Keeping Fish Outside?

[Mikaila31]

I heard this idea from someone who lives quite close to me. In the summer he breeds and raises fish outside in large tubs. He wrote a little article on it here. <-its a .pdf file and may take a minuet to open, its on the 18th page. No heater and filter just a large tub in the sun. Would this be worth a try this summer? I was thinking of trying it with my 3 male boeseamis in a 40gal bin, and just seeing how they do. I also want to see how well I can grow some of the aquarium plants outside. Ideas?

 

[WILDER]

I would put some netting over the tub if you have cats in the neighbourhood.
Its really best to keep the temp stable rather than it being up and down.

 

[Tolak]

Folks do that down here in the summer, with tubs in the 100-300 gallon range. You will need a filter, just like a small pond or large tank, and depending on the fish, a heater as well. Keep it in a shaded area, the mid summer sun will cause it to overheat. As Wilder stated, netting is needed, not just for cats, the biggest problem here is raccoons & birds.

 

[LauraFrog]

I raise platies, mollies and guppies outside in smallish (about 12 gal) plastic bins set up with filters and airstones. I don't use heaters. They all do really well. We have a cat and a lot of birdlife, but none of them are ever taken. My only problems are with insects falling into the tanks. Free live food though.

 

[WILDER]

It might be warm in the day but it can get cold at night so I would definately use a heater.
Temp dropping fast can fetch on swim bladder, whitespot to columnaris.

 

[andywg]

Wilder, the temperature swings will vary massively depending on where the person is located. In the more southerly parts of the US (and I daresay some parts of Australia) one can keep tropical fish in a pond all year round.

Not all of the world suffers from the grim weather that persists north of Watford Gap.