Goldfish survive the winter in a pond

[BettaMomma]

SO.
I just thought of something I wanted to post here, and ask about.
I live in an apartment complex on a really beautiful piece of property.
We have a really beautiful big ol' pond just out our front door.
Well, since I live in Wisconsin, of course the pond freezes over in the winter.
On one end of the pond, they keep a fountain running, but sometimes it clogs up or quits working and it shuts off, then the entire thing freezes up.

The odd thing is that every summer, we see several giant masses of goldfish - I mean each one is like an area probably 20 feet by 20 feet square where goldfish have gathered into a huge group up by the surface of the water. There's probably 1000 goldfish... pfft, maybe even twice that many in these groups.

AND....
We've spotted a monster goldfish (that's what we call it heh) - he's white with some orange and some black spots like a traditional goldie. He's probably about 2 feet long from mouth to tail and he's probably 6 inches wide from side to side. I've been out feeding the normal sized goldfish hunks o bread and he swims by. He comes up and sucks pieces of bread into his mouth. His mouth opens up to be about as big as a golf ball. The first time I saw him it scared the bajeezus out of me - but we've seen him, and 2 others like him (they're dark colored like a traditional carp, and therefore a lot less easy to spot) every summer for the past 4 summers.

Now... the spot where the fountain keeps the pond open is probably only a circle of about 10 feet in diameter, max. How the heck do these fish survive??

Oh, and the pond is probably about the length of a football field, and is sort of in the shape of a figure 8 - the widest spot is probably about 70 feet wide.

 

[SworDTail KeePer]

Its krazy I know. I have about 5 goldfish in one pond and it frezzes over every wenterbut these fish i guess can just stick out the could wether its KOOKY

 

[Discomafia]

Yea, I guess that's why they're called coldwater fish.

edit - having a pond that's 70 feet wide might help some too I guess...

 

[pica_nuttalli]

hey i read elsewhere in the forum that goldfish really enjoy oranges!! doesn't that seem a way cool thing to try feeding? i keep meaning to try it out w/ the little ponds they have on campus. you should give it a go too and report back on your findings.

 

[BettaMomma]

With the fish in this pond, I think an orange would be devoured within minutes.
There are tiny catfish - they're actually baby bullheads YUCK, and there are tiny bluegills in there too.

I can't help but imagine how completely uncomfortable they must be in the winter.

And I would have to say that with the number of large pools of the goldies swimming near the surface on some hot summer days there has to be at least 10,000 of them in that pond. at LEAST.

When the spring rolls around, I'll see if I can get some pics of these guys.
I'll have to wait til more like June or so before the big guy (we call him Walter ) comes strolling on out. It's quite a sight.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

if you could get a picture of the schools from a rowboat, that would totally kick butt.

 

[BettaMomma]

Funny you should mention that-
when we first moved here, they had a paddleboat out on the pond.
We were paddling our way across the pond when my boyfriend (big ol' buff boy of 5'10", 230 - 240 lbs) started screaming like a school girl. A tiny little goldfish had actually jumped into the boat and landed on the floor on his side. I almost pushed him into the lake reaching over to grab the little guy and threw him back into the pond.

It was priceless.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I don't think I could ever explain the mechanics of it, but many aquatic and cold blooded animals that live in northern regions go into something like an extremely hardcore hibernation when their habitat freezes over. Their metabolic processes slow down so dramatically that they are basically in suspended animation. I've seen fish frozen in blocks of ice come back after the thaw. Don't know how exactly its done, but it is a special adaptation they have, and since goldfish are basically carp, it is logical that they'd have them as well.

 

[Raechal]

You could always buy a gigantic submersible heater or two and run it from your house to the pond so they can have a "warm spot" Anyways I would love to see pics of them.

 

[BettaMomma]

It seems just utterly amazing that this can happen with these guys.
It fascinates me that every spring, on the first warm day these little guys are all sloshing around up at the top of the pond.

I'll get out there and take photos just as soon as the ice melts!

LOL Raech!