fish

Question
we have a small outdoor pond, added 12 feeder fish to it, and winter is a coming! we live in mass., we also have 2 indoor aquariums with tropical fish. wondering when to take them out and hopefully winter them with our indoor fish. looking forward to your reply. cathy

Answer
Hi Cathy:  I would take them out when the temperature drops to 50 degrees... The trouble is that goldfish are cold water fish and your tropical fish are warm water fish.  The two should not be mixed though people have done so successfully... Many attempts are met with outbreaks of disease... Some types of goldfish and koi winter outdoors where the temperatures are extreme and they do just fine... Given all of that... how big is your pond??? Does it freeze solid??? what kind of filter/pump do you have on your pond?  What kind of goldfish do you have???? dave