Goldfish in his lordships water?

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samuelhorse

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Not sure if YO taking the p**ss out of my gullibilty,but he says to stop the mosquito larvae in his lordships water (dustbin as hes in starvy in corner of the field - dont tell him, he thinks there is a grass shortage again this year) is to put a goldfish in the water.

Erm, wont he eat the goldfish and erm dont goldfish excrete ammonia???

Is it a good idea or is he pulling my leg??
 
I used to have a few goldfish in my water trough to get rid of the various bugs including water boatmen which moved in. The fish were fine and the trought stayed beautifully clear, it was the local little boys that started using my water trough for fishing practise I had a problem with!
 
We have goldfish in the water troughs at the yard keeps them really clean, when i first moved there i was really worried about it but my horse has never even noticed them, we have quite a few in each trough and the only thing they eat is the algae and bugs.
 
Do you just scoop out all the grassy bits then? Never heard of doing this before!! Really strange, every trough I come across now I'm going to have to look in and see if I can see any little goldfish!!
 
I have never encountered this - do the goldfish not leave....goldfish dung
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at the bottom of the trough?
Does anyone have a photo - this is fascinating.
S
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We have automatic water troughs so i guess the water filling up keeps the oxygen level up like a pump would in a tank, at previous yards through the summer we have had to clean the troughs every few weeks as they get disgusting but at present yard we just clean them all once a year when the horses 1st move into the field ( just use a net and stick the fish in a bucket while we do it. ) I dont have any photos of them but if i get a chance will take some later.
 
They must cope ok as they dont die, when it is really hot or really cold they seem to spend a lot of time under the cover bit on the trough ( it never freezes under there either ) as far as i am aware they are never fed and we have only ever in the 3 years i have been there had 1 or 2 die which is better than i have ever managed with fish in a tank at home!!
 
Come across this a few times, but never tried it myself. Goldfish are fine over winter if the trough doesn't freeze solid, as any layer of ice provides insulation to the water below. You can either insulate it or add a small amount of glycerol to stop it freezing.

I fancy water snails, myself. I don't trust my exmoor to not eat the fish!
 
we had a big old bath as a water trough with a few fish in there. in winter i used to put something like a persil washing ball thingy so when it froze there was a little air pocket (if it froze at all). i used to top it up witht he hose each day and it was fine.
 
Interesting, might consider that I think..we have 5 troughs, some are very small though, think less than feed trough sized, woudl that matter? think they might be too small but the plastic ones, might be an idea!
 
The cute goats at the West Midlands Safari Park or Longleat (can't remember which!) have goldfish in their water trough and the water is chrystal clear.
 
Well you learn something new on HHO everyday - how bizarre is this, I would have said YO was really pulling your leg!
 
Now then...when I was a kid I was told never to put fresh cold water in my fish tank....I had to spend hours changing tanks and making the water room temp otherwise the fish would die(or so I was told!). Plus I only had 1 fish and he made his tank all green and manky, had to clean it quite often....
 
I have two fish in a trough that is about four foot long.

They have been in there for years..... I even left the yard for a year and they were still there when I returned
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To be honest as long as you only have a couple (for company) then there will be no Poo overload..... but if you put too many or large fish in there you horse will be drinking the equivalent of pond water!!! I'm sure they wont enjoy that!

You should also never need to feed the fish.... In summer they eat all the larvae and in winter they shouldnt eat anyway!!

The trough will still go green though if it is in sunlight
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the fish will not stop that.... but you wont have a mass of wrigglers hatching out into mozzies!!!
 
As bluetongue becomes endemic in this country it will become much more common to use fish in water troughs - it may well be seen as "unclean" not to use them as the water troughs are where the culicoides midge that carries the virus lives in its larval form - and overwinters.

Whilst this is only a problem for sheep at the moment another variety of the same midge carries the African Horse Sickness virus . . . . .

We went to a presentation at our local vets on this and it was recommended that all water had fish kept in it - or was cleaned out too regularly for the midge to develop. Certainly "clean" water management will become a big issue.
 
I've heard of this before and I don't doubt that where SOMEONE is watching out for the goldfish it might work ok. But remember that goldfish are living things too, also with an entitlement to the 5 freedoms. There is a maximum number of fish you can keep in a given volume of water if you don't have filters and aerators - it's directly linked to the surface area of the water. What if the water runs right down or the trough gets tipped over? What if there's not enough water for the fish to sink down low in order to survive the winter? Who feeds the fish when there's NO flies or bugs in the water (ie spring and autumn)? Who checks on sick fish or poisoned water (when leaves choke it)? It makes me nervous in the same way that giving goldfish away in tiny plastic bags as prizes at fairgrounds does. Far, far better to scrub your trough out regularly!
 
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I've heard of this before and I don't doubt that where SOMEONE is watching out for the goldfish it might work ok. But remember that goldfish are living things too, also with an entitlement to the 5 freedoms. There is a maximum number of fish you can keep in a given volume of water if you don't have filters and aerators - it's directly linked to the surface area of the water. What if the water runs right down or the trough gets tipped over? What if there's not enough water for the fish to sink down low in order to survive the winter? Who feeds the fish when there's NO flies or bugs in the water (ie spring and autumn)? Who checks on sick fish or poisoned water (when leaves choke it)? It makes me nervous in the same way that giving goldfish away in tiny plastic bags as prizes at fairgrounds does. Far, far better to scrub your trough out regularly!

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Rest assured, if I do get goldfish for my trough, I am fully aware that goldfish are sentient beings, and will be entirely responsible for their welfare.
I have never yet neglected any animal/fish I have owned.
S
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You're telling me. I've got goldfish at home and they do NOT eat algae and they do produce poo. I've got all sorts of filters and things and got so fed up with having to clean them out all the time that I bought a plec. Wonderful little fish - eats all the algae!
Apart from anything else, I can't imagine goldfish living in a horse trough for very long, herons would have them p.d.q.
 
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