Feeder Goldfish

[Melos]

Does anyone have feeder goldfish in their pond? Yeah, they aren't as elegant as koi, I suppose, but they are definately cheaper!

My mother has a small pond and she put 5 feeder goldfish in it about 4 years ago. They are now over 4 inches long each, 2 orange, 1 orange and white, and the other a bronzish color with a fan-tail. They are pretty - and only 19 cents each!

 

[Dani]

Well mine weren't feeder fish. . . they were 99 cents apiece form Walmart. I've had them for about 3 years now and they are all still alive and swimming!

 

[Melos]

I think they are the perfect way for new pond owners to get started. Koi can be really expensive, and you don't want them to die.

 

[Dani]

I have to admit my Husband bought me one Koi last summer. It was the only fish that died.

 

[TigerLilly]

I bought 4 feeder goldies last season for my pond. 2 survived and doubled in size. They are now inside for the winter. They will go back outside in the pond when the weather stays warm enough. I think I'll get four more and hope to get a couple sirvivors again.

 

[DrDave]

For 40 years, that is all I bought was feeder fish and sometimes Grommies. They grow, and if you selected them yourself can be quite attractive to any pond. Both the Goldfish and Grommies produced fry. The Grommies never make the winter though.

It seemed like I was just raising them for the Egrets. I have declared war on them since I went to Koi.

 

[danasaki]

I bought 20 feeder fish from PetCo for my backyard pond to start it out and see if it was saafe for Koi. A year later, I now have 19 of those 20 feeder fish, they have doubled in size and some have the coolest color patterns. Since they did so well I felt it was safe to add some more expensive members to the party and bought 6 Koi, and 2 Ryukin. One of the Ryukin fell victim to my sisters Ferrell cat, but other than that, everyone in the pond is doing great and I hope to have them all for many more years. My only fear is that I plan to move my pond into a greenhouse in the next year (because the frost kills my plants around the pond every year) and Im afraid that in doing so I might lose a few fish.. I seem to have trouble relocating fish, its always a gamble with who will make it..

 

[DrCase]

It sounds like your fish like the pond are you going to move the pond or build a greenhouse over it

 

[danasaki]

Id like to move the pond, the place it is at right now isnt ideal to build a greenhouse around, it borders the walls of my house. I'd also like to make the pond maybe twice as big if i can, so moving it entirely is what I'm leaning towards doing. Im just not sure if its worth endangering my fish. And with the storms that hit us all week (California), the pond is in a pretty bad place for that right now. On saturday, after the big storm, I came out and the pond and yard were completely submeresed under water.. luckily there were no pesticides or chemicals on the lawn and none of my fish decided to venture out of the pond water into the... yard water.. which they had plenty of room to do. The pond was at least 6 inches under water along with the surrounding yard area..

 

[DrCase]

danasaki one thing good about a big rain is it shows you the level to build your new pond When i replaced my lower pond 2 years ago i raised it up 6" i have a dry creek over flow drain that takes it out the back gate It looks great after a big rain

 

[DrDave]

Why not build a new pond while your fish are comfortable in thier own? Then transfer water from the old pond, filtering it as you do, into the new pond. Then when you move the fish, they will be in water they are used to. You should not loose any. I just moved 135 Koi across town and didn't lose a single fish. They have been in their new pond for about 6 weeks now.

The single biggest thing to do is aclimating them to their new water. That means temp, and chemistry as much as possible.

 

[danasaki]

Thanks DrDave, I suppose i could transfer the water with a pump and filter it like you said. I just hope the temp doesnt fluctuate too much, I would have to add some water as well because im trying to build the new pond a little bigger. If Im to add so much new water, is there a way to be sure it wont harm the fish?

 

[DrDave]

I spent 20 minutes on a response only to have the Forum drop out and loose the message. i think I'll wait to respond again.

 

[danasaki]

ooooww.. Ive had that happen before. Thanks for your time and help though DrDave, I truly appreciate it.

 

[richdeer3]

My two star rose was a feeder that lived 8 years before she was crushed under a waterlily pot this summer. Feeder can be great in pond that are too small for koi. The death rate is high 30-40% is normal. If you get feeder be sure to quarantine at least 3-6 weeks. They can carry lots of illness. I am slowly adding feeders in separate tanks so I'll have more fish for the new ponds for the Spring. Good luck, Gail