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    Thread: Wintering fancies

    1. #1
      My2butterflies is offline Senior Member
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      Wintering fancies

      I have two 6-8"ish ryukins. I was planing on bringing them in for the winter, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Is it safe to keep them outside?
      I just worry because as a kid my mom had my ryukin in a bucket outside over night in the fall and my poor girls top fin got frozen in the ice. She recovered fine, but that was only during the one night.

      So I'm curious, how do you all winter your fancies that are in ponds?

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    2. #2
      gray cat's Avatar
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      I have kept ryukins for many years. I keep them inside year round and have never put them in my pond of Shubunkins & Sarasa's.
      I am in NC zone 7b and I am afraid that will be to cold for them.
      I cover my pond with 6 mil plastic and the water has never gone below 50* even at the coldest part of our winter.

      I found this info on Ryukins and ponds.

      " Goldfish are a cold water fish and will do best at temperatures between 65 - 72° F (18°- 22° C). The Ryukin Goldfish are one of the hardiest varieties of goldfish and can tolerate temperatures a few degrees above freezing, as long as the cooling drops only a few degrees a day. A quick temperature drop can kill them, so if you live in a very cold climate a heater is advisable."

      Even covered, when we get a very cold night, my pond water will drop more than just a few degrees. Just for this reason alone, I keep mine inside.
      Nancy



      Koiphen 2013 Koi Person of the Year!

    3. #3
      My2butterflies is offline Senior Member
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      Thank you for that Nancy. Temp drops isn't something I even considered as a concern.

    4. #4
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      I am still debating on bringing my Ryukins back into the garage this winter. They were so small last year that I was afraid it would
      be too much for them. We did have a fairly mild winter though. They stayed in the garage until late April (if I remember correctly).
      Mine are also 6-8". A friend of mine kept her's outside and they hardly grew at all. Only a couple inches.
      Mine are in a 300 gal Rubbermaid tub, but if I bring them into the garage again it is only 100
      Not sure what I am going to do.


      Pam

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      Clarksville, Tn




    5. #5
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      I had fancies incljding ryukins. But I kept my pond heated as soon as the water temp began to drop. You can find several from Drs Foster and Smith. I think the one I got was around $70. Do not leave your fish out there unless you have a heater.

    6. #6
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      I kept mine in the basement the past two years. But my koi are staying out and I've been debating on these guys staying out too.
      @DarleneD yep! I already have my heater and bubbler, just wait till it's time to put them out. The pond will be covered too.

      Does it really get cold enough down in fl to need a pond heater?

    7. #7
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      Quote Originally Posted by My2butterflies View Post
      I kept mine in the basement the past two years. But my koi are staying out and I've been debating on these guys staying out too.
      @DarleneD yep! I already have my heater and bubbler, just wait till it's time to put them out. The pond will be covered too.

      Does it really get cold enough down in fl to need a pond heater?
      Can you tell me what kind/type of heater you got for outside? I had an aquarium heater in the garage tub, but I know it says not to use outside.
      Just curious. A friend is coming today to take a couple of my Ryukins. So I will have 6, but still a lot for a 100 gal Rubbermaid.


      Pam

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    8. #8
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      Quote Originally Posted by totallyvictorian View Post
      Can you tell me what kind/type of heater you got for outside? I had an aquarium heater in the garage tub, but I know it says not to use outside.
      Just curious. A friend is coming today to take a couple of my Ryukins. So I will have 6, but still a lot for a 100 gal Rubbermaid.
      Sure, I took a picture of the box. The heater takes up the whole box so it kinda gives you an idea on size too.
      Name:  IMG_1622.jpg
Views: 363
Size:  138.4 KB

      If I have to bring mine in they will be going into either my 70gl with my baby 2" black moor or a 125gl tub in the basement. Not really a place I want to stick them, but I'd rather that then lose them over the winter:/

    9. #9
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      Thanks so much. I had 11 babies last year..all small average about 2" they did very well in the 100 gal Rubbermaid tub. I moved them to the 300 gal in the
      Spring and then gave away some. I loved having them in the garage. I got my "fishie fix" all winter But, my furnace guy said I had mold growing in my
      unit from having the fish in there So I bought a dehumidifier just incase I have to bring them in.
      Appreciate the pic of the heater. I will check it out.


      Pam

      Montgomery County Water Garden Society
      Clarksville, Tn




    10. #10
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      I don't have a pond or goldfish any more so I can't tell you the name of the heater. However it was NOT an aquarium heater. It was on made specificlly for ponds. Yes it gets cold enough in Tampa FL for a heater.

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    11. #11
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      I'm in Atlanta and my small Ryukins did just fine in the winter outside. They won't really grow during the winter but they should grow once it warms up. You DEFINITELY shouldn't need a heater if you're in FL. Not for Ryukins.

    12. #12
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      Well, I caved in and brought all of the Ryukins in the garage on Thursday. Today was -11 with the windchill and it will be this way for another week or so.
      My comets were already under ice with a small hole I'm hoping they are okay with this weather. Really unusual for us. I have all 6 in the 100 gal tub. I hope they
      will be okay..3 of them are "supersize". I do a 75% water change each week on the ones in the garage, hopefully I will be able to do that this week with the
      weather.


      Pam

      Montgomery County Water Garden Society
      Clarksville, Tn




    13. #13
      My2butterflies is offline Senior Member
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      That is cold.
      We have been in the negative for a while now. Saturday was -15 with -40 windchill. I chose to keep the ryukin outside with the koi. I did see one of them last month swimming around and pretty active for how cold it was. My water went black from my net getting weighed down with leaves so I can’t see anyone unless they are a couple inches from the top. So far I’m impressed with my heater and bubbler. I have a good amount of open water still despite my tarp hardly covering the water from our brutal wind pulling it loose. My setup is a mess right now and I’m not happy about it. Things will be better next winter since I now have a better idea on how I’ll prepare for it.
      Spring can’t come soon enough!

    14. #14
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      I'd be really afraid to keep fancies without a heater. I always had one in my pond when I had fancies and even then with the wateer at 60 degrees they slowed down a lot. i wish you the best of luck with your pretty fancies.

    15. #15
      gray cat's Avatar
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      I hope they can stay close to your heater and be warm. How deep is your pond? What temp is your water staying so far?
      Nancy



      Koiphen 2013 Koi Person of the Year!

    16. #16
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      My pond froze over. Two tiny fry sized fish I got in October have died. I don't mind. I didn't want them and am way overstocked anyway. I've decided to let the winter claim any weak ones and see what I've got come spring.

      The strong fish from last year should do fine. There's no heater and there will be no heater. Pond was 30° yesterday and will be colder tonight. 60s and 50s have little effect on most of mine. 40s slow them and 30s slow them A LOT.

    17. #17
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      Quote Originally Posted by gray cat View Post
      I hope they can stay close to your heater and be warm. How deep is your pond? What temp is your water staying so far?
      I think they have been staying down near the bottom. The pond is just a hair shy of 4 1/2ft deep. I keep forgetting to see what the temp is. I might have to find a different thermometer since the one in there keeps moving around and I’m not sure I’ll be able to find it.

      @mjfromga So do you use a bubbler to make sure a hole stays open?

    18. #18
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      Nope. I smash holes in the ice in the morning.

    19. #19
      gray cat's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by mjfromga View Post
      My pond froze over. Two tiny fry sized fish I got in October have died. I don't mind. I didn't want them and am way overstocked anyway. I've decided to let the winter claim any weak ones and see what I've got come spring.

      The strong fish from last year should do fine. There's no heater and there will be no heater. Pond was 30° yesterday and will be colder tonight. 60s and 50s have little effect on most of mine. 40s slow them and 30s slow them A LOT.
      Quote Originally Posted by mjfromga View Post
      Nope. I smash holes in the ice in the morning.
      Melting the ice is better for the fish. Smashing it creates shock waves that can kill your fish.
      Nancy



      Koiphen 2013 Koi Person of the Year!

    20. #20
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      Really? Never heard that. And I haven't killed any fish doing it. Melting it is much more difficult. I had no choice but to melt it off my porch pond but in the back, I just put holes in it. In any case, the freeze should be about over now and so the need to do that should be gone hopefully.

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