Frozen Garden Pond...

dell_2

Hello peeps :hello:

thought that you "chaps" could help me

Got a pond in my garden, with some fish in it - no idea what sort tho...but they have been there for 3 or 4 years (I only bought this place in May)

Should I break the ice in the morning, or just leave it be?

Hope the question is not too silly..

Ticklemouse

Don't break the glass - the shock waves may kill the fish. Pour boiling water onto one spot until it goes through then make the hole bigger.

Some say put a football in the water to stop it freezing, but mine always froze anyway But at least you only have to thaw around the ball to remove it and there will be an air hole.

HTH

Becles

My Mam fills an empty tin with boiling water and sits that on the ice until it thaws a hole through.

I second the don't hit the ice comment as the shock waves can kill fish.

The fish do need an airhole in the ice and my Mam leaves a ball in, but occasionally it does freeze round the ball.

GreenFingers_2

Hello Dell…

The main reason there needs to be a hole in the ice is to provide oxygen and allow other gasses from the dying plants to leave the pond. If the pond is quite large and contains relatively few fish then leaving the ice for several days won’t be a problem. I only do mine if its been iced over for a week.

As other posters have suggested the ice must not be broken as the underwater cracking sound causes the fish great stress and shock. An easy way to melt a patch of ice is to get a saucepan full of hot water and just rest is on the surface and let it melt through.

Have a peek at the following site….
http://www.thepondprofessor.com/pondcare/chronicle_february.htm then scroll down to the seasonal tips section. The site has lots of other good information for looking after your pond.

Hope this helps…

Cullumpster

I'm sure that i've read somewhere that you should put a few lumps of polystirine (sp) in the water and it will never freeze.

Ideal to get rid of some of that Xmas rubbish too, just bung it in the pond

finlay

A childs ball does help - not necessarily as big as a football just something light that will bob around in the breeze. We have invested in a pond heater which goes on when the weather gets too frozen here in the north. We dont feed our fish at all during winter though some people do chuck a handful in now and again in their ponds. Fish do run the risk of constipation if fed in cold weather and there is usually enough plant life to keep them happy if they fancy a nibble!