rain barrell &goldfish

[sundance]

Since I have absolutely no idea where to post this question so i tried here. I have a rain barrell I use to water my garden, can i get a goldfish to put in the barrell to eat the mosquito larvee.The barrel is plastic and in the shade most of the day but we still have mosquitoes, Last year we had a drought and so i got the rain barrel for my garden, just don't want the mosquitoes, HELP PLEASE marrie

 

[Matt A NC]

We have a small pond full of gold fish. When it start to get hot we put 2-3 of the smaller fish into the rain barrels. You do have to watch and make sure they aren't getting over heated. If the fish stay at the top gasping for air the water is to hot to hold enough oxygen for them to breath.

Matt

 

[KellyGwen]

The goldfish will probably die without aeration... and if you aerate it the mosquitoes probably won't lay their eggs because the water is moving!

So I would either get a siamese fighting fish (ONE - they'll kill each other!) or put an aerator in there (an air-pump with an airstone - the pump is electric and would have to be kept out of the weather)

If you do go with a SFF ("Beta") you can take him in when it gets cold and they can live in little tiny bowls. In the wild the males live in an defend tiny muddy little puddles... Plus they are BEAUTIFUL! They are great desk pets!

Good luck!

 

[GwenFarms]

They won't die. I use them in my horse troughs, we have automatic waterers, so they stay full. I also put them in our rain barrel and small duck pond/goldfish pond. They live forever. Occasionally one will die, but usually after I've had it forever. They are especially fun in the horse waterers. They will come up and eat off the horses noses after they've been fed..it's funny to watch.

Just buy the 10 cent feeder fish. Good luck with them!

 

[justusnak]

What a great idea! Now I need a few gold fish for MY rain barrels! Thanks for the idea....

 

[Davaroo]

Goldfish are cyprinids, in the same family as carp. Like other members of this family, they can take in oxygen at the waters surface. This is the surface "gulping" you see them doing. When you see this, tt also means that the water has a low oxygen content.

Many people DO put them in stocktanks and they seem to do alright. Two things likely accoutn for this:
There is a large surface area and there is a regular exchange of water. I would be concerned with the small surface area of a rain barrel as much as anything and think some aeration would be beneficial.

Also, "stuff" comes into a rain a barrel with the water run in - unless you filter the water, who knows what is getting in or what it will do to the fish?

Finally, cyprinids cannot digest proteins well and they quickly foul their water. Ensure you can exchange their water frequently to avoid toxin buildup.

A better sort of fish for a rain barrel was mentioned, the Betta, or Siamese Fighting Fish. But there is one that is superior to that - the Gourami. Like the Betta, Gourami's are labarynthine fish, having a hollow skull where oxygen, gulped from the surface, is stored. They can live in stagnant water quite well, without any aeration and will readily gobble mossie larvae. They will readily breed, too, but are bubble nesters, meaning they need calm water for nesting.
Their only downside is they will not overwinter, and must be removed prior to the cold season.

Goldfish or Goruami, I think you may be on to somehitng.

 

[BJ]

Heck, get yourself a 10 cent goldfish...what've you got to lose? Those goldfish are tough little boogers.

Just don't try to win one at the carnival...it would be a 10 dollar goldfish then!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Depending on the size of your rain barrel, a pair of tiny feeder fish may do fine. However, if temps get over about 85F, they may have a problem, as gold fish are "cool" water fish. I keep some in my turtle pool and it get's warm, but with summer highs averaging in the 70's, and tons of surface area, they do fine... if they don't get eaten first. The ones I have "left over" are now 6-10 inches long.

Might ask fish and wildlife if they have mosquito fish available. Some areas provide them at low costs for pools, ponds, and so on due to mosquito problems.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Personally I'd poor some regular bleach in the water once a week
or so. The clorine will kill any critters and evaporate in 24 to 36 hours.


I do like the goldfish idea.

 

[GwenFarms]

PC..I use my rain barrel to water my chickens and my garden. I don't think all the chlorine is good for either. I know the fish poop is good for the garden especially and doesn't seem to have any negative effect on the chickens.

I've had gold fish in my barrel and troughs for years without any problems what so ever. I've had them to start out an inch long and grow to be 4-6 inches over years.