If your method of keeping a hole in the ice fails, how quickly
does a hole need to be re-established?

Has anyone lost fish after just a day or two? How about a week or so?

I had a bad experience a few yrs back when we got a heavy snowstorm, burying
my airpump container and whole back yard in 3' of snow. I could still hear
my pump running , so thought it will be OK for a few days until some of the
snow melts back - a week later, I thought I better clear a spot to check my
hole in the pond - the ice was gone on the pond and all that was left was a
snow crust ~2' deep (I had 4" of ice on the pond when the storm hit and I
had been walking on it) - the snow insulation warmed the water and melted
the ice , but the worst part was , even though I could still hear my airpump
running, it broke and was pumping nothing - When I put a shovel in the snow
to dig down to the hole, the snow crust caved in and the water was almost
black, then my 3 large Koi and the 4 largest GF floated to the surface and
they hadn't been dead long
Now I put my airpump container 3' off the ground so I can check it often
and keep it clear of snow. Whenever my airhole ices over, I open it up as
I've found the ice dome that forms in really cold weather keeps getting
thicker if left intact
Just my experiences Gale :~)