I can only speak from my experience. My fish loved their new pond this year when they moved from a small preformed winter puddle. You could see their excitement as they explored their new digs immediately. They were led by Scout, the biggest and first caught to make the transfer. From your zone, I imagine they are staying lower because it is cooler for them in the deeper water. Visits from predators can also send them into hiding. Do you have plant coverage yet?

It takes a week or 2 for them to get comfortable in the new pond and with your feeding times. Pretty soon they will be eagerly coming up to get fed.

Every time you feed them you should call them. I say 'here fish babies' and they come up and eat. It will take a while for them to associate your voice with food but it will happen. My husband did not believe that fish were smart enough to come when called so to prove they would come to any voice he went out and called them. When they didn't come he had to admit they could recognize my voice. I love my fish babies. We had to go to a pond/landscaping store during our vacation so I could talk to someone else's fish babies.

Welcome srkaiser & congrats new "fish mom". Yes, it does take them a while to get comfortable with their environment. I'm sure they're fine & will be following you around the pond in no time. Always feed them from the same spot & they'll be eating our of your hand in no time.

Spent a week in your neck o' the woods couple wks ago. Only took my jacket off once & that was when I was helping dd design & plant her garden. Wishin I was there now...temps here in the high 90's & hit 106 last weekend.

Lol @ frankielynn...same here, Plus, half the time w/dd in the garden was spent planning a small above-ground pond which can be easily disassembled when she moves (oh, the joys of military housing). She & the kids miss their fishies back home. I have to call g-son when I feed the fishies so he can personally call them to dinner *chuckle*...and yup...the come a running - or swimmin as they case may be.

blessings,
~digger

Poor water quality and sick fish can stay on the bottom. Like if when moved they went from high pH to low pH. But assuming they're healthy my opinion has been they'll stay on the bottom because they don't know you're feeding them. As far as they know if there's going to be any food they're going to find it on the bottom. They will stay there until they learn otherwise. That is their nature.

What I've done in the past is use flake food. It floats, so you kind of stir it a bit so it slowly sinks. As it sinks into that lower world the fish see it, taste it and you now have new best friends for life.

You can use other slow sinking foods, but flake is handy.

It can take a few sessions. But pretty soon they'll follow the trail of food to the surface. There's a saying amongst goldfish, translated it goes something like "first in line gets the most food". It's really the only saying they have.

From then on you just let the food float.

Often this can take just one secession. However if the fish don't take the sinking food when they should be able to see it you have sick fish. You don't want to let a lot of uneaten food pile up on the bottom.

You can call them, certainly works. However they will work out very quickly clues the food is coming. It's pretty much all they have to do all day, figure you out. A door shutting or just a large figure by the pond is enough. As you walk around the pond you'll have a school following you on the off chance you might pity these pour starving fish...who were fed 1 minute ago.

Thanks everybody for the quick replies. Our food floats so I bet they don't know we tried to feed them. I will try the flake food first, see if that draws them out. I will let you know if that works... Thanks! Sandi

If you crush your current food some of it might sink.

Success! I followed the advice to get flake goldfish food and sink it to the bottom. At first my boys and dogs were outside and I think the racket around the pond might have kept the fish hidden. Because once my boys headed inside to get ready for bed and dogs went inside too. I stayed outside watching the pond carefully trying to get the flakes to sink. Then suddenly one fish darted out grabbed a bite and darted back into hiding. Then another fish darted out. Then two fish came grabbed a bite and hid. Wow are they fast! I am assuming all five did get something to eat. I didn't put a LOT of food down because I wasn't sure they would respond. I will repeat the process tomorrow and give them a little more food. Then gradually hopefully get them to floating food. I am just sooo relieved to see them and have fed them. I was really getting worried... Thank you everyone!!!! Sandi

It also helps to provide some cover for them in the pond, usually plants.

Many put fish in ponds that are barren and they feel very exposed to predators and cower on the bottom....

I bought some goldfish in Oct, I didn't see them (4) until May. I thought they were all dead. They were babies (2"), maybe they were intimidated by the 4"-6" goldfish.