My goldfish pond

[CountryEscape]

Woohoo, JW has a big frog! Yippee!!! This time of year, too, he will likely be back next summer, too.
Yeah, Keith, they say the fish eat the Azolla. I like it because it looks like teeny tiny leaves, instead of just round like the duck weed. And, as you can see from JW's pic, it is green, and then turns red in the fall! Very pretty, especially close up! Probably each leaf is about 1/4" in diameter, so you get the idea of the size, maybe a little larger. I have to keep it out of the pond, unless in a ring, though, as it would end up in the skimmer if the fish missed it. So far, I really like it in the bog and water pots. Water pots will come into the garage for winter, as I suspect they would crack and break in the winter. We'll see if any of that lives through the winter in my garage. If not, I'll find more next year to admire.

 

[j.w]

Hoping he comes back CE but he's in the little Azolla/Duckweed pond and I want him in the big pond. Oh well guess I'll let him be where he's happy. I've got to yank out some of that Azolla today and put it in the big pond cuz it's growing like crazy and overlapping on itself and they say that's not good for it to do. Say it grows better w/ some open space around it so it doesn't get cramped and die. I like the way it looks also.........it's quite pretty, like a mosaic kind of pattern.

 

[callingcolleen1]

That duckweed is different from the type I have, but I used to have that type. I will try to get you a picture of my duckweed up close tomorrow.

 

[j.w]

That's not duck weed Colleen it's a total different plant called Azolla. Here is my duck weed:

 

[CountryEscape]

Yep, duckweed is usually tiny more rounded leaves, the azolla is more like a fringed set of leaves, and it changes color! I'm going to leave my Azolla in the goldfish bog, have an area about 2' in diameter around the plants in that area. Hoping it will survive and come back in the spring, but I hear it does. Also have some in my kiddie pool, which also has grass clippings that got blown into it last couple of times I mowed. Thinking that should be a good thing, adding some nutrition to the water when it breaks down and sinks to the bottom. And, also have a little bit in 2 of the 3 "water pots" that I will be bringing into the garage when the freezing weather comes. I have a roller cart with pretty good sized wheels to tilt them and get the pots onto. The pots were originally for my lotus plants, kitty litter in the bottom, but only one lotus lived, and it is not doing so well. It did bloom for quite a while in the beginning, but the blooms were never what I would call pretty. They were pretty until they opened, then just fell apart! It's a smaller variety of lotus, not what I ordered, but the lady was trying to replace the ones I ordered, which died, saying this one was more hardy. Well, it HAS lived, but barely, more brown leaves than green. Maybe next year it will do better, and I have seeds from 5 different colored lotus that I plan to start next year really early, hoping to have them ready to go outside when it warms up.

 

[CometKeith]

Cool pics of your duckweed jw. What are those green leafy plants in with them? CE I did have duckweed in a separate pot one time and it turned brown, so I don't know what I was doing wrong. Do you guys think duckweed and azolla are good for the fish's digestive track like peas? Also will they stop eating it or do you need to put in limited amounts like other food? I once had a ryukin in with my comets and half of the time it was swimming upside down because it's bladder was messed up. I gave him a bunch of peas and it helped. I kind of thought the duckweed would have the same affect because it is green but i don't know if this is true.

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm not sure about the benefits of it digestively for the fish, CK. I just know that other ponders report that fish, especially koi, but JW only has goldies so I guess they all love it to eat it. I don't have any in either of my ponds, as I have a skimmer that would suck it up. So, if I put it in, will have to put it in a ring to corral it and keep it out of the skimmer. This year, just put it in places I could watch it grow. And, since I found it free at the landscape place (they didn't know what Azolla was, and thought it was duckweed), I will check it out again next year if I need more. They thought it was bad stuff, told them my fish like it and they didn't know that! Hopefully I didn't start something there ....

 

[j.w]

I knew somebody was gonna ask about those other plants in there Keith. I don't have them anymore and I got them from a ditch on the side of the road. Think they were some kind of weeds and they grew up real tall and ugly so tossed them out!
And I don't know about the benefits of the duckweed or azolla for the fish. Just know they eat it up. I know they use it to feed the tilapia fish that are farmed and it makes them grow good but still don't know if it's good or not. If you really want to get into this I just found this info on duckweed:
http://www.microponics.net.au/?p=181 and Azolla: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plnov98.htm

 

[CometKeith]

My largest female comet is mia. She has been quite sluggish lately and she has not looked as active as the others for a while now. Also it looked like she was developing some disease. I don't know if being chased so much by the other fish contributed to her lowered resistance but she has looked tired and slugish for a few months. I think probably a cat or raccoon got her if she was floating near the top at night and not moving a lot. It's sad to see her go, but since this was one of the larger fish it has brought my bio load down and maybe some of the babies will end up doing better as a result. There are still at least 27-30 babies in my pond and 10 adults and all the other fish appear to be in perfect health.

 

[j.w]

Darn that's sad to hear Keith. You sure she's gone for sure? Sorry if she is :sad:

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks JW, I think she is gone I started some of my fall cleaning today around the pond and gave it a good looking over and didn't see any stray fish so I doubt she is there. She did leave future generations at least! There are 10 baby black comets in the pond and some mixed orange and black and I would venture they were all from her. I only remember two females producing a lot of eggs over the summer. This was one of them and the other was a shubunkin so it's pretty easy to see which babies came from which fish.

 

[j.w]

Well at least you have those little ones from her. Maybe some will turn out to look just like her. What did she look like? Will be interesting to watch the little ones grow and see how they turn out. Wonder tho who the fathers were?

 

[addy1]

Well at least you have those little ones from her. Maybe some will turn out to look just like her. What did she look like? Will be interesting to watch the little ones grow and see how they turn out. Wonder tho who the fathers were?

dna testing...............call 1 800 who da daddy!

 

[CometKeith]

She was bright reddish orange with a white speck on her back and a direct descendant of buddha from another pond, Re daddy lol.......... There are several likely suspects. We may need this info to get child support. There are going to be a lot of hungry mouths to feed! I already ran out of fish food, and we will need more pumps, filters, and new housing (larger pond) for the expanded family. Now exactly who is going to pay?

 

[j.w]

Well lets see, you own the land, you own the pond, you own the fish that you put together in there be they males and females so guess you gonna pay :razz: and you know you love it :luxlove: :goldfish: