Hi Guys

I didn't take any chances loosing the fish in the pond over the winter.I set up a bathtub in the heated garage and put the fish in there for the winter.I took the filter from the pond and put it into the tub.The fish have been in there since Oct and are doing really well.I can see how much they have grown and can feed them everyday.
I hope you enjoy the video and let me know what you do with you pond fish in the winter if you can't keep them in the pond.Always looking for ideas.



swampview

They sure are active!
What's their water temperature while in the garage?

Hi Pool Guy

I call it a garage but it is a 30ftx50ft shop.The shop is heated with a wood stove day and night.The tub is on the upper level of the shop and the water temperature is sitting at 70 right now.As the level of the water goes down I just add a pail of cold water everyday.About once a month I clean the filter and do about a 70% water change.It seems to be working.

swampview

That is VERY cool. I like the video idea! I kept mine in the shop last year too but the husband got mad about how much moisture it put into the shop. It is 40 feet by 45 feet with 20 foot ceiling. We had a problem with the moisture causing the shop doors to freeze shut and once the cable snapped and the door got stuck open and that was a disaster. Needless to say me and the fish got kicked out.
The big koi are way too huge to be indoors now anyhow :-( Your tub looks more like a jacuzzi than a bathtub with all that turbulance going on, LOL. I am jealous, and enjoyed having my fish in last year even though it was a gargantuous pain in the a** to pack water out there all the time!

Hi Koikrazy

I haven't had any problems with moisture in the shop or doors freezing.Also I have running water in the shop so I don't have to bring it from the house.I have the tub and 1 20 gal tank with guppies that I breed and 1 20 gal tank for small gold fish and my black moore and a 5 gal tank for the baby guppies.My friend just gave me a 50 gal tank that hasn't been set up yet.I don't know what I'm going to put in that.I can't see me leaving it empty.
I have noticed how big the koi are getting and maybe I will need another bathtub for next winter.

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH FISH OR TANKS

swampview

Ha Ha, that is true! Although it is a pain at cleaning time :-) I just noticed that you are also from Canada! Hhhmmm I wonder why you don't get any moisture in your shop and we did? I also was running the 2 industrial ceiling fans 24/7. You are lucky to have your fish indoors. Do you have Koi? What will you do if your fish get huge like mine??? Mine grow so fast with all the long hours of daylight we get here in the summer months. Now that I have them out of the giant pond, I hope that they slow down their growth a bit. My largest Koi was 5.5lbs when I caught him in July, and he was only 1 year old.....yikes!

ha ha i like the set up might try to do something like that next year, but one of you guys will have to let me stay at your house when the wife comes home from work and kicks me out

Hi KoiKrazy

Good to hear Canada.I'm from Ontario ,where are you?How do you like this winter?Isn't it crazy.
I have 2 koi and they have more than doubled in size since june.I'm not sure if they are male and female because one of my baby fish died and it sure looked like a koi.If there not a couple then I will buy 1 or 2 more koi in the spring.I would really like to get a yellow one.I also have many goldfish large and small.Yesterday I set up my 50 tank and it is ready to put the smaller goldfish in today.More work for me but better for the fish.

Hi fraserm

The set up for the tub isn't that much work and it's not bad for cleaning.All you have to do is find a small area in the corner of your garage where your wife will never see it.

swampview

Cool movie! Where's the popcorn. :)

You have some serious turbulence going on in there. In the movie the tub looks really long. How big (long) is the tub and pump?

The fish must think that they are swimming up stream all the time, is there a place for them to rest or is that needed?

How many fish are in there? I tried to count them but they wouldn't hold still. ;)

Are the white ones koi too?

Can you buy koi in Canada? I thought there was a ban. :blink:

Thanks for inviting us to the movies!

tia

Hi tlc

The tub is just your normal bathtub that's in your house.My husband use to put it on the back deck and I would fill it in the summer mornings and after a long day he would sit in it and have a beer while I was doing the BBQ.(he had it rough)The pump is a small one that I use in the pond in the summer and it's been perfect for the tub.The fish love swimming toward the rushing water and don't seem to need a rest.I am thinking there are at least 25 fish.
2 large koi 6 large goldfish and the rest are babies born in the pond last summer.

This weekend I set up my 50 gal tank and went fishing in the tub.I put 10 of the babies in the tank because they are all getting so big.I may put more in this week.

I have never had a problem buying koi and did not hear of a ban and yes the white ones are koi.









swampview

I am not going to show this pics to my fish. :P Their in 36 degree water. They will think I am cruel for leaving them in there.

Hey swampview are those little tiny fish in the second picture your babies from last summer?
I like your setup too. Is that a real plant (the one with the long green leaves that look like fat blades of grass)?

WW, I thought you had your pond water going through your hot tub and back into the pond. What happened?

tia

Swampview,
Your video is great!! And I loved the pictures too. About your fish swimming towards the rushing water.....My goldsfish try to jump up in the waterfall in the summer in my pond. What do you think that is all about? Let us know what you think, Robyn.
Ellen

Hi

All the plants you see in the tank are fake.I just set it up this weekend so no time to get to the stores and buy real plants.My plan is to have all real plants in that tank later.All except the 2 largest goldfish in the tank were all born in the pond last summer.When I pulled them out of the pond they were only about 1 or 2 inches long.(what a job that was getting them out of a 5000 gal pond with a butterfly net)HA HA.I still have a few more babies in the tub and I might put them in the tank also.I will see how these guys do first.
Does any one else put their pond fish in tubs or tanks for the winter?

I use to put my fish in a big rubbermaid container and I put them in my garage. One year I left the container in my kitchen so it could get sun through the window.

TLC, I think there are tiny fish printed on the backdrop on the tank. Perhaps you thought they were little goldfish? They look like platies.

Ellen, goldfish like to swim upstream sometimes like many fish. Since they are not stream fish, I'm not sure why that is. I guess it just feels good!

Hi tlc

Robyn is right there are small fish on the backdrop.

swampview

Thanks Robyn and swampview.

Boy am I a doe doe. :o I thought those little fish WERE the little fish. Where is that embarrassed icon at.. :rolleyes:

Well I never was the sharpest knife in the drawer! : :o :blink: :lol:

Swampview your fish are much bigger than mine then. I got mine last year and they are maybe an 1 1/2 inches long. If I streached them a little they might make 2 inches. :) I better feed them more this year. :rolleyes:

I brought my butterfly Koi in (butterbut) andput in my tank he was miserable so I put him back outside in the subzro water and he is much happier dont ask me why so except for my aquarium fish the rest are out. I wish I had a way to have them in but no can do i miss them badly }}}}}}}}}}}waiting on spring :angry:

C2

Hi SwampView! I am in Fort St. John, British Columbia. It has been COLD! We have hit -50 and I am so sick of it. Just today we have warmed up to 0. What a beautiful change. I am tired of chipping ice everyday and am ready to see some green grass, but unfortunately I am more than two months away from that still! I have no idea how the fish are doing as I can't see them :-( So you guys don't have a Koi ban there? We have a ban here in B.C. and I can't get them anywhere. My last 3, I picked up 14 hours from my house and brought them home in a bucket! I do however have a yellow one :P His name is Caveman and I hope he is doing okay out there! Ohhhhh I can't wait till Spring to know how they all are! I hope you will share lots of pictures with us this summer. Your place is so nice! Your flowers are gorgeous! I am glad to hear that you are getting excited about the Spring and your pond. It's nice to have you back on board, Elaine

Caveman!!!

What a great name!
Does he have a big forehead or something? :P

Wow, you drove 14 hours to get a fish or did you do other things then? I wanted to adopt a calico kitten that was 3 hours away. My mother (who has a travel phobia) refused to let me drive that far saying I wouldn't be able to make it! I've never driver farther than about an hour away but have been on trips driven by others that were longer. The longest driving trip was by bus to NYC for choir in high school; it was 4 hours I think. I gave up on getting the calico of my dreams and got a little tabby instead closer to home.

I called him Caveman cause he is kind of scary looking and looks like something that would live in an underwater cave! Darn, I will have to look on my discs from last year and see if I have a good picture of him.

I drove the 14 hours to see my Mom before they moved up here, so I was going anyhow. I can easily drive 14 hours straight in one day no prob. I used to be a truck driver and plus I just love to drive.

I hear ya KK! I used to be able to drive all day and most of the night. Crank some tunes, let in some fresh air, some good coffee, and I could roll for a long time.

Now my back get's hurting after a few hours, my ass falls asleep, I have to pee, my eyes get tired....the joys of getting older!! hahaha

Ya I know! I guess that's why old people always talk about the past and not the present or future, LOL. My husband just asked me the last time I did something and I said it was 20 years ago and it stuck me like a lightning bolt that I am going to be 40 this year. It's like how the H*** did I get here..........and why is my mind still 25! So now at 39, I am looking at maybe getting a divorce and having to start dating again and the thought makes me want to go out on the middle of the pond ice and start jumping REALLY HARD!!!! :lol:

40! Just a kid...hardly out of diapers! :D

I'll be 45 this year. Never really payed any attention to age until the last couple of years when the aches and pains seem to be catching up with me. But I still have the brain of a 16 year old (I keep in a jar on the night stand! Thank Steven King for that joke!! haha).

Wholly crap...just realised when I typed that...I'll be 45 this year!!! :angry: :(

LOL

Hi koikrazy

I am from Ontario and this winter has been the worst in many years.I am also tired of shoveling many feet of snow this winter.We also have at least 2 mths before we can even think about the pond and gardens again. I can't wait my favorite thing to do is play around the pond.This summer I need to work on the top of the waterfall and get it covered with plants and maybe build another garden.
We don't have a ban on koi here and I am going to buy a couple more in the spring.I really want a yellow one.Can you see them in the pond easily?
You guys talk about getting old. I know the feeling.I dug that whole pond myself three years ago and built most of the gardens the same summer.There is no way I could do all the now.And when I go for a drive I like to be home before dark.Route3drummer age 45 I wish I was that again.LOL

swampview

There is only one thing worse then getting old.

Geeze KK and R3D you guys are still kids!!
I only WISH I were about to turn 40! You know what they say about 40?

Turning 40 makes you Sporty! And 45 I'm still alive! Ok I know that was lame..



WW, I would assume the only thing worse would either be the CRS (which I have) or a pine box.. :blink: :unsure: :blink: :rolleyes:

tia

CRS? :huh:

I was going to say " not getting old"

Can't Remember Stuff (or that "other" s word ;))

tia

You have a very different way of looking at things WW. :)
It's nice...

So sorry about that tic .I guess we all have our trials. Good thing we have our ponds and gardens for healing and coping.

Whew!

I googled CRS and got so many different answers that I didn't want to venture a guess as to which one ...


... It's not contagious is it? ^_^

PG

I don't remember.

YIKES!! Maybe it is. I must have caught it from Robyn!