The weather has finally warmed up a little and allowed me back in the garden for a brief stroll. The first thing I wanted to check was my little fish pond to see if I had had any fish that survived. I really did not think there would be because it had been completely covered by ice that was so thick I could walk on it for about 2 months straight . I do not know how thick it has to be but the pond itself is only 18" to 20" inches deep. I cracked the ice and there were goldfish moving! It would not have been really expensive to replace them as I buy "feeders" from the bait shop but I am really happy some of the little guys survived.
I have goldfish!
tetleytuna,
A better way to open up the ice is to put a large pot or kettle with boiling water on top of the ice. The ice will melt rapidly and create a hole.
I've heard many times that cracking ice can harm the fishes because the sound of it inside the water is many times multiplied.
That is a great suggestion and I will do that the next time. Thank you! It would be a shame for them to survive through something like that only to have me stress them out in the end....
I've heard that about cracking the ice, too. Congratulations on your fishy survival!
Good going tetleytuna! You must have had a clean pond and stopped feeding at just the right time. What kills fish in a still pond under a total ice cover are the unescaped gasses from decomposing debris and fish wastes. Ditto on the ice breaking - concusssive sound wave.