Prepare the rain barrel
Simply leaving the fish to fend for themselves when winter approaches would be too easy. In order for the animals to survive freezing temperatures, you must have your Rain barrel prepare in the following way:
- Foliage and Seaweed remove from the rain barrel.
- Otherwise, the plants rob the fish of important oxygen.
- Also take into account that Sludge buildup at the bottom of the bin.
- Install an aerator stone before the first frost.
- This keeps the water moving and thus prevents the water surface from completely freezing over.
also read
- Keep fish in the rain barrel
- Remove algae from the rain barrel
- Classic for over 1,000 years: goldfish in the garden pond
Optimal conditions for wintering
Despite the cold, goldfish can hibernate in your rain barrel, though
- Your bin is deeper than 80 cm.
- Then there is a constant water temperature of 4 ° C in the lower part of the rain barrel.
- Your goldfish are more than six months old.
- Only then are the fish bodies robust enough to withstand the harsh conditions.
- You can ensure that the water surface does not completely freeze over (for example with an aerator stone).
Further measures
- To feed
- control
To feed
In contrast to keeping in large ponds, additional feeding is not necessary when wintering in the rain barrel. It could even harm the goldfish. Because as soon as the water temperature rises above 8 ° C due to a warm period in winter, the metabolic function of your fish increases. Early activity would cause the animals to die. In addition, food leftovers reduce the water quality.
control
Even if you have carefully followed all the measures, constant monitoring is important. However, you should move carefully so as not to startle the goldfish. You have to fish sick fish out of the rain butt and foster them indoors in a warm tub. You can recognize weakened animals
- if the animal is frequently near the surface of the water
- often drifts on the side
