Goldfish in a water trough for steers?

[QChickieMama]

I read somewhere that goldfish will eat the mosquito larvae and help keep the water trough cleaner for my steers. I've had them a week, and the water is GREEN.

Do goldfish help or harm the water trough?
Would the steers prefer clear water to green water?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Goldfish put out a lot of waste which fuels algae growth. They also don't tolerate high temperatures. I would remove the ASAP and get them into an appropriate pond or tank.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Are you sure it's the goldfish? Sounds like an algae bloom.

 

[OnlySympathy]

Absolutely do not keep them in there. Goldfish produce tons of ammonia which is not something anything should be drinking out of. And with no filtration in hot weather the oxygen in the water is going to be very low making the goldfish lethargic and not want to eat. The reason the water is green is because there has been an algae bloom caused by the waste the goldfish produce. Goldfish also get huge (one of mine is around 9-10 inches and they can get 14+) so depending on how many you have you either need to get a large tank, a stock tank, or pond to keep them in which also means a lot of extra work, find a proper home for them (do not release them into the wild they are extremely invasive), or kill them and feed them to your chickens/leave them out for wildlife

I’m guessing keeping them as pets isn’t what you will want to do but if you do I’m happy to help with any questions you have, they are one of my favorite fish

 

[Squawkers]

Absolutely do not keep them in there. Goldfish produce tons of ammonia which is not something anything should be drinking out of. And with no filtration in hot weather the oxygen in the water is going to be very low making the goldfish lethargic and not want to eat. The reason the water is green is because there has been an algae bloom caused by the waste the goldfish produce. Goldfish also get huge (one of mine is around 9-10 inches and they can get 14+) so depending on how many you have you either need to get a large tank, a stock tank, or pond to keep them in which also means a lot of extra work, find a proper home for them (do not release them into the wild they are extremely invasive), or kill them and feed them to your chickens/leave them out for wildlife

I’m guessing keeping them as pets isn’t what you will want to do but if you do I’m happy to help with any questions you have, they are one of my favorite fish

I was just about to tag you

 

[MROO]

I read somewhere that goldfish will eat the mosquito larvae and help keep the water trough cleaner for my steers. I've had them a week, and the water is GREEN.

Do goldfish help or harm the water trough?
Would the steers prefer clear water to green water?

Haven't tried it yet, but there's a theory going 'round about a piece of copper piping dropped in the tank will keep algae down. It'll also kill goldfish, so NO FISHIES in the water trough!

 

[cassie]

Goldfish put out a lot of waste which fuels algae growth. They also don't tolerate high temperatures. I would remove the ASAP and get them into an appropriate pond or tank.

I had goldfish in my livestock water tanks for years. So did my boss on the dairy where I worked as a milker. In fact, he is the one who gave me the idea. The fish kept the water clear and clean. I lived in the San Joaquin Valley in California and temperatures of over 100 degrees are not uncommon. My goldfish thrived.

There are two things I did for my goldfish that my boss did not do. I dropped in a gallon bucket that I filled with soil. I put pebbles on the top of the soil to keep the dirt in. I planted a water plant in the soil. I forget the name of the plant, but it is a common aquarium plant, and I think the name of it starts with an A. It grew enough to provide shelter for the fish. Sometimes I threw in a 12" square of plywood, and it floated to provide shade. I don't know if it was really necessary.

 

[cassie]

I read somewhere that goldfish will eat the mosquito larvae and help keep the water trough cleaner for my steers. I've had them a week, and the water is GREEN.

Do goldfish help or harm the water trough?
Would the steers prefer clear water to green water?

The goldfish will do a fine job of clearing up the tank, but they won't do it overnight, or even in a week. All the years I had livestock I kept goldfish in the water tanks. My water tanks were always clean and clear. The only time I had trouble was once when the automatic float failed. The water level got so low the cow drank my fish. She just sucked them up.

I did do two things for my fish that were probably not necessary. One, I took a one-gallon plastic bucket, filled it with soil, planted an aquarium plant, put a layer of pebbles on the top of the soil to keep the soil in and dropped it in the tank. Two, sometimes I put a foot square piece of plywood in the tank that would float and provide shade. I had a number of friends who kept fish in their livestock water tanks. They did neither of those things and their fish did just fine.

 

[cassie]

I was just about to tag you

I take it you have no personal experience with fish in the water tanks. I kept goldfish in my water tanks for years and they did a fine job of keeping the tanks clear and clean. I learned about goldfish from my neighboring stockmen and dairymen. I also learned that if asked, the local farm advisor's office would provide mosquito fish free of charge for the same purpose.

 

[cassie]

Absolutely do not keep them in there. Goldfish produce tons of ammonia which is not something anything should be drinking out of. And with no filtration in hot weather the oxygen in the water is going to be very low making the goldfish lethargic and not want to eat. The reason the water is green is because there has been an algae bloom caused by the waste the goldfish produce. Goldfish also get huge (one of mine is around 9-10 inches and they can get 14+) so depending on how many you have you either need to get a large tank, a stock tank, or pond to keep them in which also means a lot of extra work, find a proper home for them (do not release them into the wild they are extremely invasive), or kill them and feed them to your chickens/leave them out for wildlife

I’m guessing keeping them as pets isn’t what you will want to do but if you do I’m happy to help with any questions you have, they are one of my favorite fish

I used to live in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Stockmen there routinely kept goldfish in their water tanks. So did I. I never heard of anyone having trouble with an overgrowth of algae in their tanks. Neither did I. The local farm advisor's office provided mosquito fish free of charge for use in livestock water tanks. All you had to do was ask.