shanezam203
Rookie
How long did it take for them to come up to the Top and eat out of your hands? My fish are still very shy and afraid of me.
Some pics of my fishies
- Thread starter RoyalFeather
- Start date
It really depends on the individual person, their mannerism, and how much time they put into it. We received (through the mail) a bunch of commercially bred babies on Tuesday. Took a couple of hours to sort (a few culls), count, and get them settled. When we put them in the 750 QT, they went to the bottom and were a bit spooked... Tuesday night, they were a bit curious but not interested in coming over to say hi... They tend to copy each other, but as of last night, as soon as we get close, they are ALL at the edge waiting, and about half will swim into your hand. IF your mannerism is calm/patient, usually just a few days to a week.
We sold some of our duplicate fish this spring... and the couple who came out couldnt get over how friendly they all were. Ours really are not any more friendly then average, but there's they said did nothing but hide whenever "she" went near the pond... well, if you met her, you would understand why... very impatient, quick moving, etc, and per her husband, since they didnt "instantly" bond with her, she just throws food at them and leaves...
As soon as the fish get used to seeing you and know you are not a predator (and give a small amount of food each time you go over), they will quickly become curious and interested in you. They are VERY food motivated
(stress small amounts of food, a few times a day, IF your weather still allows it)
We sold some of our duplicate fish this spring... and the couple who came out couldnt get over how friendly they all were. Ours really are not any more friendly then average, but there's they said did nothing but hide whenever "she" went near the pond... well, if you met her, you would understand why... very impatient, quick moving, etc, and per her husband, since they didnt "instantly" bond with her, she just throws food at them and leaves...
As soon as the fish get used to seeing you and know you are not a predator (and give a small amount of food each time you go over), they will quickly become curious and interested in you. They are VERY food motivated
(stress small amounts of food, a few times a day, IF your weather still allows it)
HARO
Pondcrastinator
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Once the fish get used to seeing you, and know you are not some 5-6 foot tall monster who has dinner plans, you can be as loud and obnoxious as you want to be near them, and they wont care.
Some people just amaze me (not just about fish) but they want everything done for them, and then wonder why they cant reap the rewards.
Hubby was laughing at me today... I have the inside/first floor fish sooooo spoiled (4 tanks). I feed them a TINY amount 3, 4, 5 times per day (and I am the one who cleans these filters because of it LOL)... of course fish in a tank are going to show interests in you if they think you are connected to food... Well, now I have the tiny 1" shubby babies doing it too. I bought a few tiny plants for their tank (water wisteria) that just will not stay buried in the limited "gravel" (crush coral) in their tank... the little brats are in my way each time I am trying to stick the plants back into the "gravel" LOL. .... THEN he wonders why when he tries doing something with his 600 gallon plant pond in the basement, the 4-6" babies are soooo in his way... Hmmm... I dunno... wasnt meeeee.... it isnt MY fault! LOL.
Some people just amaze me (not just about fish) but they want everything done for them, and then wonder why they cant reap the rewards.
Hubby was laughing at me today... I have the inside/first floor fish sooooo spoiled (4 tanks). I feed them a TINY amount 3, 4, 5 times per day (and I am the one who cleans these filters because of it LOL)... of course fish in a tank are going to show interests in you if they think you are connected to food... Well, now I have the tiny 1" shubby babies doing it too. I bought a few tiny plants for their tank (water wisteria) that just will not stay buried in the limited "gravel" (crush coral) in their tank... the little brats are in my way each time I am trying to stick the plants back into the "gravel" LOL. .... THEN he wonders why when he tries doing something with his 600 gallon plant pond in the basement, the 4-6" babies are soooo in his way... Hmmm... I dunno... wasnt meeeee.... it isnt MY fault! LOL.
My fish were very shy at first with me, but now they are a constant annoyance whenever anything needs done in the pond.
My dad usually babysits a 4 year old on the weekends and even when he runs over to the pond the fish don't care. I showed him that if you twinkle your fingers in the water the fish come over to give you "kisses" and that's the first thing he does when he gets to the house now.
The key is to be calm, quiet, and move slowly when you are near the pond. Throw the food in and let it sink down to them and when they are eating, lean over the pond above them and just sort of hover. They will panic at first when you do this, but they usually just go back to eating. Eventually you will be able to hover over the pond without them caring and soon you'll be able to move around and they won't get spooked.
Feed them every time you walk by the pond, so that they learn to associate your shadow with food. Once they are used to eating infront of you, start twinkling your fingers in the water for a second beside the food each time you feed. They will learn to associate the sound with getting food. Eventually, they will get used to your hand being next to them when they eat and will start to get curious about your hand. Next step is to pinch a bit of food between your fingers and twinkle next to the hand with the food. This will let them know that you have food and they'll come over to look for it and eventually find it.
My dad usually babysits a 4 year old on the weekends and even when he runs over to the pond the fish don't care. I showed him that if you twinkle your fingers in the water the fish come over to give you "kisses" and that's the first thing he does when he gets to the house now.
The key is to be calm, quiet, and move slowly when you are near the pond. Throw the food in and let it sink down to them and when they are eating, lean over the pond above them and just sort of hover. They will panic at first when you do this, but they usually just go back to eating. Eventually you will be able to hover over the pond without them caring and soon you'll be able to move around and they won't get spooked.
Feed them every time you walk by the pond, so that they learn to associate your shadow with food. Once they are used to eating infront of you, start twinkling your fingers in the water for a second beside the food each time you feed. They will learn to associate the sound with getting food. Eventually, they will get used to your hand being next to them when they eat and will start to get curious about your hand. Next step is to pinch a bit of food between your fingers and twinkle next to the hand with the food. This will let them know that you have food and they'll come over to look for it and eventually find it.
I took another video and a few more pictures today. The riginal 10 fish are still doing good, but last week I noticed some fin rot starting to develope, so I started them on a treatment for it. It now appears to be cleared up, but they still have frayed fins which have started to heal up and grow back again.
A link to the video I took today. At the end you'll notice that the pond pump goes flying into the pond since I bumped it. Also, the things floating on the water are cherry petals. The fish don't seem to mind.
My dwarf water lilly has started putting out leaves again. In the left of the pic you can see two of my babies, Nemo and Neptune.
A few of my fishies swimming around the rocks near the pond pump. There are a few tunnels underneath the rocks and they love to swim through them.
The second tunnel. Both are made out of petrified wood.
Some sticky bed straw that grew next to the pond. I put in the trellace sideways to try and coax it to grow over the pond for a bit of extra shading.
My dwarf water lilly has started putting out leaves again. In the left of the pic you can see two of my babies, Nemo and Neptune.
A few of my fishies swimming around the rocks near the pond pump. There are a few tunnels underneath the rocks and they love to swim through them.
The second tunnel. Both are made out of petrified wood.
Some sticky bed straw that grew next to the pond. I put in the trellace sideways to try and coax it to grow over the pond for a bit of extra shading.
How Long do Spawning Last??
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most of the summer, at least mine do
j.w
I Love my Goldies
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Hey RF don't know how I missed this but your pond and fish are looking good and like how you put that grate over to allow that plant to grow over it. Saw your pump go sliding into the pond :biggrin: