on the filter and contribute to organic build up on the bottom of the pond. Goldfish are able to go long periods without being fed since they survive on natural food to be found in any pond especially a planted one. Feeding multiple times a day with small quantities is preferable to a single large food helping.

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