Inherited a pond full of goldfish

[tinselvestsparklepants]

We moved into our new house last week and have inherited a pond and about 20 goldfish. Help! There is a fountain and a few plants but I have no idea what to do and make sure we don't accidentally harm the fish. Is there a good guide anyone can recommend on how to care for a pond full of fish? Do we have to keep the fountain on all the time (it's noisy)? The only instruction we were given was to feed once a day - but how much? We were left a bag of fish flakes and they hoover up a punch in seconds. Any help would be appreciated.

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Here are some probably not helpful pictures.

[TheBlackTower]

My advice (based on my own inherited pond at my first home) is to put some netting or similar over the pond if you are able, if you have a pet cat! My pond population rapidly decreased in the first few weeks after DCat and I moved in.

I'm not saying that correlation is causation but...!

I recall giving my goldfish fish flakes regularly and it was fairly healthy in terms of other pond life, was very low maintenance. It also had a built in pump which needed to be periodically cleaned.

Enjoy your lovely new pond!

[dancinfeet]

Contact your local aquatics centre for advice, they can often do a water test if they ask you to take a small sample of your water in to check that it is healthy for the fish. Does your pond have a pump and UV filter? The fish will eat more the warmer the weather, so that could be why they munched the fish flakes quite quickly.

[Judashascomeintosomemoney]

I imagine the fountain is aerating the water so I wouldn’t turn that off until you’ve found out a bit more about how to care for them.

[LionLily]

What a lovely pond. But do your own risk assessment and get a net or a hard wire cover.
It could be that you have a combined filter/aerator(the fountain bit) and that the filter material in the box is a bit mucky, that could make it louder. You could turn it off, disconnect the mains, get your waders on and have a look. If the filter is dirty, give it a good skoosh under the hose.
Try to get a photo of one of your fish and show it to the assistant at the aquatics shop, they can then advise on the best food.
Also, make sure you have built a sort of ladder of rocks so that any creature that might fall in, such as a hedgehog or squirrel, can climb out.

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Thank you all, some good advice. I'll get building a creature ladder today! Will start to work our everything else. There is a uv filter somewhere apparently... There are so many fish. There are plants at the bottom of the pond but they seem to be covered in green sludge. There are some lilies which look as if they are going to grow. No cat here (though we used to have one and she was called Fish so...). There is a pond cover. We haven't seen any local herons... yet.

[hedgehogger1]

You don't feed them if the temps going to be below 4ish. It's bad for them

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Thanks hedgehogger - noted!

[dianebrewster]

How are you getting on @tinselvestsparklepants? I've also inherited one with a new house, in Jan.

I had to invest in a whole pump/filter/uv system as the previous owners took theirs. My pond was green - very unhealthy for the fish, so I bit the bullet and got a proper pond guy in to clean it out, fit the right gear and show me how to use it.

I'm in danger of becoming a fish bore as I test water quality, get them new plants, improve the anti-Heron defenses and try different foods 😆

[FrostyFruit]

"If the filter is dirty, give it a good skoosh under the hose"
I know this is old but anyone new to fish reading this, DO NOT do this, ever, for any tank or pond filter. The chlorine and chloramine in the tap water will kill all the good bacteria. Take a bucket of the pond or tank water and use that to clean your filter media.

[GonnaGetGoingReturns]

Not my pond but DM and step dad have a pond. Put netting over it, not just to prevent cats but also herons.

They don’t feed them in winter but do every other season.

I’m sure they’ve had pumps/fountains, they tend to aereate the water.

It can be useful to have frog/toad steps so they can get out.