Cuddling

[Andy41]

Hi Guys,

Now that the cold weather is here, and the fish are waiting it out, i've noticed two behaviours....

1. The Goldfish in the pond group together about 50cm under the surface, and directly under the bridge.
2. The KOI like to cuddle together deep down next to one of the plant baskets. I've got six Koi, and they're all there most of the time. Sometimes one or two wonder off on patrol, but always come back to this spot.

Any else noticed this behaviour?





Cheers,

Andy.

p.s. sorry for the picture quality. Taken with a phone camera in bad light

 

[addy1]

I just have goldfish, they all hang together as a group around 4 feet down. = 121 cm , about

They move as a group, but mainly just hang barely moving

 

[JohnHuff]

Any else noticed this behaviour?

Yes, it's the "it's cold, let's huddle behavior".
Fish have a lot more personality than we give them credit for. I have indoor fish and because you can see them better in a tank, I've come to realize how much personality fish can have. Each fish is different. Some are bullies, some are nice, some come to me, some don't. At least, I hoping that I mean more to them than: human = food.

 

[Andy41]

I hope the human=food thing means you bring them food, and not that they're eating humans?

On a more serious note, yes, i've noticed the personalities. I've got a large white koi that's a bully, and my profile pic Koi, Bill, is very trusting and is the only one, so far, that will take food from my hand.

 

[sissy]

mine do the same side by side under the bridge .Looks like a line up for a firing squad

 

[JohnHuff]

I hope the human=food thing means you bring them food, and not that they're eating humans?

Unfortunately for fish, conversely sometimes fish = food thing means exactly that.

 

[Andy41]

I noticed that in the summer when a Goldfish died... by the time i got to him he'd lost almost all his fins.

 

[Koilady]

Hi Andy, I have seen my Koi and Goldfish do this often. I have many stories to tell about how social these beautiful creatures are. It usually happens in the winter when the weather is so much colder but, if you find this happening in your pond during warmer weather, it could be a sign of high ammonia content and a one third water change from the bottom of the pond to remove any excess toxins existing there, should be done. Also, check your bio-filter to see if it's large enough for the size of your pond and how often you have to clean this filter. When I say cleaning, if you have to hose down all the bio-media, you will destroy any good bacteria in there so that it will take another four to six weeks to build up strong enough so that it can start removing these toxins from the water. I used to use opened, plastic scrubbies to filter my water and they have worked for at least 27 years. Unfortunately, they are now starting to break down so that long strips of the scrubbies are pulling off and causing round balls. When this happens the whole scrubby is not being utilized and any debris that collects in these balls will suffocate the good bacteria due to a lack of oxygen and this can affect the rest of the bio-media to.
Keep us posted Andy.

Hugs, Lorraine