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I have not seen any fish since you drilled the hole in the ice. I don't know if that means anything other than I need new glasses!
My daughter, who took fish (Calico Shubunkin goldfish) last fall, now wants to give them back to me because a friend is giving her some of her tropical fish and she prefers them. The question is can I put the fish I gave her in the pond? Seems like a terrible temp shock to me. Apparently, the friend wants to get rid of her fish soon because she's scaling down from a big aquarium to a small one.
Ada Mae
Ada Mae:
Did your pond completely become ice free a week or two ago? You should have seen your fish then unless the water is cloudy. Even if you haven't seen them does not mean that they are goners. It could mean they are just hunkering down on the bottom. If they had died you probably would have seen their carcasses floating at the top sooner or later. Have you smelled the water? If they had died and you had not seen their carcasses then the water would have turned bad -- rotten egg smell (hydrogen sulfide gasses). My guess is that they are all right. Mine are and I have the same set-up that you do. There are those situations that a person cannot foresee like a rabbit dying in the water and fouling up the whole pond.
I would wait to accept the fish. It would be a huge shock to them right now. You might lose them as well as your own. In a month the pond will be open and it would be okay to put them in then. You will need to acclimate them very slowly. (I would do this over a day)
The actual temp is not that important. What is important is the weather getting progressively warmer. As long as the ice is out and the water pumps are turned on then it is okay to add the fish but with a slow acclimation period. This recommendation is the same for all species of hardy fish for water gardens. This does not pertain to tropical fish. Do not add them until after the 1st of June. They need 70-degree water.
Jamie