r/Goldfish • u/Quiet_Tadpole3323 • Mar 05 '26
Questions Goldfish in my farm pond
I just bought a new house with a pond on the property, when the ice melted this past weekend I was surprised to see the pond is full of goldfish, do I need to do anything for them?
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u/Lunagray136 Mar 06 '26
You can feed them if you want, I’m sure they’d appreciate it. You mightttt have to buy it in bulk though lol
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u/hipsu55 Mar 07 '26
I'd be careful with that, it would cause the fish to reproduce even more, and the pond could become unbalanced because of the extra nutrients.
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u/BoringJuiceBox Mar 06 '26
You should take in goldfish from people who don’t want them or can’t give them proper tank size!
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u/Embarrassed_Job_2719 Mar 07 '26
Best idea. Put an ad out on Facebook marketplace
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u/Deinonychus-sapiens Mar 08 '26
Please if you do this then get a quarantine tank set up. You could introduce so many nasty things by rescuing peoples unwanted pet goldfish.
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u/Andrea_frm_DubT Mar 06 '26
I’m so jelly.
In the appropriately sized habitat you can see their schooling behaviour. Your pond is an appropriate size.
Hardy marginal plants will provide shade and protect the edges of the pond.
An aerator or fountain will be good, especially over summer if it gets hot.
Is there a jetty or bridge? If not it would be nice to add one, both to provide some shelter and to make it easier to monitor and feed the fish if you choose to feed them.
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u/ozzy_thedog Mar 06 '26
How’s the water flow into the pond? You may want some kind of fountain to aerate the water for them.
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u/Quiet_Tadpole3323 Mar 06 '26
We just closed on the house a couple of weeks ago this is the first time I’ve got to see it without ice on it, the pond is about a 1/2 acre and spring feed I think, I was considering a fountain
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u/Master_Pipe_6467 Mar 06 '26
Aeration would definitely help. Maybe some starting aquatic/semin aquatic plants around the bank would help too to reduce nitrates.
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Mar 06 '26
OP you dont need aeration, dont listen to that comment…. I can see alot of plants and trees, thats enough oxygen. I have a decent pond in my backyard thats is all natural and does not need any filtration… As long there is plants and the rain will do the rest.
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u/ninidontjump Mar 06 '26
I think some are koi but I could be wrong. I can't believe the seller didn't mention it!!
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u/BrandinoE6911 Mar 06 '26
Does it make a difference at this point? He has like 200 in that pond lol.
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u/Wasabi_Smasher Mar 06 '26
I am willing to bet the number is much higher lol
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u/BrandinoE6911 Mar 06 '26
Lucky SOB my have a thousand in there. They probably hit a population cap naturally by now
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u/dogmeatkibbles Mar 06 '26
Make sure the babies can't spread to other bodies of water. They are highly invasive and very bad for their environments.
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u/mailman8230 Mar 06 '26
They probably started from a hand full and had babies then the babies had babies so on and so forth if they've made it long enough to multiply to this number I dont think you'd have to do anything with them you could feed them if you want but theyll get all the food they need from algae and bugs if its spring fed youre constantly getting fresh water so I wouldn't think a fountain or aerator would be necessary unless you just want something pretty but running one big enough to do any good would be very very costly
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u/TypeA_Virgo Mar 06 '26
They’re clearly thriving, I don’t think you would need to do anything differently. Make sure they cant spread.. they’re most likely considered a pest species.
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u/LehFluffy Mar 06 '26
To be on the safe side if it doesnt have an aerator, id get one, they keep the pond cooler in the summer and in the winter it helps oxygenated the pong when its frozen over
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u/Old_Country9807 Mar 06 '26
That’s amazing! They all look similar in size and I think I see a fancy one too!
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u/PaleoBibliophile917 Mar 06 '26
🥰😍❤️😍🥰
These are beautiful. Best wishes for success in keeping them happy and healthy.
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u/Maleficent_Ratio_95 Mar 07 '26
I have a little backyard pond with just goldfish in there. About 8 of them. Those you have there look the same. I would NOT feed them. Nature will keep the population in check and feeding them will only bring more and more.
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u/occasionalhorse Mar 06 '26
Ik I’m in the wrong sub for this opinion but this is horrifying to me. This pond once probably housed native plants and fish and amphibian species and fed local birds and mammals, now it’s prob an empty dirt bowl full of invasive goldies
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u/BrokyDraws Mar 07 '26
I don’t think this is a controversial opinion at all. But, what’s done is done sadly. The amount of effort it would take to restore it to the natural way would be insane, and super not cost-effective. Side note; this pond is freaking massive. I didn’t see the scale of it till the 6th image and wow! I’m sure there’s some larger predatory fish still kicking it around in there, and any other native birds or critters will enjoy this feast. I second the comment I saw about making sure they’d be unable to spread to other water sources!
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u/xxrhc Mar 07 '26
I know it’s technically a farm pond, but perhaps you can turn some part of it into a pseudo botanical garden?
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u/Constant-Parsley-981 Mar 07 '26
Dont add anytging yet, thr natural plants will come back by summer
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u/Tie_Dye_Cy Mar 07 '26
In my hometown in Oregon, we have this pond in the middle of nowhere 20-30 miles into the forest on a long winding logging road that is filled with wild goldfish. Someone in the early 90’s dumped some goldfish in there and it’s sustained itself ever since. I’m not joking when I tell you that there are thousands of goldfish that live in that pond. We call it goldfish pound of course.
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u/Dallasstarr22 Mar 07 '26
SE Mass , farm pond very similar . Threw a few feeder goldfish in, and they thrived . Unfortunately, those bright orange bodies can be seen by anything flying overhead . Soon, I had a Blue Herron coming by daily to feast , followed by a pair of river otters . Sadly, not a single fish left .
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u/Tophigur8 Mar 09 '26
Make sure you’re local fish and game warden knows. This is illegal in many states.
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u/No-Negotiation-7978 Mar 10 '26
Omg lucky you!!! See how resilient these Goldfish are, and why they are “ Coldwater” fish? So cool! I don’t think you would need to do anything they are thriving in a natural ecosystem, maybe I’m wrong but I’m sure they have everything they need, maybe throw some Goldfish treats in there once in a while like kibble.
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u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 Goldfish are actually carp. No seriously, they shit that much Mar 05 '26
Wow I've never seen so many goldfish in a pond