[AquaticLife] Fancy Goldfish
A mini-pond like yours would not be a good place to try and over-winter fish in Ohio. While the fish might survive, it will be very stressful on them and they would be more likely to have many health issues.
Fancy goldfish are already more prone to health issues due to all of the inbreeding that took place to cause the mutations that are now called “Fancy”.
I actually have some fancies and I think they are great fish but if you study the history and how they came about, it’s not something I would probably have supported when it was taking place. I got my first fancies before I knew what took place to create these mutations.
The Chinese and Japanese and I’m sure some Americans are still doing serious amounts of inbreeding to create new genetic defects that they can call “fancy” but all of these things take a toll on the quality of life for the goldfish. It’s why fancy goldfish struggle to live 10-20 years while common goldfish live well over 20 years and the record is over 40 years.
I think fancy goldfish are better off in a more controlled and stable environment but they could do OK in your pond during the summer and you could over-winter them in a kiddie pool in your garage or basement as long as the temp doesn’t get down below the 50’s… and if you can keep it in the 60’s that would be even better for them.
Ooops.. sorry.. went off on a tangent there. Now back to your pond.
Oh well, I see \Steve// answered your post and I agree with what he says.
Your common goldfish (aka feeders) might be able to overwinter but your pond isn’t very deep. It would probably be better if it was 3-4′ deep. Is the pond in ground or above ground?
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