Hello,

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years. This
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have water
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring? I googled both and
it sounds like they are not very winter hardy in our area. Has anyone ever
stored their plants inside in an aquarium or barrel and had success with
this?

Also, I have about 20, what I believe to be baby goldfish. They are about 2
inches in length. This spring I installed a new "upper" pond to my original
(they are not connected) and am afraid they won't survive the winter. I
never had fish even in this pond, just plants so the babies or eggs must
have been in the plants I purchased. I have one floating heater that I use
in the main pond every winter, but am afraid if I put the babies in the main
pond, they will become a meal for my bigger goldfish. The largest of which
is about 6 inches long. I am also afraid of over-crowding. The original
pond is only about 150 gallons and already houses about 11 large goldfish.
Should I bring the babies in for the winter?

I also must add I just purchased ANOTHER pond as I discovered I don't like
the raised look and am taking that one down to opt for the new one. This
one is 165 gallons. Should I buy another heater and leave the babies in
this one? (My husband and I still have to dig and install :)

Thanks for any help!

Lisa

On Sat, 8 Oct 2005 09:43:29 -0500, "Lisa" wrote:

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years. This
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have water
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring? I googled both and
it sounds like they are not very winter hardy in our area. Has anyone ever
stored their plants inside in an aquarium or barrel and had success with
this?

Also, I have about 20, what I believe to be baby goldfish. They are about 2
inches in length. This spring I installed a new "upper" pond to my original
(they are not connected) and am afraid they won't survive the winter. I
never had fish even in this pond, just plants so the babies or eggs must
have been in the plants I purchased. I have one floating heater that I use
in the main pond every winter, but am afraid if I put the babies in the main
pond, they will become a meal for my bigger goldfish. The largest of which
is about 6 inches long. I am also afraid of over-crowding. The original
pond is only about 150 gallons and already houses about 11 large goldfish.
Should I bring the babies in for the winter?

I also must add I just purchased ANOTHER pond as I discovered I don't like
the raised look and am taking that one down to opt for the new one. This
one is 165 gallons. Should I buy another heater and leave the babies in
this one? (My husband and I still have to dig and install :)

Hi Lisa,

I see several options... If you plan to put the new pond in real soon, I'd
transfer everything over to it, including some to all of the water from the
old pond and get the heater. Or, if the plan was to wait till spring, you
could move (perhaps) the raised pond to the garage or house (assuming this
is possible). Or you could get a 30-40 gallon tote, or muck bucket some
call them. Install a bucket filter with a small pump and keep the babies in
that inside, again use water from the pond to fill. Cheaper than purchasing
an aquarium, unless you already have a large one.

Now if you already have an aquarium running, you might want to run the
babies through Solo's salt dip treatment, before putting them inside. Her
site is: http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html Click on Care of
Goldfish.

One thing I recommend when not transferring fish with their water is not
only get the temp the same, but check the pH also and adjust as needed.
~ jan

"Lisa" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years.
This is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have
water hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the
thought of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to
keep these plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring? I
googled both and it sounds like they are not very winter hardy in our
area. Has anyone ever stored their plants inside in an aquarium or barrel
and had success with this?

## I find the water hyacinth very hard to keep alive over the winter
indoors. I have a large sunroom. They usually rot. I do fertilize them.
This winter I'm trying them with a filter to keep the water moving in their
small tub. The exposure is due south so they get plenty of sun. The
parrots feather lives over the winter in the ponds here. I'm in TN (zone
6). I don't bother to bring it in.

Also, I have about 20, what I believe to be baby goldfish. They are about
2 inches in length. This spring I installed a new "upper" pond to my
original (they are not connected) and am afraid they won't survive the
winter. I never had fish even in this pond, just plants so the babies or
eggs must have been in the plants I purchased. I have one floating
heater that I use in the main pond every winter, but am afraid if I put
the babies in the main pond, they will become a meal for my bigger
goldfish. The largest of which is about 6 inches long.

## GF are not bad about eating baby fish unless they're real small. A 2"
fish would be too large for them to swallow anyway. Young GF and koi sail
right through the winter if there's a hole in the ice for gas exchange.

I am also afraid of over-crowding. The original
pond is only about 150 gallons and already houses about 11 large goldfish.
Should I bring the babies in for the winter?

## No. You need to sell them or give them away. You already have enough in
your little pond. :-)

I also must add I just purchased ANOTHER pond as I discovered I don't like
the raised look and am taking that one down to opt for the new one. This
one is 165 gallons. Should I buy another heater and leave the babies in
this one? (My husband and I still have to dig and install :)

## As long as it doesn't feeze solid and there's a hole in the ice they
should do fine.

--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Bottom posted.


"Lisa" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years.
This
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have
water
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring? I googled both and
it sounds like they are not very winter hardy in our area. Has anyone
ever
stored their plants inside in an aquarium or barrel and had success with
this?

Also, I have about 20, what I believe to be baby goldfish. They are about
2
inches in length. This spring I installed a new "upper" pond to my
original
(they are not connected) and am afraid they won't survive the winter. I
never had fish even in this pond, just plants so the babies or eggs must
have been in the plants I purchased. I have one floating heater that I
use
in the main pond every winter, but am afraid if I put the babies in the
main
pond, they will become a meal for my bigger goldfish. The largest of
which
is about 6 inches long. I am also afraid of over-crowding. The original
pond is only about 150 gallons and already houses about 11 large goldfish.
Should I bring the babies in for the winter?

I also must add I just purchased ANOTHER pond as I discovered I don't like
the raised look and am taking that one down to opt for the new one. This
one is 165 gallons. Should I buy another heater and leave the babies in
this one? (My husband and I still have to dig and install :)

Thanks for any help!

Lisa



One idea (though not a pretty one) is to put kiddie pools in your house with
the fish in it for the winter. Maybe in the living room or a spare bedroom.
Just an idea, again - not pretty, but it should work. Good luck and later!

Parrots feather, water lettuce and water hyacinth are frost tender
tropical plants, they make no bulb, corm or rhisome that is capable of
Wintering in freezing conditions. When the temps are freezing, they are
killed. In a sheltered position, some submerged parts that are below
freezing might survive.

In areas where brief freezes are likely, the bulk of the foliage will
spoil and leave quite a mess in a pond, creating something of a
pollution problem. It can be quite a chore to remove surplus plants
late Summer... At least they shred fairly easy and water hyacinth is
fairly popular to feed to cows or goats...

Water lettuce is capable of wintering indoors in a well lit window in
dish of fertile water, water hyacinth can cope with brief periods of
cold but really needs steady high temps over 70=B0f and quite strong
light to keep it perky. In poorer conditions it can become leggy, prone
to fungus, generally fizzle out.

All rather bothersome to Winter indoors, compared to planting hardy
aquatic perennials, or simply ordering some fresh ones in Spring on
ebay... compare the bother of setting up a plant tray for tropicals
indoors with a parcel of plants for $10 or so on ebay next Spring...

Quite a few floating plants keep quite easy over Winter in a frost free
dish of water.... Duckweed, Frogbit, Azolla, Salvinia and water lettuce
spring to mind.

Water Hyacinth can be a bit picky about growing indoors but it can be
done

Next Spring, when your late frosts ease up, a colony kept indoors can
start trickling outdoors. It's quite a perk through the glum months of
winter, to have a few aquatics ticking over, indoors

One problem with aquariums is things can get muddled up, some plants
may thrive at the expense of others, fish or snails might turn upon
fragile new growth... Personally I'd float little isolation trays
within a community tank, to keep an eye on vulnerable small stuff and
to help keep them identified and sorted, these can be located close to
lights to create 'hot spots' to push the favourites

Think about what happens if duckweed or water lettuce starts romping
and smothering littl'uns, you may find all your tintsy wintsy tropical
waterlilies kept indoors are smothered and dwindling, and difficult to
find... then there is all that fiddling effort to try to thin out
rampant stuff all tangled up with the delicate waterlilies, its very
surprising how delicate tropicals overwinter and how infuriating it can
be winkling out bazillions of 'nuisance' plants that trample among
them...

Over and over, we get to repeat the same mistakes, every year, or
better still get it right 'first time'. Some problems you come up
against time, and time again, then one day you get an idea to improve
things drastically... like floating l'il trop waterlilies in their own
tray in a hot spot... Like, never bring duckweed indoors... Like,
isolate water lettuce in its own tray... Like you have reminded me to
clear out the indoor trays of duckweed well before the first frosts,
not after... Newby questions remind me of a lot of things I forgot,
many Winters ago, lol

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html
-----------------------------oo----------------------------------

Lisa wrote:

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years. T=
his
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have wat=
er
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring?
Lisa

Thanks for all of the suggestions and help! My first inclination is to
"start digging"! I am anxious to get the new pond in and maybe just
transfer the water from the baby fish pond to the new pond and try to let
the little guys rough it outdoors. In my years of ponding, I have never
brought fish in over the winter and I'm not sure I want to start now. I've
never been much for indoor aquatics.

As far as the plants...I may try to winter some in the garage..we will see.

Thanks again!

Lisa

wrote in message
oups.com...
Parrots feather, water lettuce and water hyacinth are frost tender
tropical plants, they make no bulb, corm or rhisome that is capable of
Wintering in freezing conditions. When the temps are freezing, they are
killed. In a sheltered position, some submerged parts that are below
freezing might survive.

In areas where brief freezes are likely, the bulk of the foliage will
spoil and leave quite a mess in a pond, creating something of a
pollution problem. It can be quite a chore to remove surplus plants
late Summer... At least they shred fairly easy and water hyacinth is
fairly popular to feed to cows or goats...

Water lettuce is capable of wintering indoors in a well lit window in
dish of fertile water, water hyacinth can cope with brief periods of
cold but really needs steady high temps over 70°f and quite strong
light to keep it perky. In poorer conditions it can become leggy, prone
to fungus, generally fizzle out.

All rather bothersome to Winter indoors, compared to planting hardy
aquatic perennials, or simply ordering some fresh ones in Spring on
ebay... compare the bother of setting up a plant tray for tropicals
indoors with a parcel of plants for $10 or so on ebay next Spring...

Quite a few floating plants keep quite easy over Winter in a frost free
dish of water.... Duckweed, Frogbit, Azolla, Salvinia and water lettuce
spring to mind.

Water Hyacinth can be a bit picky about growing indoors but it can be
done

Next Spring, when your late frosts ease up, a colony kept indoors can
start trickling outdoors. It's quite a perk through the glum months of
winter, to have a few aquatics ticking over, indoors

One problem with aquariums is things can get muddled up, some plants
may thrive at the expense of others, fish or snails might turn upon
fragile new growth... Personally I'd float little isolation trays
within a community tank, to keep an eye on vulnerable small stuff and
to help keep them identified and sorted, these can be located close to
lights to create 'hot spots' to push the favourites

Think about what happens if duckweed or water lettuce starts romping
and smothering littl'uns, you may find all your tintsy wintsy tropical
waterlilies kept indoors are smothered and dwindling, and difficult to
find... then there is all that fiddling effort to try to thin out
rampant stuff all tangled up with the delicate waterlilies, its very
surprising how delicate tropicals overwinter and how infuriating it can
be winkling out bazillions of 'nuisance' plants that trample among
them...

Over and over, we get to repeat the same mistakes, every year, or
better still get it right 'first time'. Some problems you come up
against time, and time again, then one day you get an idea to improve
things drastically... like floating l'il trop waterlilies in their own
tray in a hot spot... Like, never bring duckweed indoors... Like,
isolate water lettuce in its own tray... Like you have reminded me to
clear out the indoor trays of duckweed well before the first frosts,
not after... Newby questions remind me of a lot of things I forgot,
many Winters ago, lol

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html
-----------------------------oo----------------------------------

Lisa wrote:

I live in Northern Indiana and have had a pond here for several years.
This
is the first year that my water plants have been so prolific. I have
water
hyacinths and parrotfeather that are gorgeous and I can't bear the thought
of loosing them over the winter. Is there anything I can do to keep these
plants to re-introduce them to the pond in the spring?
Lisa

wrote in message
oups.com...
Parrots feather, water lettuce and water hyacinth are frost tender
tropical plants, they make no bulb, corm or rhisome that is capable of
Wintering in freezing conditions. When the temps are freezing, they are
killed. In a sheltered position, some submerged parts that are below
freezing might survive.

## When it starts to freeze at night the parrots feather drops below the
surface. It comes back up above the surface in the spring here in zone 6.

In areas where brief freezes are likely, the bulk of the foliage will
spoil and leave quite a mess in a pond, creating something of a
pollution problem. It can be quite a chore to remove surplus plants
late Summer... At least they shred fairly easy and water hyacinth is
fairly popular to feed to cows or goats...

## I net them out after the first good frost and dump them on the compost
pile.

Water lettuce is capable of wintering indoors in a well lit window in
dish of fertile water, water hyacinth can cope with brief periods of
cold but really needs steady high temps over 70°f and quite strong
light to keep it perky. In poorer conditions it can become leggy, prone
to fungus, generally fizzle out.

## I'm going to try to filter their water to prevent fungus and rot this
winter. And I'm going to wash and spray them to remove any mites/aphid
pests. The window they'll be in faces south.

All rather bothersome to Winter indoors, compared to planting hardy
aquatic perennials, or simply ordering some fresh ones in Spring on
ebay... compare the bother of setting up a plant tray for tropicals
indoors with a parcel of plants for $10 or so on ebay next Spring...

## But you don't know what parasites or diseases they may bring in. That's
chancy.
--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o