When To Release Fry Into My Pond

by Joe
(Sutton Surrey UK)

My goldfish fry are in a tank and are four weeks old now.

When should i release them to my pond, they are about an inch long.

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Grant's Reply

Hi Joe

Fry one inch long at four weeks is a very good growth rate. They are obviously healthy and well fed.

The fry are big enough to go into a pond, but the pond would need to be free of dragonfly or diving beetle larvae as both would still kill fry that size.

Check water temperatures if the pond is small because early/mid spring water temperatures can still get quite cold at night. If the water temperature drops to 15C or below, that will slow the fry's growth rate considerably.

I am assuming the parents aren't in the pond because they WILL eat any fry they can catch.

The type of goldfish you have bred will dictate what you need to do with the fry. If they are a single tailed variety, you won't need to cull them except for overly large individuals or any with physical deformities.

If your fry are a twin tailed variety, you will need to cull them several times to ensure only the very best are raised to adulthood.

You need to be doing this about every two weeks.

If your pond is in-ground and full of plants and decorations, catching fry every two weeks for culling is quickly going to become a chore.

You also need to consider numbers. If you have several hundred fry, at the speed your fry are growing, they will soon outgrow their pond, possibly in as little as two weeks.

So the real problem you have, as do all successful breeders, is to ensure the fry have enough room to grow, and be able to monitor their development for the next few months.