When should we expect the nights to get warmer?

[meriad]

I was really hoping that beginning April we'd start getting decent and gradually increasing night time temperatures so I can start thinking about releasing my four goldfish into the pond - but just seen the forecast and it's expected to drop right back down to 2 or 3 degrees at night

I suspect the poor fish will just have to stay in the aquarium longer than planned because I can't release them until we've had at least 10 nights of 10 degrees - sigh

[Workingman]

Are you sure that you need 10 x 10? It is going to be summer before night time temperatures reach that level, and possibly only in July and August.

[cromwell]

About July 21st, I reckon!

[Kaz]

Ria the goldfish and shibunkins (sp?) we used to have in the pond in our Swindon house lived outside all year round. They went to the bottom of the pond over the winter, and didn't require feeding, but they survived well and grew each summer until some were enormous!

[meriad]

I know Kaz, that is what will happen to these guys once they're in the pond; but they apparently are about 9 year old and they've always been in an inside (unheated) tank. I can't just chuck them outside because they're not used to the fluctuating temperatures we have here and if I put them out now they'd die in their first night. I have to wait until the water gets to a certain temperature a (esp at night). Once I'm at that point I can get them into the pond and they'll have the summer and autumn to acclimatise and then that's it - they'll be fine come the winter (hopefully)!

Frank the general consensus seems to be 10 consecutive nights of a certain temperature so the water can warm up as well because that just takes that bit longer

[Kaz]

Gosh, a complicated business then! I can quite see that they can't just be plonked outside then, if not used to it

Hope it warms up a bit for them soon!

[meriad]

Trust me Kaz, whoever said that goldfish were easy fish to keep was lying - they really aren't. My four are a lot harder work than my tropical tank

But they are beautiful to watch - these are three of the four, the bottom two are comets so have the longer tails whereas the top one is a regular gold fish (as is nr 4)

[Kaz]

Oh, they are pretty!

[Workingman]

Ria, I honestly cannot find anything about 10 nights at 10C, but there are lots of warnings about acclimatising them for 30 mins or so when transferring them.

I would probably leave it till late spring or early summer and you will have to cat-proof the pond in some way. The pond will also need shade plants to cut out the summer sun.

[miasmum]

Cant you just post them to Ally or Ton?