THE FISH-STORK CAME WHILE I WAS AWAY (and so did the GBH! :( )

[Mmathis]

Good news & bad news!

I've been summer-camping with our Boy Scout troop -- just rolled back in couple of hours ago. My 17 y/o son has been pond sitting for me, checking water, feeding, etc. BUT......

He doesn't know that the fish-stork paid him a visit! First thing I did was check the pond -- lots of little baby fishies swimming around . Yea!

Bad news, it's been confirmed by son & hubby that there IS a Great Blue Heron paying visits, as well. No obvious fish losses, though, and I don't have shelves, so will contemplate what action to take.

FEEDING GOLDFISH FRY: what do I feed them? Have no idea how old they are. About half of them are dark-colored, and the rest, slightly smaller, are clearish yellow. They are about 1/4" long and were swimming around with the other fish. I caught what I could and put them in a mesh "cage" suspended in the pond, to keep them from being eaten.

 

[HTH]

if you don't have anything else grind up some goldfish flake
fresh hatched brine shrimp is the standard
If they are really young boiled egg yolk strained through a nylon stalking

If you can put a floating plant in with them they might find something to eat on the roots

 

[Mmathis]

if you don't have anything else grind up some goldfish flake
fresh hatched brine shrimp is the standard
If they are really young boiled egg yolk strained through a nylon stalking

If you can put a floating plant in with them they might find something to eat on the roots

Thanks! When I sequestered them, I did add some plants. I didn't crush/grind them, but did add a few goldie flakes, so will try doing that until I can get to the store, as right now all I wanna do is soak in the tub and get a nice, long NAP!

Do they make store-bought "baby food" for fry? I know it's probably not AS nutritious as live foods, but not sure I do well on the live-food follow-up.

From what I could GOOGLE, thinking they are in the 1-2 week old range.

 

[HTH]

You might want to buy some frozen baby brine shrimp

Seeing how they are in the pond you don't really have to worry about non live food fouling the water.

 

[Neo]

I also have lots of baby fishies/koi. I have not been feeding them anything though. I have them in my small (previously fishless) pond full of lillies, hyacinths, and algae on the sides of the liner. They are almost 3 weeks old and seem fine. The water is green so I can't tell how many there are but it looks like quite a few and they are always picking at the sides eating.

I was hoping the natural stuff in the pond would be enough but maybe I should buy some flake food to be safe.

 

[koiguy1969]

a stork huh? must have been the HERON in disquise.... hehehe

 

[don't ask]

nice to hear you have noticed any loses... as far as the fry, I leave mine in the pond and make no attempts to "save" them. you may be surprised as to how many will make it, I have also noticed that when they get to about an inch long the other fish do not bother them. also they will find plenty to eat in pond, remember they are not large so won't need but so much to nibble on... if you were moving them to another tank or separate location then i would think you are going to have more work on your hands

 

[Mmathis]

Yea, the GBH was a stork in GBH clothing I used that one. Hubby got it, but was lost on son (don't think he cared -- was mostly glad I was home which relieved him of pond-duty -- but he did a good job and texted or phoned me daily reports of water results, etc).

I actually don't plan to "raise" goldies, but would like to watch a few transform, just 'cause it sounds interesting and triggers the "scientific" part in my brain. Want to SEE what I read about when y'all talk about culling for deformities -- want to know & try to understand what those deformities are. Though I think if these little guys (less than a dozen) have made it this far, "nature" has already done the majority of the culling -- these ARE the survivors Also curious about shapes and colors.....

Don't ask, not planning to make a big deal of it. Have them in a mesh "cage" (think aquarium breeding thingy) so they're still in the pond. If they survive, I'll make them a little larger cage, but that's about it.

 

[HTH]

If one lets nature do the natural selection thing you can end up with a pond fish of very plain goldfish many of which will not even decolor. Colored ones and fancy fins make them easier to prey on. You are left with what you should have culled.

I am sure there are people with counter examples but this is generally the way it is.

YMMV

 

[Mmathis]

If one lets nature do the natural selection thing you can end up with a pond fish of very plain goldfish many of which will not even decolor. Colored ones and fancy fins make them easier to prey on. You are left with what you should have culled.

I am sure there are people with counter examples but this is generally the way it is.

YMMV

Yeah, you're right, but that's OK in my case. I mostly just want to OBSERVE them, see what takes place, and hopefully end up with happy, healthy fish. Nature will cull the weak & vulnerable. If I did it, I'm sure I wouldn't know the difference, so this is a chance for me to learn the difference between healthy, pretty, good conformation, and deformed. I can read all there is out there, but for me to learn, I gotta get my hands wet (so to speak).

 

[HTH]

When I emptied my pond I had to euthanize hundreds of stealth fish. Had no idea there were that many of them. The only clue was the amount of food it took to feed. They all looked about the same.