My goldfish pond

[CometKeith]

Update on babies. I have been noticing a few babies lately and had guessed there were probably 3 or 4 total. Now my best guess is at least 10 or 12. I cleaned my filter yesterday and when I turned the waterfall off I noticed a bunch more. So my thinking is about 6 shubunkins and about 6 black comets. Some of the shubunkins look like they might have really nice coloration. I hope the baby black comets don't stay black forever. Two of my two year old black comets started changing colors this summer but the rest look the same I don't see any of the guppies with the red eyes that I had put in the pond as babies and wonder if there are any in the pond at all.

 

[j.w]

Neat that you have some shubbies. That's what I'm waiting for to happen one of these years. Want my shubbies to multiply. I have enough oj ones!

 

[CometKeith]

JW. Hope you get some shuby babies soon. I like your orange comets. I wish i had more. Finally one of my black ones turned almost all orange. It's weird that I have so many shuby babies. i don't really see them chasing at all. It's always the comets that cause all the commotion

 

[callingcolleen1]

Orange comets are dominate and a healthier more wild type than fantails and Shubbies. The smaller tail means that they can swim faster to fertilize the eggs and quicker to escape danger. It is weird that you have so many shuby babies, you must have had lots to begin with and maybe no predators to eat the small babies.

 

[j.w]

Thanks Keith. I really didn't see any babies at all this year. Saw them spawning but guess they used all the eggs for hors d'oeuvres

 

[callingcolleen1]

I don't get very many babies at all these days. I think they all get eaten by the dragonfly larvae. In the spring I can usually spot one or two new ones. Only Keith gets "lucky" and has lots of babies! ha ha ha

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Colleen, JW. Last year I didn't have any babies at all. This year my pond plants formed a jungle on one side of the pond that the bigger fish couldn't get to. Also it was loaded down with hornwort and anacharis. I'm sure this gave the babies a good hiding place. So the count is around 5 or 6 original fish all at least 5 years old. Two fish born 4 years ago. About 25 fish born 2 years ago, and a guesstimate of 12 babies born this year. So better than 90% were born in the pond. I only had a few shubunkins and mostly comets so its pretty weird I have been getting so many shuby babies the last few years. I may have to change my name to ShubunkinKeith!

 

[j.w]

@CometKeith hey does your Hornwort grow in still water? I have some growing near my bubbling aerator and falls growing pretty good and it's in fast churning water. It grabbed onto the airline tubing and is holding on for dear life. Just wondered if it will grow in calmer water also.

 

[callingcolleen1]

JW Hornwort will grow good too in calm waters when the tempeture of the water is warm, I have lots of hornwort that grows good in the bottim pond at the far end where the water is still and calm too.

 

[j.w]

Good then I will put some at the other end of the pond too where things are more peaceful. It is flopping around like crazy near the falls and aerator bubbles!

 

[CometKeith]

jw, ditto.My water never gets warm because my pond is pretty shaded but it definitely likes the sun.Two years ago I bought a cluster of it that was wrapped at one end with a lead weight. I threw it in the bottom of my pond in the spring and it did absolutely nothing. I thought this is the biggest waste of money I ever spent on my pond. But another month or so later it grew like 50 times bigger and now there was a steady stream of tiny bubbles coming from it. Almost like having a bunch of airstones but all natural. No wonder the babies like it so much plus all the good hiding places when you have a big bunch of it!

 

[j.w]

Did you leave that weight on it then and it's still holding it down in that one area? Wondering if I put a weight on a bunch of mine that it would be less likely then to get sucked up to the pre-filter.

 

[CometKeith]

jw, it decomposes in the winter in my pond, but little bits of it start growing in the spring until there is a lot of it by summer. Same thing with anacharis. The weight probably got tossed a few years back when I was netting the bottom of the pond of organic matter when I was cleaning it!

 

[j.w]

Thanks Keith. I have some set aside growing in a water tub in case the stuff in the main pond goes away or is eaten by the fish. Any pieces that get attached to the pre-filter I save and toss back in so hopefully I will have a restart of it next Spring.
Anacharis never ever makes it in my pond. Think the fish devour it. Have to dole it out to them from the tub ponds.

 

[CometKeith]

My goldfish pretty much leave all my plants alone so my situation is different than most because I don't have koi. Well I haven't been able to spend any time by the pond the last few weeks. Basically we have had only two climates here....... Constant rain or just general dampness which attracts mosquitoes and to top it off today is rainy and cold, and once in a while it's sunny which makes the bees come out!