blessedfamily said:
I bought mine at pets mart, our local pet store, but places like azponds.com and other will carry them.
how do people seem to get away with adding so much fish
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I bought mine at pets mart, our local pet store, but places like azponds.com and other will carry them.
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talal, re how do people seem to get away adding so much fish; Have you noticed that koi people spend most of their time talking about pumps, filters, and equipment and goldfish people talk about their pretty little goldfish! That's because as a koi owner you have to really know your equipment to keep your pond clean and fish healthy. It's not as tough to keep a goldfish pond nice. If you are just starting out it's a lot easier to go with a few goldfish. If you want a lot of big fish you better really know your stuff.
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laughing, agree cometkeith, but in saying that when you read the monster fish keeper forum, my bog could support koi very easily with no other filtering. But then again my bog is HUGE! lol It is so much easier to lose a 13 cent or 1 dollar fish then one that cost xxx
But in saying that I am still sticking with goldfish and shubunkin, I like to have plants in the pond also
But in saying that I am still sticking with goldfish and shubunkin, I like to have plants in the pond also
I agree what your saying about how koi can be really hard to take care of cometkeith, but with that being said goldfish are not always a walk in the park and especially not fancies which in my opinion are much harder than koi...but I do have plans for a great bio/mechanical/chemical filter waterfall diy project.
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yes, I think the issue is really bio-load. Addy I'm sure your pond can handle koi no problem and I'm sure some people would be better off with smaller or fewer fish in their pond then what they have now. It seems to be a badge of honor to have a koi pond versus goldfish.When ever I mention to people that I meet that I have a pond they always ask if I have koi and then I have to explain the benefits of goldfish versus koi etc. There are a lot of knowledgeable goldfish people here and that is one of the reasons I think this forum is so good. Goldfish are not just for beginners!
fishin4cars
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I have to agree CometKeith, I've kept both for many years, IMO Koi are hardier, than a lot of goldfish, Bio load is a must for Koi, they get so big and disrupt so much more that filtering isn't a option it's a necessity. Plants, Goldfish love them, Koi love to eat and play in them! But Goldfish can have their own issues also. The wife and I went looking at fish today, Probably viewed over 1000 Goldfish and Koi. Didn't bring anything home this trip but enjoyed looking. One shop had 6 XXXXXL Sarassa's and Shubunkins for sale, I've never seen 12"+ Goldfish for sale before, and NEVER thought I would be considering $100 for one either. Kind of glad that they were so high as it probably kept me from adding another to the pond, But I have to say, ALL 6 were fine looking fish, I wanted the salt and pepper shubunkin, Literally all white with tiny peppering from head to tell. I need more ponds!!! LOLCometKeith said:
CometKeith said:
that is so true, people always seem to ask if there are koi in the pond, i guess they just can't help adding a very cool sense to the pond, its probabley because they are so large and so bright and that goldfish just seem so common, and thank you for understanding that goldfish are not just for beginners...maybe they should breed fancy koi varietys?, but that would probabley take away the koi's reputation and turn it into a novelty fish so lets just stick to our regular gorgeous koi, can't wait to add a few later on!!!
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Fishin, I feel sorry for those store owners. Stocked up 1000 fish and didn't have the right one you were looking for!
fishin4cars said:
darn you lol, my absolute favourite fish is the sarrassa comet and on top of that you got to see a 12"+ one, i am so jealous lol and we don't have any stores that would hold nearly as close a volume as that of koi and goldfish here now i am really jealous....i would have probabley crumbled and ended up buying like 50 goldfish of which i would have room for probabley 20 and end up giving away the rest and sitting for hours choosing which ones i like best.
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talal101 said:
Well if you buy that many and need to poof some, send them here! lol
I, personally would not pay anything over $5 for a fish, no matter how beautiful. My 13 cents ones are looking good! But those cheap fish have a very nice pond to live in.
fishin4cars
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Addy, I have no issue paying $200-$300 for a GOOD Koi, No matter what size. I've kept salt water fish through the years along with some pretty rare fish. I've also bought my share of the .10 cent feeders also. I do recommend though if anyone is buying the really cheap ones (ACTUALLY ANY NEW FISH), Quarantine them for a minimum of a month before placing them with the rest of your fish. I've seen feeder fish ponds before, They cull out what they think are the best for selling a little larger, then they stock HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS in a pond for quick sell, It's very easy for fish to come in sick, with lots of stress on those. In your pond set-up they are probably some of the best to stock fish but use caution and always set them up in a isolation tank and monitor them closely first. I watched a dealer stock 100 in a seperate basket that had about 30 10"-12" 2-3 year old koi in the primary tank for sale, they came in on a Friday afternoon, By Monday morning he had lost over 50% of his koi, by weeks end EVERY fish in the pond had died. After that day I started my isolation pond up and I keep it running all the time now, It's a great pond to start plants, only 300 gallons so it can be a hospital tank for my koi if needed and it's great for raising babies in when breeding starts. All around I have gotten to where I enjoy it as much as the primary pond and it keeps my older babies(Big Guys) alot safer!
I have found koi are more difficult in regards to being more sensitive to cold and they are smarter and spook easier so I've lost a few to jumping and such. I had one die of a heart attack in qt when I had to net it.
Frankly all pond fish are easy breezy compared to fancy goldies! Those little mutants have so many issues because of their odd little bodies. I only have 2 ranchu, one pearlscale and 1 ruykin left (had lionhead, telescope too) but I've had so many problems with swim bladders, egg impaction, lose a googly eye and consipation. They are just much more sensitive. I won't be getting any more fancies. The fanciest fish I will go with now are wakin, watonia, fantails because they are about as tough as comets.
Frankly all pond fish are easy breezy compared to fancy goldies! Those little mutants have so many issues because of their odd little bodies. I only have 2 ranchu, one pearlscale and 1 ruykin left (had lionhead, telescope too) but I've had so many problems with swim bladders, egg impaction, lose a googly eye and consipation. They are just much more sensitive. I won't be getting any more fancies. The fanciest fish I will go with now are wakin, watonia, fantails because they are about as tough as comets.
addy1 said:
hahah addy, i haven't gotten anywhere near that amount of fish before but if i ever do you can expect to find many in the mail lol....im guilty for paying too much on fish lol, i sometimes can't help myself with that, but these days my limit is like 5 on goldfish and like 20-30 on koi for the time being until i get better.
another one of my guilty problems is quarantineing my fish before i put them into the pond, my whole issue is that i don't really have the space for a quarantine tank and none of the equipment for it, i may start one this year.fishin4cars said:
evesta said:
hahah mutants!, i agree i think that some of the fancy goldfish are actually kind of rediculous and deformed all over, like i feel bad for some of those fancys varieties because they were only bred for their looks and honestly no regard was given to the actual health and life of the fish.
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evesta said:
agree about the goldies, sticking with the "normal" ones!
Great fishin, I know quite a few people that will pay that for koi, I am just not one of them. I have a 1000 gallon pond they can go into until I know they are healthy. Thanks for the heads up.
fishin4cars
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simple Quarantine pond
Small Kiddie pool or rubber maid tub
a simple box filter and pump
a cover for half the container
The box filter and pump can be run in your regular pond for a spitter or something until you need it for the quarantine pond for bio-filtering it. I picked up the box filter, and pump at lowes for about $150, kiddie pool, $12 at walmart, A piece of scrap plywood for cover, free from a building site where it was being thrown away. The cover for me seems to be very important, it keeps the water cooler, it allows the fish to settle down in the dark and get used to us slowly, they feel more protected and jump far less. I'm using a 300 gallon rubbermaid tub with bottom drain now, I set it up and keep it running for starting up new plants and holding babies until I see if I want to keep them or not. I really feel this is a must as I would really hate to get one of my big guys sick from not doing that 4 week isolation.
Small Kiddie pool or rubber maid tub
a simple box filter and pump
a cover for half the container
The box filter and pump can be run in your regular pond for a spitter or something until you need it for the quarantine pond for bio-filtering it. I picked up the box filter, and pump at lowes for about $150, kiddie pool, $12 at walmart, A piece of scrap plywood for cover, free from a building site where it was being thrown away. The cover for me seems to be very important, it keeps the water cooler, it allows the fish to settle down in the dark and get used to us slowly, they feel more protected and jump far less. I'm using a 300 gallon rubbermaid tub with bottom drain now, I set it up and keep it running for starting up new plants and holding babies until I see if I want to keep them or not. I really feel this is a must as I would really hate to get one of my big guys sick from not doing that 4 week isolation.