Native fish in a backyard pond over winter?

[gutted]

Ill start by saying I know little to nothing about natives but am curious if I could keep them in a 500 gallon pond outside over winter. The pond is only 24" deep and I'm in zone 6. I was thinking of keeping blue gills, sunfish or small mouth bass.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Chub_by]

Not possible... I'm in zone 7a (normally) and a 24" deep pond does not suffice here. You could take them inside for the winter, though.

 

[Mpronsky11]

Im in the same situation here. Gonna start a pond build pretty soon but want to add natives rather than your typical koy/goldfish pond. Im thinking im gonna dig out a pretty deep section with some sort of heating set up for the winter

Sent from my SCH-I535 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[gutted]

Guess I need to think of a new idea. I cant bring them inside, i dont have the extra tank space.

 

[crappiekeeper]

You could just get a de-icer. They aren't too expensive.

 

[Chub_by]

You can cover the pond.. Cheaper and better than a de-icer.

 

[warmouth]

They also have little pond heaters, my friends keeps his 800gallon pond at about 50-60 degrees when the outside temp was in the low 20s.

 

[gutted]

Would they be able to withstand the temps in 24" pond though? My plans were to add an airstone to keep a small hole open when it freezes over.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[warmouth]

Would they be able to withstand the temps in 24" pond though? My plans were to add an airstone to keep a small hole open when it freezes over.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

it might freeze completely solid in a 24inch deep pond....in the ponds section a lot of the guys recommend having one area that is 4ft deep for overwintering in cold climates, so on a 2ft deep I would recommend a heater to keep your pond from freezing solid.

 

[alireza]

Keeping the water moving and the sides and top insulated will go a long way.