Question
QUESTION: I live in upstate NY and have had a pond for a couple of years.  Last year my shubumkins spawned and I had hundreds of babies.  By the end of the summer there was at least 5 left.  I do have a pond surface heater that is in place over the winter.  Right now the pond is cloud and needs to have the leaves pulled out of it(hopefully this weekend as it will finally be 60!!!). Anyway, my question is, what are the chances that those little guys survived.  Also what size(approx.) will they be?  Any help that you could give would be great.  Thank you.

ANSWER: I hope some survived for you.  How big is the pond?  How many other fish do you have and of what species and sizes?  What other animals do you have?  Was there any water movement or aeration over the winter which increases survival rates?

It would be a total guess for me to say if any of your babies survived.  If you've overwintered the adults before with few casualties then it's pretty likely some made it.  I hope you find some soon!  Get your water moving and filtering, and hopefully, it will clear up.

Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Robyn,

Thank you for your reply.  My pond is some what of a figure eight.  Seven ft. in diameter and 15 in. deep at one end and nine ft in diameter and 24 in deep at the other. I did leave the waterfall running all winter.  I have shumbunkins and rockets for fish.  I also have green frogs, bullfrogs, and Japanese snails  that live in the pond.  My babies I believe are from my shubunikns that I have had now for 3 years.  I have another question for you.  I currently have 6 shumbunkins and 4 comets in the pond based on my pond size could I put kio in the pond?  We live in zone 4 if that is info you need to know.  Thanks again for all of your help.

Melissa

Answer
Rockets?  Did you mean comets?  The tri-colored goldfish are shubunkins.

Your first circle would be 360 gallons if it's a true cylinder shape while the second one would be about 954 gallons.  So, your pond is 1300 gallons max. If the sides aren't straight, etc., it's probably smaller.  It should be big enough for your current fish.  

Your pond is technically large enough for a small koi or two.  I wouldn't put in more than a few though as your pond isn't very deep.  Since you're in Zone 4, I'm surprised that your pond doesn't freeze down more.  I would expect your shallow part of the pond would freeze most of the way down.  Ideally, in your zone, you would have a pond like 4 feet deep for koi.  Koi can grow to 3 feet long.  Mine are almost 2 feet long and 11 years old.  If you really do want koi, I suggest enlarging the pond and making a deeper section too.