How do fish in a small pond (or anywhere for that matter) survive?

I am no expert in this area, but here is what I thought of.

Unlike your goldfish pond, ponds in the wild have a variety of organisms that provide stability. They are small ecosystems. The waste of some organisms provides food for others

Aren’t most ponds connected to streams? The streams could help with temperature regulation. Streams Into the pond could be a source of nutrients, and streams that take water out of the pond could help remove debris.

Domesticated goldfish are NOTHING like their cousins the wild goldfish. The wild cousins are a threat to nature & are considered a PEST as they grow up to 16 inches long & often weigh as much as 4 pounds. They become an invasive species that is difficult at best to even attempt to eradicate. The above link is from the NY Times back in 2016 gives statistics as to where & how the wild variety takes over their territory.

The Smithsonian explains even further as to how the domesticated goldfish is limited by the size of its enclosure where the wild ones have no such limitations. Due to these reasons, goldfish should NEVER be released into the wild!!! As a matter of fact, I’m now wondering IF your little guys actually need to be babied so much & IF they might not survive with much less pampering or IF the pet store found a way to increase their income??? I raised domesticated goldfish in a tank many years ago & the only care recommended was to toss some food in once a day & I had to be careful to use certain precautions when doing a complete water changeover.

Wild non-domesticated fish are more adapted. I can catch a goldfish with my hand. No way I’ll be able to do that with a wild fish. On occasion someone will catch an Oscar, cichlid or even a pirahna that was released in the lakes here. Those are not very domesticated, never seem to see goldfish in the lakes. Just my theory on why.

Great answers. The fish just seem so fragile. Everything needs to be just right. And if you get out of that zone (temeprature, oxygen, nitrites, nitrates,,,,) for an instant the result is a bunch of floaters.
i suppose it’s like poodles in the wild. They wouldn’t survive for a day.

~ Nor would many of us!

I had a small pond once. It was full of algae and weeds as well as fish. I treated the water to help kill the plant growth a little. I missed the warning on the chemical that said to use on water that was below 70 F. We had a freak warm spell just before I used it. It drove out all the oxygen and killed everything. After I gave the pond time to recover normal water quality, I got some feeder goldfish from the pet store and tossed them in. I think I threw in 6. In no time I had a whole school of goldfish that were no longer the little aquarium style. They were as big as koi. And every wading bird for 3 counties showed up. I had a green heron, a blue heron (or 2), and a kingfisher as the most notable. But even these predators couldn’t stop the goldfish. All the birds did was keep the population in check.
The point is, I think you are trying too hard. Nature has a way of making it work.

@seawulf575 One way or the other, Nature will work its way.
i just like seeing fish swimming clear water.

It’s 4 am now and I just got back inside from putting in ½ dose of clearing agent. i’m having a party at the house today and I want the pond looking nice. I added 6 red, white, and blue Shubunkin along with the 20 or so others.
Now I must hope another critter doesn’t take a swim in it.

They eat algue and small particles in the water? :)

@victoriamoren Some do. the little particles are usually some form of life…not just silt. Though, again, they do take in silt as well. It’s all nutrients. They also eat insects that land on the water, smaller fish, etc. Oh! And Welcome To Fluther!

@LuckyGuy It is possible that your fish are fragile because you have too many for the size of the pond. I’m not saying this is the reason, but most fish will adapt to the size of their environment. If you are “overpopulating” the small pond you have, you might need to do all the extra work to alter their environment to support more fish. For example, when I threw the feeder goldfish into my pond, they were just small…about the size of a half-dollar coin. Some grew to be a foot long. In an aquarium, they would not have grown that large. It might also be that you have “designer” fish…hybrids that are bred as a species. Sometimes these are not as hearty as “natural” fish and require more effort…they need specific environmental conditions to survive. A decorative pond can be a beautiful thing, but they do require work.