Anyone try using goldfish in the stock water tanks?

[m.holloway]

Yup, I have a freind that uses gold fish in there water tanks. They say it helps keeping it clean. With only 2 cows I just wash my tanks out every couple of days.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

well, in MY OPINION....hibernating is different than freezing. I have a background in zoology, I was a vet tech for many years and I have been raising tropical and (used to) goldfish for many years. I had never heard of such a thing. That is all.......
Yes, I did say, goldfish can stand cold water as long as it doesn't freeze (thousands of people keep them out in the winter but the water HAS TO go below the frost line)
That said, I will remove myself from this subject. I feel an argument is not cool, and I love this board way to much to argue with any of you

Whoa whoa whoa!!! Hang on here just a second! I did not, I repeat DID NOT post that reply just to get you all riled up and offended here! No, I was just stating what I knew (or lack there of) about other creatures hibernating or freezing in winter. I wasn't going about to correct you or say you were wrong, it was, I repeat, just something that I thought I knew about hibernatin' or freezing or whatever. And I did say I was not a fish expert, nor am I an amphibian or reptile expert. So what if I am wrong? Then you can just kindly point out where I went wrong instead of getting all huffed up about it. Alright?

Now I apologize if my post got you all offended. I did not mean that to do you any harm. Okay?

And by golly I didn't, nor I hope I didn't intend to start an arguement in any way. Alright?

 

[Thewife]

My back deck fish tubs are plastic, 18 inch across, and 15 inches deep. They are set on a wooden deck, about 4 feet off the ground.
I don't know if they froze solid last winter, but it sure seems like everything else did!

 

[jhm47]

I've put goldfish in our water tanks for 20 years. They do eat all the mosquito larvae, and they also eat any flies that fall off the cows when they drink. As to them eating the moss and algae, I don't know. When our whole herd comes up to drink, they drain the tank completely, and the water is changed several times each day. And---If I don't remove the fish from the tank in the fall, they will freeze and die. -30 kills most everything in this country.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

If the tanks are drained several times a day, why do you have mesquito larve problems?

Which btw, we don't have a problem with in our tanks. I don't know why not but, we don't.

 

[amysflock]

Ooo, I'm glad I saw this thread! I just pulled the plug on a 150 gallon Rubbermaid water trough in our front pasture...we moved the cows off that pasture a week ago and I was shocked how quickly the water turned green, and all the water bugs and mosquito larvae showed up! I wanted to get the fish and let them clean the tank, but realized that was probably not going to work all that well...so the tank is empty and dry (to hopefully kill any larvae that "stuck" to the sides when it emptied, and I'll start over with clean water.

As for the algae...has anyone ever put snails in a trough? I don't think the goldfish really work on plant materials, just bugs and things, so was wondering if a couple of snails might be a good option...but then again, I don't want 5 million snails invading my trough, either!

Where do those crazy water bugs come from, anyway?? Maybe they were dormant in the dry trough, or fell from the sky?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I have no clue as to where they come from either. We have 4 stock tanks running plus one barrel tank and have no mosquito larvae in any of them. Three of the 4 stock tanks have floats in them too, so it's not like they get empty. And we have mosquitoes too. I just have the green issue.

 

[MReit]

man o man, I'm sooooooooooo glad I have a stream..lol Snails multiply super fast, that could be a problem, BUT they would take care of algea.

 

[Thewife]

From what I understand our cows get liver flukes from the snails, crawling on the grass when the fields flood, I don't know if putting them in trough would do the same thing?

 

[KareyABohr]

Gosh it is time like this that I wish my Grandmother was still here.

I remember a "blind scaleless" fish that grandma talked about putting in the rain water sistern when that was the main source of water on the farm before the well was dug.

I have a koi pond, but I have to keep the fish in the basement to keep them from dying.

I might look into that because I know they ate the alge and the mosquito larve and that is why the old timers put them in the tanks. Also they could live with out much oxygen in the water and very VERY little light.