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Baby Fishes Questions
I am second year ponder and do not know whole lot, and wonder if you all
might answer few questions for me....Last year started with 3 pond comets and 3 not sure what they are called - multi colored some kind of goldfish I think - A couple weeks ago noticed several baby fish which are now average 1 inch or so. I have netted about 2 dozen and put in small tank in house - still lots more in pond though .....3 are pinkish colored and most all the rest I have seen are sort of dark green/black colored........ So I am wanting to know will the darker fish change color (found 1 baby back in April that must have survived the winter...that fish was all brown, it is now about 3 inches and did not change color. What to do with all these baby fish? I would like to keep the pretty ones, only have 300 gal pond though. How many fish for this size pond and how big will they get? one other issue.. Two of my pond comets vanished three weeks ago, I assume a racoon or heron got them so I have covered Pond with wire fencing laid on top of 2X4's which has been effective so far......I would like to remove fencing but do not want to loose any more fish. Any advise. Thanks much........ |
Baby Fishes Questions
yes they will change color - be patient as this can take some time and
varies from fish to fish. the fry (baby fish) will also be eaten if they do not have sufficient cover in the pond (plants and hidey holes). not necessarily a bad thing given you don't want your pond over-populated. what you may have are shubunkin by the by and they are smaller than regular comets - about 8". I simply leave my fish be and between birds, adult fish, - well life - the pond pretty much keeps a constant population. if this is not working for you then you might check with pet stores or see if there is a local pond group to help you out. it depends on how well balanced your pond is on how many fish you can keep but you can estimate 1 inch of goldfish for 1 cubic foot of water. I think you have about 70 cubic feet (little more than that but keep it simple) - so if your fish are going to get 8" you could keep about 9 fish is my guess - there are much better fish people in here that will answer you shortly. you can get bird netting for fruit plants, which is black plastic and not at all noticeable, to put on top of your pond but you may want to let nature take its course. Donna wrote in message ... I am second year ponder and do not know whole lot, and wonder if you all might answer few questions for me....Last year started with 3 pond comets and 3 not sure what they are called - multi colored some kind of goldfish I think - A couple weeks ago noticed several baby fish which are now average 1 inch or so. I have netted about 2 dozen and put in small tank in house - still lots more in pond though .....3 are pinkish colored and most all the rest I have seen are sort of dark green/black colored........ So I am wanting to know will the darker fish change color (found 1 baby back in April that must have survived the winter...that fish was all brown, it is now about 3 inches and did not change color. What to do with all these baby fish? I would like to keep the pretty ones, only have 300 gal pond though. How many fish for this size pond and how big will they get? one other issue.. Two of my pond comets vanished three weeks ago, I assume a racoon or heron got them so I have covered Pond with wire fencing laid on top of 2X4's which has been effective so far......I would like to remove fencing but do not want to loose any more fish. Any advise. Thanks much........ |
Baby Fishes Questions
Donna is right about color change. It happens when they get ready to
do it. We have a couple of black comets that are fully 2 years old. The last of their mates changed color this winter. We await their change and enjoy our herd-to-see black goldfish. How steep are the sides of your pond? Coons and wading birds don't like steep sides. Our main pond is 2' deep and has straight sides. The berm ponds are 18" and have straight sides. The coons and herons just won't go in. We like that! They do fish the small 2' x 4' shallow pond at the base of our small falls. They wade in and wipe out floating plants, etc. If your pond is shallow or the sides shallow, you may have to go for lots of hiding places and floaters to provide shelter. Others will have better advice. Have you any pics of your setup? Jim |
Baby Fishes Questions
"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message ... Donna is right about color change. It happens when they get ready to do it. We have a couple of black comets that are fully 2 years old. The last of their mates changed color this winter. We await their change and enjoy our herd-to-see black goldfish. How steep are the sides of your pond? Coons and wading birds don't like steep sides. Our main pond is 2' deep and has straight sides. The berm ponds are 18" and have straight sides. The coons and herons just won't go in. We like that! They do fish the small 2' x 4' shallow pond at the base of our small falls. They wade in and wipe out floating plants, etc. If your pond is shallow or the sides shallow, you may have to go for lots of hiding places and floaters to provide shelter. Others will have better advice. Have you any pics of your setup? Jim You just reminded me and what I forgot to include - for my 'hidey hole' what I use and what serves two purposes is a plastic crate - similar to a milk crate turned on its side or upside down. Upside down protects baby fish from big fish - on the side gives large fish a place to hide from birds. I then put my plants that need to be high up on these 'shelves'. I don't have raccoon problems because I now do as Jim recommends (probably learned it from Jim), which is to dig the sides of the ponds straight down. Donna |
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