Goldfish in a rain barrel?

Hmmm. Just found a post online (and several more about the topic once I started searching) that said that you can put goldfish in your rain barrels to keep the mosquitoes under control. This doesn’t sound like a good idea AT ALL, to me, but I would be interested in hearing some other opinions.

Sure, we all know the benefits of rain barrels. They help to capture rainwater for future use and also help cut down on stormwater runoff.

Since they do hold standing water, some people are concerned that they may be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Since all of our rain barrels are the kind that are closed at the top, and fit directly to the downspouts on our home, we are not aware of them ever being a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

However, some people use a different type of rain barrel to capture their rain. These barrels are completely open at the top, and the opening is covered with screen to keep debris and small critters from getting in the barrel. I ASSUMED that these were the  type of barrels that some people add goldfish to, to help control any mosquitoes that lay eggs in the water. However, I found at least one post online where it looked like people were adding goldfish to a CLOSED barrel.

I don’t really know much about fish, but I am a critter lover. So my questions are: would goldfish in a closed rain barrel get enough oxygen? What about light? What happens when your rain barrel runs low on water? Or when its raining so hard that the water is just gushing into the barrel?

I know that these small fish are just sold as “feeder fish” for larger critters, anyway, so maybe people see them as expendable. But if they die, how do you keep the fish from clogging up your spigots?

Any fish experts out there care to add an opinion?

Here is the original post I read: Did you know? Goldfish and Rain Barrels