Pond At 50 Degrees

I have a 40 gallon deck pond with 2 goldfish in it, and today it was raining and the water temperature dropped to 50 degrees. This is rare for the water, and I’m not sure how the fish are going to do. Should I add a heater?

 

I have a 40 gallon deck pond with 2 goldfish in it, and today it was raining and the water temperature dropped to 50 degrees. This is rare for the water, and I’m not sure how the fish are going to do. Should I add a heater?

I wouldn't worry too much, my garden pond this winter froze over with just a small gap I kept open to let air in, it was like that for the best part of a week & the three fish in there all survived fine. If it gets too cold Goldfish go into a kind of hibernation so as long as they have air they can survive very cold weather.

 

Ok thank you so much. The pond should warm up, the weather is going to be in the high 70s for the next week.

 

Ok thank you so much. The pond should warm up, the weather is going to be in the high 70s for the next week.

Don't want to freak you out but having the water too hot is worse that it being cold, the hotter the water the less oxygen it can hold, how deep is your pond & does it have shaded areas where the fish can shelter from the sun?

 

The pond is about 2 feet deep. There are a few different shaded areas where they can hide, and part of the surface is covered by a floating plant box

 

Also, I have one more question.

Currently I have 2 feeder goldfish in the pond. Could I add one red capped Oranda? Or would that be overstocked?

 

Also, I have one more question.

Currently I have 2 feeder goldfish in the pond. Could I add one red capped Oranda? Or would that be overstocked?

That would probably a good one for Goldiemom to advise on, I don't really know too much about fancy gold fish, never kept them, I have 5 decent sized commons in a 230 gallon pond & they do just fine but I don't know about an Oranda sorry. Over to you Goldiemom???

 

Some may argue with me but fancies really aren’t pond fish. I keep my fancies inside and my comet, common and shubunkin outside. My pound is 150G and on a covered patio and I have the 3 mentioned above in it. Right after I moved my fish from an inside stable temp tank, it dropped to 48F and my fish did just fine. As far as stocking goes, if you are going to stick with fancies, you can add one more if you want to push it. Fancies are much more delicate than the single tail fish but will grow up to 8”. I do worry about them in the heat. If your temps in the summer don’t get over mid 70’s, they should be fine though. Good luck and enjoy!

 

I just re-read your post and see that it is feeder fish you have and no Oranda yet. Never mix fancy and single tail goldfish. The fancies can’t compete in swimming or getting to the food in time. The single tail will often pick on them also. I’m afraid your pond isn’t large enough for the feeder fish though. They will grow over a foot long. Possibly some minnows are something? I worry about my 150G being big enough for my 3 when full grown. Here’s a pic and I’ve only had the large one 9 months and he’s grown from 2” to about 8”.