Temperature to Introduce Fish to Outside Pond

by Laurie
(Edmonton AB. Canada)

At what temperature should my outside pond be to move my goldfish outdoors?

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Grant's Reply

Hi Laurie

This is a good question, especially for countries where there are extremes of temperatures.

At this time of year, Edmonton is moving into the warmer weather with highs around 18^oC, and lows of 6^oC.

If your Goldfish had wintered outside, they would now be becoming more active as the average temperature of their water was above 10^oC.

The answer to you question is based on what their current water temperature is.

If they have been kept inside at 20^oC, moving them to a pond with a water temperature of 10-11^oC will make them think they are going into winter, and cause them to start changing their metabolism for hibernation or a period of low activity.

As the pond water is going to be colder, I wouldn’t put them outside until the average pond water temperature was within 5^oC of their present water temperature. It they are in 20^oC now, wait until the water is 15^oC.

If your fish are in colder water presently, say 16^oC, I wouldn’t put them in water colder than 12^oC.

I would also move them when the pond water temperature is at its highest, in the afternoon.

I am assuming here that you have a single tailed variety such as Comets or Common. If you have a fancy deep bodied variety, I would wait until the average pond temperature is over 15^oC.

As well as temperature, it would be prudent to test the water pH, nitrate and ammonia levels, as any plant material or animals that found their way into the pond over winter will start to decay at the higher spring temperatures.

It is always a good idea to siphon off the bottom of the pond to make sure there has been no build-up of litter at the bottom, which will cause ammonia pockets to form.

When introducing your fish to the pond, leave them floating in the container until the water temperatures are the same.

If the pH is lower, keep adding small amounts of pond water to the container every 15 minutes so the fish have time to adapt to the new water.

Don't forget that your fish will require less food until the pond temperature reaches the same as their current temperature.