I have two koi (I think or just really large goldfish) and 8 or 9 goldfish, ranging from shubunkins to pond comets and there just may be one red cap oranda.

Anyways, my thoughts were to get an old feed or water trough, fill it up with water and a couple hang on back filters probably for a 60-80 gal size tank and stick it in my basement.

I don't know when I'm moving and am unsure how long they will be in my care vs. my parents care so there needs to be little maintenance required. This way I figured there's no worry about overcrowding because there's lot of room in a food or water trough (I think they're normally around 400 gallons)

I've never had a good look at the two big possibly koi fish that my parents got for free so I'm unsure how safe it will be roomwise for them. How am I doing?

Thanks, Una

That sound ok to me.

there enough light down there for them? and it wont get as cold as ouside i take it?



and...why do they need to be moved inside?

Why not just leave them outside where there is no maintenance required? I stop feeding my Koi once the temp gets below 55 and then just have a floating de-icer out there to keep a hole open to let the gases escape. They do fine in the winter that way. I bring my Oranda's and Pearlscale inside but the rest stay outside all winter (Koi, Comets, Shubunkins).

I just looked at Bodoba's location, and in Manitoba, like where I am in Ontario, unless you had a pond that was very deep, it will freeze to the bottom in winter. In my area, the ground freezes solidly to 4 feet.

I bring my pond fish in for the winter. I use 50 gallon rubbermaid tubs in my basement. I put a fluorescent fixture above the tubs, and have it on a timer so that the fish get light for part of the day. Since our basement is unheated, I feed the fish on a low protien food until the water temperature drops below 50 f., then I cease feeding, until the temperature is back up above 50 f. Also, because the basement is unheated, I can't run filters on the tanks, so I rely on weekly water changes. When the fish are not being fed, I don't have problems with ammonia or nitrite, though, the water changes take care of that.

I have used this method now for 5 years, and have not lost one fish in the process, so it works

Really good advice from Touchofsky there! And when you get looking into those feeding containers, there are quite a few out there.

Here is one that holds 625 gallon... http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcID=...&productID=9331 (funny thing - what are those people doing playing in there? )

My personal favorite (and I have 2 of them) are the 300 gl. They have a neat drain for water changes, and you can not break them in any way. They are very sturdy, and the price is great.
http://www.agwaycatalog.com/catalog/product/14082