Wintering tropical fish in Arizona?

[Fishpony]

Hello,
I am in the process of creating a 900 gallon pond, and would like to know if I can keep tropical fish all year round, or will I have to move them back into my tank for the winter. If it is the latter then I'll just raise some koi and goldfish.

Thanks

 

[skjl47]

Hello; It has been a few decades since my Limnology classes. In Kentucky the winter issue with ponds was temperatures cold enough to freeze the surface with several inches of ice. At least it was more likely back in the 1970's and early 80's. There was a formula for pond volume and depth. Best I can recall is to have something like at least a third of the volume at least 15 feet deep with more of both being better. Other factors such as constantly being stream fed or not can make a difference. My guess is that none of this makes much difference to your situation.

Winter in Arizona is out of my experience in terms of temperatures. I also gather the fish will be warm water tropicals. In general my tanks are allowed to be around 70 to 75 degrees F during the winter months. I have had some periods of temps in the mid 50's F during power outages for a few days with fish being OK. Much will depend on the species being kept. Many tropicals will do fine with lower temps if the change happens gradually. Some species are likely to be more sensitive.

The local wildlife or aquacultural agencies may have some information of value.

My response is not very helpful, but good luck with what ever you try.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Arizona is a large state, so I'll respond on the coldest parts.

There are places in Arizona in the winter that average around 50F in the day and in the mid 20's at night with a 24-hour daily average of 43 or lower.

In those areas, I'm going to say no unless you heat the pond. There are many fish that can handle temps like that (native American's for example), and maybe even a few tropical fish that might survive a few hours at 50. However I'm doubtful that there are more than a handful (if any) tropical fish that can handle an average temp of 43 for weeks at a stretch with drops into the 30's for 6 -8 hours at night.

Heating will be very expensive but certainly is an option.

OTOH if you live in the warmest part of Arizona, you might get by on a less than extreme expense with a heater for any number of tropical fish species especially if you can provide some insulation for the pond.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Put a green house film over your pond in winter then add some heat for winter. What is your stock list gonna be like ?

 

[Fishpony]

Arizona is a large state, so I'll respond on the coldest parts.

There are places in Arizona in the winter that average around 50F in the day and in the mid 20's at night with a 24-hour daily average of 43 or lower.

In those areas, I'm going to say no unless you heat the pond. There are many fish that can handle temps like that (native American's for example), and maybe even a few tropical fish that might survive a few hours at 50. However I'm doubtful that there are more than a handful (if any) tropical fish that can handle an average temp of 43 for weeks at a stretch with drops into the 30's for 6 -8 hours at night.

Heating will be very expensive but certainly is an option.

OTOH if you live in the warmest part of Arizona, you might get by on a less than extreme expense with a heater for any number of tropical fish species especially if you can provide some insulation for the pond.

Average temperature here during winter is around 50 degrees, so I guess I could keep my catfish in the summer, and move him back inside to ride out the winter.

Put a green house film over your pond in winter then add some heat for winter. What is your stock list gonna be like ?

I guess I could try that, Don't know how much heat it will keep, I'll look into it. I planned to keep and arowana, peacock bass, and my ripsaw cat. Now looks like it'll just be some koi, maybe a sturgeon, and my ripsaw cat for the summer months.

 

[duanes]

Fish from Uruguay would work in those temps, since Uruguay is not really a tropical country. I would over winter my Uruguayan cichlids in a basement pool where water temps dropped to lower than 50'F.
Below are a few of those cichlids.

Gymnogeophagus yerbalito above, Gy paso pache below

Australoheros red Ceibal below


upper right corner

and even Uruguayan pike cichlids like the Crenicichla saxatilis, below

 

[Frank Castle]

Fish from Uruguay would work in those temps, since Uruguay is not really a tropical country. I would over winter my Uruguayan cichlids in a basement pool where water temps dropped to lower than 50'F.
Below are a few of those cichlids.

Gymnogeophagus yerbalito above, Gy paso pache below

Australoheros red Ceibal below


upper right corner

and even Uruguayan pike cichlids like the Crenicichla saxatilis, below

still trying to determine the species of my pike, if u got more shots of that saxitilis, i'd like that.

 

[duanes]

saxitilus young above, older below

Belly crawler below

 

[Fishpony]

Do you think that I can have a 55 gallon tub with two heaters on both side and a canister filter move my tropical fish for the winter, and move them back to their pond?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

It might work if u mean to make a heated system, insulation is important to keep heat in