Hi, I have 4 goldfish that I brought in for the winter. I want to clean out the pond today as it is full of leaves and was wondering if there is anything I need to do ready for the fish?

Also, when can they be introduced back to the pond and how do I get them used to the temperature change? I thought about putting their tank in the garage maybe next month?

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How big is the pond and does it have a filter? I ask this because if the pond is quite small, waste products will be concentrated into a smaller volume of water. However, if the pond is reasonably large, there isn't really much need for a filter when keeping just four goldfish.

You can start re-introducing the fish now if you wish. March is one of two buying seasons for Koi dealers, where they travel to Japan to buy new stock. The fish usually wind up in garden ponds within a couple of weeks. The fish should be re-introduced in a similar fashion to putting them in an aquarium, fill a plastic fish bag with water from the aquarium and float the fish in the pond to equalize the temperature for about half an hour before releasing them.

Hi Luke, thanks very much for the advice (and interesting fact about koi too ).

The pond isnt huge, about 4 ft x 2.5 ft by about 18 inches deep? Hmm, sounds more of a puddle really! It doesnt have a filter or anything at the mo-is that something you would suggest for the size and number of fish?

(I bought 2 fish 2 years ago which dissapeared (rats??) then some time later these little brown things appeared which turned out to be my current 4!)

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A filter might not be needed straight away, however it wouldn't be a bad idea to get one at some point.

This would however entail the need to rope in an electrician to do the wiring part, depending on how far the pond is from the nearest power source armored cable will have to be used which needs to be buried and covered with fluorescent warning tape.

To avoid hassle and negate the need to buy individual components, an 'all-in-one' pond filter and pump combo would be ideal for a pond of this size. I'd suggest a Hozelock Easyclear, specifically the 3000 model which comes with a 5w UV clarifier to help curb green water algal blooms which prevail during the spring and summer.

Since this filter only uses about 25w, it can simply be plugged into an ordinary 3-pin socket on the 13 amp mains wherever there's a safe power source that's protected from the elements.

The fish that you lost may have been taken by a predator such as a cat, heron or mink. The small brown fish that you saw later would have actually been goldfish fry, indicating that your original fish bred at some point. Goldfish fry are normally a dull brown-black colour until they lose this pigmentation with age, revealing the yellow/orange lustre from where goldfish get their name.