It's one thing to leave your ornamental goldfish outside overnight when there's a light freeze: The fish just keep swimming happily under the ice.
It's another thing altogether to leave them outside when the forecast looks like this:
Especially when your fish live in an unheated barrel on an 8th-floor balcony. I mean, seriously. A week of sub-freezing temperatures risks turning that thing into a solid ice cube -- and although it may be true that, from a financial perspective, I should be more worried about saving my water lily than the goldfish (the former cost $40; the latter, $0.25 each), I still can't help feeling a little horrified at the thought of finding once-living fish-bodies in said ice cube.
So into the fridge they go. That way I don't have to worry about losing counterspace or seeing their little strings of poo, and they don't have to worry about drastic temperature fluctuations between indoors and outdoors. It's a win-win for everyone.
And if I hear any complaining about cramped quarters or how distressing it is to have the light flash on every time I open the door, I'll just show them this photo of their currently very frozen home.
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| I think they're pretending to be killer whales, waiting for a baby seal to fall through the ice so they can eat it. |
It's another thing altogether to leave them outside when the forecast looks like this:
Especially when your fish live in an unheated barrel on an 8th-floor balcony. I mean, seriously. A week of sub-freezing temperatures risks turning that thing into a solid ice cube -- and although it may be true that, from a financial perspective, I should be more worried about saving my water lily than the goldfish (the former cost $40; the latter, $0.25 each), I still can't help feeling a little horrified at the thought of finding once-living fish-bodies in said ice cube.
So into the fridge they go. That way I don't have to worry about losing counterspace or seeing their little strings of poo, and they don't have to worry about drastic temperature fluctuations between indoors and outdoors. It's a win-win for everyone.
 |
| Think of it as fish tourism: "Here on the left we have a gallon of milk." |
And if I hear any complaining about cramped quarters or how distressing it is to have the light flash on every time I open the door, I'll just show them this photo of their currently very frozen home.
 |
| I'm considering inviting some polar bears to live on the ice during the winter months, since apparently it's all melting up north. |
5 comments:
I'm hearing echos of "oxygen in the water" and "Chlorine in the water".. Good luck! Lady
Hey, so I was planning on doing that too.
How did it turn out for you? Were the fish okay? How often did you feed them?
Did you change the water once a month or less/more or not at all?
Would love to know.
Thanks,
Em
Yes, the fish did really well in the fridge. I kept them in there only until the water in the barrel thawed again -- I think the longest period was about two weeks. During that time I did not change the water, as I wanted to reduce the stress on the fish. I also did not feed the fish because In the cold temperatures, the fishes' metabolism slows so they basically don't eat anything at all. I kept the fish through two winters this way.
Thanks for sharing in detail.
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