Near disaster in pond

My son forgot to reconnect power to the pond after needing the outlet Friday and it froze! I hadn't put the heater in yet (thank heaven) so I laid it on top of the whole mess last night because the leaf net was frozen into the ice. This morning there was a hole growing and by afternoon I could pry up the ice enough to slide the heater under the net. Amazingly, there were fish under the heater when I lifted it! Somehow they had wriggled through the holes in the net to snuggle under the heater. Now of course, they were on top of the net in about two inches of water. I'd no idea where I'd put my pond tools so all I could do was catch them in my hands and slip them under the ice at the edge to get them back in water. I'm sure they've been horribly shocked by all this but when I went out a few minutes ago to check and take a picture, by golly there they were, under the heater again. Tough little dickens! Of course the fountain is frozen solid, at least it won't work so something is wrong. I've unplugged it until everything thaws. If ever! LOL

Katy can you believe this weather? I blame myself! I told people on DG that our weather never got cold enough this close to the sound to freeze the pond over. Shouldn't have said that, I guess. I'm so glad that your fish survived and that you were wise enough to get a heater. It looks like your cat was hopeful! You are probably right that there is water frozen in your water lines, and that's what's keeping the fountain from working. I have kept mine going continuously and that's the only thing that has kept my pond from freezing over. Of course, my pond is much bigger than yours, but I have a solid sheet of ice over the shallow end and almost all the way across the deep end. Where the water spills into the pond, there is a good sized area that is not frozen over. I think my fish are way down in the deep end hiding in the little caves down there. I never see them. The splashes from the waterfall have totally coated the rocks in that area with ice. I'll have to take some photos tomorrow. My DH read that our regular weather is supposed to be back this Tuesday. I don't know what I would rather have: below freezing temperatures with beautiful sunny weather, or our usual 40's and 50's with rain and overcast skies. Sigh.
We went to Ft. Steilacoom park today to run the dogs and Waughop lake there was totally frozen over all the way across. The ducks were all sitting together on top of the ice in the middle of the lake. My son was so excited. He has never seen a lake frozen over before. I haven't seen this since I was a teenager in Massachusetts and used to go skating in the winter on the cranberry bogs. It's unbelievable.

Pixy, I'm glad to hear this isn't normal. The little lake I moved from got thin layers of ice around the edges once or twice a year... thats it! I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures. I hope the warmer weather being forecast will let me see if I can get my pump working again and get the net off the pond. Yuck! That's really a mess. I'll be sure to remove it next year as soon as the leaves finish falling. KittyMoose could walk across the pond after it froze and see the fish through it. I don't think she realized before this that there were fish in the pond! I'll really have to keep an eye on her, Manx are great swimmers. LOL

This it totally ABnormal! I've lived here 20 years and I do not ever remember it getting this cold this early, or staying cold for this long.
You might want to reconsider removing that net. I found that I had to put one on my pond after all the plants died back for the year. There was not enough cover and the pond attracted a kingfisher. I had no birds like that during the summer. Had I left the pond uncovered, I would likely be fishless. I'll try to remember to photograph tomorrow before everything melts.

KatyMac, did you have another pump to put under the ice to supply oxygen? If not will they survive like that?

Back to normal weather - high 40s and rain. The pond ice has melted, but I got a photo of the waterfall ice before it totally went away.

Too bad I didn't get this the day before. This rock looked like it was made of ice.

Oh pixy, it looks gorgeous! Mine's all thawed and #2 son is coming for Christmas so I'll ask him to help me with the leaf net. (No power tools this time!)

frank, thanks for your concern! I didn't even think about the oxygen, I was just afraid the whole thing would be frozen solid! But, the fish made it through all the brou-ha-ha just fine, in better than I did. LOL

Watch out for those Kingfishers! They're crafty little guys.

Sounds like you had your hands full! Brrr! We have a heater in our small pond also..we have had some cold nights here in southern AZ, infact it got down to 23 for a few nights the first of the month!
I'm about sick of my doggies tracking in dry grass......just came inside and getting ready for Xmas.
Have a Merry Christmas and stay warm
Joni

I just googled kingfisher and found this. http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=267
Is this what you have? I've never seen one around here, are they pretty common?

Joni, it got down to 23 in Arizona? My neighbor is a snowbird and here I thought he was all warm and toasty down there. LOL I'll have to razz him when he gets home.

Yep, that's the little dude! They really are the coolest birds, but I'm sure I don't want them fishing in my pond. I'm surprised you haven't seen one, but you probably wouldn't unless you live on the water. We see them all the time down at the marina. They have a distinctive call. Go to http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?curGroupID=1&allSpecies=&searchText=kingfisher&GroupID=&cmdSubmit.x=12&cmdSubmit.y=13
and you will see a photo of the Belted Kingfisher and a 'button' you can push to listen to his call. This is a great site!
I do not live on the water, but there are several lakes in the area (hence the name Lakewood). I have never seen a kingfisher in my yard before and it is uncanny how he found my pond. He was there on one day, I put in the next right away, and I've never seen him again. I don't think he got any fish. I think I caught him at it just in time. But he must have tried because all my fish were hiding, and they've haven't done that since they were brand new. With a pond as small as yours, your fish would be 'sitting ducks' for a kingfisher, not to mention the blue herons.

By the way - this weather we are having now? This is normal. Not warm, not cold, just rainy and a bit dreary.

Fascinating bird Pixy, almost wish I would see one. I live less than a block from a fresh water lake (Fawn Lake) and I'd guess maybe a mile or so from the sound. I'll have to figure a way to cover the pond with the net without it looking too tacky. Is the bird just a winter phenomonem? BTW, most all you posts are around midnight. Insomnia?

Yes ponds can freeze over and yes fish will survive as long as the pond has a vent where gases from fish waste can escape. I know of two people in this valley who had their small ponds freeze over and the fish would "thaw" out in the spring. Goldfish and their cousins are tough little buggers. I've a pond heater in my pond and during the cold days here in East Wenatchee the fish will gather around the heater during mid day hours but for the most part will hide in the deepest part of the water, doing their survival thing. My pond and its waterfall and stream have'nt froze over yet but there are great ice formations to see. Good luck with the pond and I'm sure the fish will be seeing you in the spring, all of them. Happy Holidays from east of the Cascades.

frogbutterfly, that looks so pretty. I hope to get a little waterfall in this year. I've been studying methods on the hypertufa forum. Some ideas so far but no executable plan.

No, lol, not insomnia, just a night owl and forget what time it is. Frogbutterfly, that is a cool photo!
The belted kingfisher is a year round resident in western Washington and you'll certainly see one some day if you are on the sound. They like to perch on top of pilings, sort of like little pelicans. Herons and kingfishers frequent the same areas. I once saw one just hovering above the water, flapping his wings backwards against the wind for the longest time. Then he plunged straight down and brought up a fish. It was quite the site to see!

I bought a solar fountain off Ebay, and it's usually enough to keep a flow (with no electricity hooked up) across the surface, to keep one spot from freezing over. It's a small portable 6 1/2 inch panel and pump with a fountain tube, just enough to keep the water surface moving, but not enough to disrupt hibernating fish. And because it's portable, I can relocate it as often as I need to.
MerryMary

Hi MerryMay, I bought one of those too, but between the heavy cloud cover and being in partial shade it never really worked. I have an small electric pump and a heater, neither of which work well when disconnected! LOL

Katy you goober, lol......

Step 1) - Plug it in...

:)
MerryMary

Ah well, you young whipper-snappers' times will come. LOL I make lists then I lose the lists. ROFLMBO

Goodness....why do you think I use solar? It does things when I don't remember to!
:)
MerryMary

MMary,

I like that idea of the solar pump. I am putting my new pond in Monday and have no plans of hooking power up to it. I figured on a stillwater but a little movement with one of those solar things would be nice.

Could you dmail me the specs on it? I'll have to look around to find one. We have sun most of the time so solar is not a problem.

By the way, will you go to Corky's Lakeland round up next month?

Molly
:^)))

Molly...Let me know the details of Corkys Round-up, and I'll see if I can make it. If so, I may bring ChiaLea with me...
I have DMailed you some info concerning the solar pumps.
:)
MerryMary