"islaygardener" wrote


Hi there. I'm a new member and I think this forum is going to be
invaluable so lovely to meet you all.

I live on Islay in Scotland so the gardening here can be quite
challenging due to salt laden air and high winds.

My question today is about my half barrel pond.

I kept 2 lovely goldfish in it for 3 years until the thaw after the very
cold spell at Christmas, when they both died.This also happened to my
friends parents fish (old bathtub pond ) and friends sisters fish (
another half barrel ) - all died after the thaw.We all had floats to
keep a hole in the ice open but they failed - it was just too cold to
prevent total freezing.

Whilst at the Glasgow branch of Dobbies last weekend , I had a chat with
the fish salesman and he said without doubt in order to keep fish
healthy in our present climate, I need an electric filter / oxygenator
and pond heater. Goodness ! He reckoned the levels of ammonia built up
in the pond whilst it was frozen as the toxic gas had nowhere to escape
to and thats what killed my poor fish.

Anyone out there with advice / experience on this half barrel fish pond
malarkey ? I really miss my fish but need to know how to care for any
future ones properly.

Also would my pond be big enough to keep 2 metallic or ghost koi in ? I
can't make a bigger pond as I'm not strong enough to dig one out .

Thank you for your help. Susan


The salesperson may well be right but do remember they are trying to sell
stuff for a living. Two small goldfish in a good sized half barrel should
not make too much detritus to rot under an ice layer especially as any rot
is also slowed by the cold. More likely the fish had food in their guts when
the cold struck, being cold blooded they stopped digesting it and it
fermented inside them. It's why it's very important to stop feeding fish
when the water temperature goes below 50°F or 10°C.
Next time during the autumn try using a hose to siphon off any muck on the
bottom so the barrel is much cleaner before the winter sets in. A clay
flower pot on it's side on the bottom also gives them somewhere to hide and
feel safe.

There is no way you should contemplate putting carp in your barrel, Koi can
get to 3ft long in perfect conditions and 2ft almost anywhere so stick to
Goldfish (and I've seen one of those over 2lbs in weight!!).

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK