Hi, a newbie here hoping for some fishnet help!
I have rescued a couple of young goldies (common) from a tiny bowl "home" as they were about to be flushed down the loo 
by an acquaintance who is moving house.
So, for a temporary measure I have put them into a 250l outdoor container with declorinated water. There is an air stone, some oxgenating plant and a bit of gravel.
I do not have a filter for this, hopefully they'll manage until payday without.
I plan to do 25% water changes and gravel hoovering weekly, this is not a pond as freestanding outdoor tank.
Obviously atm they are both very shy and seem to prefer to hang out under the plants.
My worry is mostly about bacteria! I do have a mature Biorb, so when I filter change it I could drop in the old filter media into the outdoor tank as a desperate measure.
So, any advice from the expert fish keepers on here? I realise that I need to insulate and probably heat it over the winter as it is not a proper pond, ideally I would like them to cope with this environment for around 18 months - but they are destined for a proper pond long term.
Thanks so much 
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Fishnet
Goldfish Question
Greenhat · 02/09/2011 11:44
Oh, brava for the rescue 
I can't believe some people are willing to just flush their pets down the loo when they become even slightly inconvenient 
That container sounds fine as a temporary measure. If the fish are very small then they can survive in that volume of water without a filter for a short time but I would do more frequent water changes and keep an eye on the ammonia levels.
If you're following the biorb instructions then there is probably not an awful lot of bacteria in the filter, partly because it's also backed up with chemical filtration and partly because you end up binning the sponges more often than in a normal filter. Any bacteria is good though, just make sure your biorb fish are OK. Normally a fishless cycle is best but after being kept in an unfiltered bowl the poor fish probably think they are in paradise right now.
Heating and insulating over the winter sounds like a good plan, that would have been my main worry. Will you be building a pond for them? It'll need to be at least a metre deep at the deepest point so they can shelter from the cold in the winter.
Until then they should be OK in the container as long as it's filtered and heated over the winter and they have some hiding places from predators. Floating plants and a couple of bits of ceramic pipe or plant pots work well.
Good luck to your fish, they are bloody lucky to have you
Wow, thanks for such a quick reply EauRouge
The fish are both approx 8cm so not tiny but around a year old I think, from what their previous idiot owner told me.
I can't dig a decent pond as I am renting but hopefully in a year we'll be moving so I can get digging!
I should be able to use the biorb to help without upsetting the fish in there, hopefully it'll help until I get paid and can set up a little filter for them.
I like the idea of the pipe or pots for them too, will sort that today hopefully. I also have put net over the pond as we have cats and herons here.
Sorry, another question.. any ideas on cheap filter pumps?? Everything seems to be eye-wateringly expensive 
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