OK, so why can't I upload pics?
What percentage of fry should make it?
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j.w
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Had to look hard but I see them and they are sooooooooooo tiny!
Here is a pic of the pond itself with a few of my older kids in view :luxlove:
http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd189/jennurias/?action=view¤t=pond.jpg
http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd189/jennurias/?action=view¤t=pond.jpg
j.w
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Looks very nice! I sure do like that wall and top rim of bricks around your pond! Can you sit on it?
Thank you! And I do every day :.) We chose bullnose pavers for the top so the ledge wouldn't dig into our legs, the wall is 20" off the ground and 12" in depth (butt room). I find the semi raised much nicer (for me) than the in ground that was there before. We have hard clay here so that's 2 feet less we had to dig....and having built it ALL by ourselves (with the help of our 2 years old at the time), that saved a lot of pain. We don't have to worry about run off or accidentally falling in either :razz:
On the right side of the pond there is a little black box floating in the water....that's the baby hatchery. We actually made a "Phase 2" hatchery yesterday and placed the larger babies in that so now we have 2 hatcheries running! Our smallest are about 1/2" or smaller and out largest is about 1 and 1/2 inches!
On the right side of the pond there is a little black box floating in the water....that's the baby hatchery. We actually made a "Phase 2" hatchery yesterday and placed the larger babies in that so now we have 2 hatcheries running! Our smallest are about 1/2" or smaller and out largest is about 1 and 1/2 inches!
j.w
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If you stick your feet in the water do you get your free pedicure from the nibbling fish? I think I see the box to the very rt of the pond w/ some kind of pipe/pvc on it. Neat idea while they grow they are safe. When will they be big enough to let go in the pond?
With an above ground pond if one gets a lot of rain do you have to check and make sure it does not go over the top and drain out the little fish or do you have some kind of drain screen somewhere to stop that? Never had an above ground so just wondering as I do have a bath tub pond that where the knobs were removed and holes were left we inserted screen in the holes for the runoff in there.
With an above ground pond if one gets a lot of rain do you have to check and make sure it does not go over the top and drain out the little fish or do you have some kind of drain screen somewhere to stop that? Never had an above ground so just wondering as I do have a bath tub pond that where the knobs were removed and holes were left we inserted screen in the holes for the runoff in there.
Yes I do! My fish are so tame we pet them and they nibble on us all the time, some people pay for carp treatments in beauty salons, we get it for free :goldfish:
That's the hatchery, PVC pipe frame with garden mesh (fine stuff) stitched around. The "phase 2" one will probably accommodate them till they are big enough to sell/give away and keep our favorites. With 30+ fish, can't keep em all but don't want them to die! We have never done this before so not sure on anything, figuring it all out!
As for rain, we do have to watch out for overflow and we just do a little water change/release if it gets close. Our in ground one would overflow and there was nothing we could do about that though and my Matsuba (in particular) would end up beaching himself on the rocks because he would try to reach new "foods" when that happened. I like the knob release idea though! Thankfully our pond is semi-raised so even if the wall failed we would still have a 3 ft deep pond and not fish on the ground :neutral:
That's the hatchery, PVC pipe frame with garden mesh (fine stuff) stitched around. The "phase 2" one will probably accommodate them till they are big enough to sell/give away and keep our favorites. With 30+ fish, can't keep em all but don't want them to die! We have never done this before so not sure on anything, figuring it all out!
As for rain, we do have to watch out for overflow and we just do a little water change/release if it gets close. Our in ground one would overflow and there was nothing we could do about that though and my Matsuba (in particular) would end up beaching himself on the rocks because he would try to reach new "foods" when that happened. I like the knob release idea though! Thankfully our pond is semi-raised so even if the wall failed we would still have a 3 ft deep pond and not fish on the ground :neutral:
j.w
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Yep I have seen those video's on utube of fish foot tx's. I've never sat on the edge of my pond and dangled my feet but whenever I'm standing in the pond they will nibble on my legs and feet and it does feel funny in a good kind of way!
You are in Cali so pretty hot there and maybe you wouldn't have the full over the top rain that we might have here if not kept and eye on. Our rains tho are constant but not real heavy. Although you do get some pretty good downpours now and then. Your pond wall looks pretty sturdy so doubt it will fail but good anyways to have the deep pond as the fish prolly enjoy it when it gets warm there.
You are in Cali so pretty hot there and maybe you wouldn't have the full over the top rain that we might have here if not kept and eye on. Our rains tho are constant but not real heavy. Although you do get some pretty good downpours now and then. Your pond wall looks pretty sturdy so doubt it will fail but good anyways to have the deep pond as the fish prolly enjoy it when it gets warm there.
So the babies keep on growing but I am still blown away by how big our toby (Megaledon) is getting in comparison. All the babies are still tiny and black. They have some iridescence and some net patterning that is clear on some but I sure hope they aren't actually baby mosquito fish! I am certain our Mega is a koi, no question there and she almost looks like she is turning light green with some sort of spot on her head but she is a shy one so no good pics in the sun.
We now have 2 different in pond hatcheries going at the same time (1 for big babies and 1 for small) and I just can't wait to see what we have!!!
Anyone know what a baby mosquito fish looks like compared to a koi/goldfish fry?
We now have 2 different in pond hatcheries going at the same time (1 for big babies and 1 for small) and I just can't wait to see what we have!!!
Anyone know what a baby mosquito fish looks like compared to a koi/goldfish fry?
The green on the head is part of the skull most of mine had tht it turns black and goes away def sounds like koi to me.
Well it is the "for sure" koi that has the spot but all the little guys I'm not sure of. Looking online they do look like koi fry but they are SOOOOOO much less developed and have the same coloring as the mosquito fish. Pretty darm sure they aren't but so hard to see at only 1/4 - 1/2 inch in size
Took a good look at the small guys last night and it appears that only the net patterned ones hang out at the top but when I scoop them up a bit there seems to be a variety (just hard to see when small). Can't tell if the tails are forked yet (so small and transparent still) but I am a little more confident that they are koi :goldfish:
Last night I did the unthinkable though, accidentally left the water running and forgot until just before bed. :neutral: The pond was overflowing and the fry were swimming out of the hatchery! Luckily I think I got most back in and did a quick release so no known casualties...phew.
My toby "Megalodon" on the other hand is starting to turn a bright green color, I love a Midori so hope that stays! She has scales but no patterns yet. She doesn't seem to be very friendly though, hoping we change that :luxlove:
Last night I did the unthinkable though, accidentally left the water running and forgot until just before bed. :neutral: The pond was overflowing and the fry were swimming out of the hatchery! Luckily I think I got most back in and did a quick release so no known casualties...phew.
My toby "Megalodon" on the other hand is starting to turn a bright green color, I love a Midori so hope that stays! She has scales but no patterns yet. She doesn't seem to be very friendly though, hoping we change that :luxlove:
j.w
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Whoopsy!!! Glad you got them all before they got eaten up by the big ones!
Well it happened again! We had a second spawning and now I am AGAIN scooping dozens of the little critters back into the hatchery :razz: I just got a mock half barrel and moved my lily plant to it (koi are now mowing it over in pond), I wanted to get a small tropical fish for it but now am thinking it may be megalodon's home for a while while I move the babies over to the next size hatchery. I have captured a few of the larger escapees but there are a bunch of real little guys that are new. So to recap...our first spawning was on Cico de Mayo, hatched on Mother's Day (or started swimming then), second batch discovered on Father's Day!
I am wondering if this second spawning was our goldfish/shebunkin spawning, I saw them engaging in "behavior" shall we say :redface: Anyone know if they look different than koi fry at this stage? Some seemed squattier than the first fry and had bright blue spots on their sides.
BTW Megalodon is almost 2 inches while the other "bigger" fry are now 1/2" to maybe 1" at largest! Whatever fish they are there are only so many options!
Final Q: What is a good little fish that will chill out in a small half barrel with some lilies and small water feature? I would only like 1-3 of them and would like beautiful colors but almost no maintenance or poop...was thinking fan tail guppies or paradise fish?
I am wondering if this second spawning was our goldfish/shebunkin spawning, I saw them engaging in "behavior" shall we say :redface: Anyone know if they look different than koi fry at this stage? Some seemed squattier than the first fry and had bright blue spots on their sides.
BTW Megalodon is almost 2 inches while the other "bigger" fry are now 1/2" to maybe 1" at largest! Whatever fish they are there are only so many options!
Final Q: What is a good little fish that will chill out in a small half barrel with some lilies and small water feature? I would only like 1-3 of them and would like beautiful colors but almost no maintenance or poop...was thinking fan tail guppies or paradise fish?