They say fish don't have brains.....

[moby]

Well it's odd that when you approach a tank full of any kind of fish in a pet shop why do they all rush to the side nearest to you in anticipation of being fed! Same thing with pond fish. After not feeding them since October last and starting again in March, the sound of tapping my foot repeatedly on the ponds rock edging brings my assorted shoal of Koi, orfe, shubs and goldies rushing to the side for food....works every time! They're not as stupid as some folks make out.

Just read a fact that I clearly wasn't aware of.....I've always thought that goldfish and the like grow to a certain size according to the size of their pond...correct? But I've recently read that koi don't know of this limitation......they just keep on growing?? That's probably why my two Ghosts are getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger?

 

[peter hillman]

My fish will swim and feed freely with me but hide whenever anyone else is in sight. Truth.

 

[mrsclem]

I was working around my ponds yesterday and the fish were following me begging for food. Hubby went with me to feed them an hour later and they all went into hiding. fish are smart!

 

[moby]

Nice one Mrs C, btw I agree entirely, do you know why? Well, if I hadn't come up with the user name of Moby as in 'Moby Dick' which is the name one of our offspring called the then largest koi back in its youth some 20 yrs ago, I was going to use 'Mrs S' as my on screen name!

Can I ask, as I see you are a koi keeper....is the statement about koi continuing to grow throughout their lives and not stopping in relation to the size of their environment really true or is it another urban myth?

 

[mrsclem]

I just recently lost a 20 + year old koi that was 36". I have had several others reach that size and yet I have some others that seem to max out at 18". My ponds are 11x13 and 10x10 so I don't think they are stunted. I have seen koi that were kept in fish tanks that develop bent spines. It is my guess it is genetics for the most part and I believe that they max out on size by the time they are 4-5 years old.

 

[Tula]

I just recently lost a 20 + year old koi that was 36". I have had several others reach that size and yet I have some others that seem to max out at 18". My ponds are 11x13 and 10x10 so I don't think they are stunted. I have seen koi that were kept in fish tanks that develop bent spines. It is my guess it is genetics for the most part and I believe that they max out on size by the time they are 4-5 years old.

I'm so sorry you recently lost your senior koi Three of mine I've had over a decade and I think their maxed out in growth, one at two feet and the other two about 18-20 inches.

 

[Richardspond]

This is why when i shake the food container, they come swimming up (cus they don't have brains)
When my angel fish see me go over to the food they go the same spot
And I'm not certain, but I think my fish play with the dog now. They'll all swim up in a pile, wait for her to get over there then swim fast round the pond and surface just at her nose then they all move positions dog and fish

 

[Faebinder]

This is why when i shake the food container, they come swimming up (cus they don't have brains)
When my angel fish see me go over to the food they go the same spot
And I'm not certain, but I think my fish play with the dog now. They'll all swim up in a pile, wait for her to get over there then swim fast round the pond and surface just at her nose then they all move positions dog and fish

You got angel fish and koi together?

 

[Richardspond]

That be awesome but Nahh I have angels in my tank