Possibly getting goldfish tonight...can I do this?

[MK3]

I think I managed to convince everyone that goldfish will not be that hard to care for. So I'm hopefully heading to the pet store tonight to pick out some fish. I'm also planning on buying a water test kit (API's master freshwater one).

I'd like to test my water and adjust the pH if necessary before adding my fish to the pond (please let me know if I don't need to do this before adding the fish). I'm not sure how long that will take and I don't want my fish sitting in the baggies overnight...so I was thinking I'd fill a large bowl up with water (we get well water) and put them in there for now. Will that be okay? I don't have an aquarium.

 

[sissy]

Ph and is usually stable from wells .But baking soda will raise PH also .Most with gold fish keep it between 6 or 8 I think .I have koi and goldfish together and mine is around 8 .The water you are adding I guess came through a filter on your house water supply .If you leave them in the bvag to long they will be without oxygen in the bag after awhile .Not to be funny but my neighbor put hers in her bathtub Oh well they lived and are fine

 

[tbendl]

I just put mine in. I let them sit in the baggie in the water for 20 minutes or so and set them free. I'm sure the best way is to test the water first but mine are fine. Goldfish are pretty hardy guys. I have shubunkins and they have done well with no extra care so far.

 

[EricV]

Why don't you take a bit of your water along to the store. They should be able to test it and if there is something horribly wrong with it, you go home without fish. Otherwise (and 6-8 pH is a pretty huge range), take the fish home with you.

 

[tbendl]

Hey great idea right there!!

 

[MK3]

Why don't you take a bit of your water along to the store. They should be able to test it and if there is something horribly wrong with it, you go home without fish. Otherwise (and 6-8 pH is a pretty huge range), take the fish home with you.

I will do that! Thanks for the idea.

 

[MK3]

Well I managed to forget my water sample. I had it on a container sitting on my counter.

Anyway, I picked up one comet (they only had one) and two shubunkins. There were a bunch of orandas but I think those prefer warmer temps (I live in MD). I was at pets mart and the guy seemed pretty clueless so I hope these will be be happy and healthy in my pond. I asked him if they'll be able to survive winter, and he said I should get a heater. Is this really necessary? My pond is 2-3 feet deep.

I also got a water testing kit, I'll be doing all that tomorrow but I'm adding my fish to the pond tonight.

 

[sissy]

I have a pond heater and i live only 15 minutes from the NC border .Better safe than sorry

 

[Dave 54]

I hope your putting these new fish through a 4-8 week QT period before they go into your pond ?
This would be a wise precaution to employ as soon as they arrive, just in case the pond they are coming from has parasites your own pond doesnt, thus leaving your own fish open to infection
If I had a £1.00 UKP for everytime I've heard of it happening when the person says oh no it wont happen to me ask @C-Note.

Dave

 

[MK3]

I hope your putting these new fish through a 4-8 week QT period before they go into your pond ?
This would be a wise precaution to employ as soon as they arrive, just in case the pond they are coming from has parasites your own pond doesnt, thus leaving your own fish open to infection
If I had a £1.00 UKP for everytime I've heard of it happening when the person says oh no it wont happen to me ask @C-Note.

Dave

No I never heard of doing that for fish. I don't own a tank. These 3 fish are the first and only fish in my pond, but not the first creatures (snails and bugs). I already added them last night...

If it's any consolation, I tested for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate, and everything passed with flying colors. Ph: 7.6, Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0.

 

[MK3]

I bought some TetraPond Variety Blend fish food and the fish don't seem interested :/. They're hiding so I can't find them anywhere. They also seem to have kicked up the dirt on the bottom because the pond is now cloudy.

 

[tbendl]

I put my first fish about 6 weeks ago. It took them awhile to come out of hiding and eat so I wouldn't worry about that, they will find you when they get hungry and can snack on algae and such in the pond. I would go out about the same time every morning and drop just a few pellets in, after a few days, they started coming out to meet me and now those piggies swarm every morning waiting to be fed. I tried the flakes at first and those didn't entice them at all.
Enjoy them! I was determined not to add fish when I built the pond and am so glad I did, they are just so much fun to watch.

 

[MK3]

I put my first fish about 6 weeks ago. It took them awhile to come out of hiding and eat so I wouldn't worry about that, they will find you when they get hungry and can snack on algae and such in the pond. I would go out about the same time every morning and drop just a few pellets in, after a few days, they started coming out to meet me and now those piggies swarm every morning waiting to be fed. I tried the flakes at first and those didn't entice them at all.
Enjoy them! I was determined not to add fish when I built the pond and am so glad I did, they are just so much fun to watch.

I'm not at home, but my sister says she can't see the two shubunkins anywhere, only the comet. She took out all the floating plants and says she can see down to the bottom and the fish aren't there. She thinks they got eaten. I feel like it's more likely that they just died. I really hope they're still in hiding....

 

[Dave 54]

I'm not at home, but my sister says she can't see the two shubunkins anywhere, only the comet. She took out all the floating plants and says she can see down to the bottom and the fish aren't there. She thinks they got eaten. I feel like it's more likely that they just died. I really hope they're still in hiding....

If they had died you would find two rotten fish corpses more than probably covered in a white fungus which is slowly devouring them , more than probably your fish have been predated.

Dave

 

[MK3]

Oh my.

It just happened so fast. 75% of the pond is covered in plants, so it's hard to imagine that a predator (likely a heron) was able to see and catch them. I think my sister is going to buy more fish. I guess if they keep getting eaten, we can't keep fish.