My goldfish pond

[Lisak1]

How exciting! @CometKeith becoming KoiKeith... it has a nice ring to it!

Yesterday was the first day that actually gave me hope that we will get a few hours of spring before summer hits full force. It was 43 degrees when I left home at 6AM and 81 when I got back home at 6PM. What a swing!

 

[j.w]

Sorry about you little fish lost. Things happen. Looking forward to seeing your new Koi soon.

 

[CometKeith]

I heard from the Koi supplier. The Showas from one if their sources they were going to send are still not looking well and many of the ones they sent were doa so they are going to substitute Sankes for them. I might get the one Showa I ordered that was from ISA but that's it. So complicated...

 

[j.w]

Ah that's so sad to hear about the poor fish. Too bad they weren't discovered and rescued sooner. Do you get to pick the new fish or do they just send based on what you chose before?

 

[CometKeith]

Ah that's so sad to hear about the poor fish. Too bad they weren't discovered and rescued sooner. Do you get to pick the new fish or do they just send based on what you chose before?

Hi JW. Just the Sekiguchi Showas are not being sent. Mine were weak but didn't die. They said a lot of them did not survive their shipments. It looks like I'll be getting Sankes instead of those Showas so I'll be lucky to get the one Isa Showa I requested and that will be it. I'm a little dissapointed because I had two Sankes already and I was hoping for an equal number of Showas and Sankes. Of course I want healthy fish so I'll do whatever is best.

 

[addy1]

Can you just cancel and try again later? I know you wanted them. Bummer about not getting what you want. I need to look them up no clue on what a showa is vs a sanke

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Addy. I'll be okay with the Sankes. Sankes have a white body with red and black coloration and the black gets stronger over time. Showas have a black body with white and red colors over it. The black is pretty stable. In Napa valley right now doing wine tastings. Having a nice day with my wife and daughter.

 

[CometKeith]

I received my Koi shipment today from Kodama Koi and they all appeared to be in good health. I was signed up to get e-mail notifications from UPS and was able to get home 25 minutes after the box landed at my door step. My goal was to take a bunch of pictures before I let them in the pond.... but i received a semi-emergency call from my wife (everything was fine) just as I opened the bag and she wanted me to check a text I received and when I looked a minute later for the fish the open bag was floating to the bottom of the pond fish and all! I was able to grab the top of the opened bag and help the remaining fish out who hadn't escaped but no more pics. There are three Sankes,
one Showa and one Datsu Gin Matsuba. I definitely like the largest spotted Sanke and one spotted Showa and the other two Sankes are a little hard to judge because they are so young with small black spots that will most likely get larger over time. I'm hoping as they grow they will all look very nice.

Here are a few pics of the fish in the pond but mostly you see all goldfish and my two spotted Sankes I bought last year. I'll try to get some better shots of the new fish when I can.

 

[addy1]

YEAH! Very nice!

 

[Lisak1]

Glad they made it and all was well with your wife!

 

[j.w]

Such pretty fish, all of them, goldfish too!

 

[CometKeith]

Such pretty fish, all of them, goldfish too!

Haha. Yes. I have always been a big advocate of goldfish because they are so beautiful and have so many interesting behaviors that I feel like a little bit of a traitor adding Koi now. I feel for most new ponders it is far better to start with goldfish and learn the ropes before venturing out with Koi. Also almost every newbie that starts with Koi has too much bioload right off the bat and has difficulty maintaining a good pond environment and get in way over their heads. I feel the time is right for me having grown into a 3000 gallon pond over time and 10 plus years of experience. Also I'm willing to make a sizable investment in proper filtration. That being said there are now 7! Count them one two three four five six seven!! Koi now in my pond along with the 40-50 goldfish! Sorry for my repeated tirades about goldfish versus Koi but I see so many visitors on GPF that I hope many can learn from us. I logged on the other day and I was the only member listed and there were 100 visitors!

 

[addy1]

Happy for you Keith, me sticking with shubunkins/ goldfish. And my simple garden pond filtered with plants only!
Koi are pretty but toooooooooooooo much work for me.

 

[Lisak1]

I gazed longingly into the koi tanks before we bought a few new shubunkins last week. We're a goldfish pond for now... with one big ole koi drifting around, being the pond boss!

 

[Tula]

@CometKeith what kind of filtration are you using? I'm currently out east visiting my daughter but once home I want to add additional filtration. I've noticed more DOC's in the pond this Spring. I'm amazed that one of my older koi is still growing!