I helped my dad put in a 1000 gallon pond last summer. We didn't add
any fish to the pond last summer because we wanted to make sure that
we got everything right (no need to kill a bunch of goldfish before we
know what we're doing).

By the end of the summer, the marsh took hold and the plants came in
-- water tests were great.

We've spent time this spring fishing the plants back out and setting
up the pond again -- and we added our first set of fish last weekend
(easter weekend).

We added two Fantails, two Shubunkins, and two Orfes (our "fish guy"
said that they were good for mosquito control).

We have a problem. One of the Shubunkins has become very aggressive
towards one of the fantails -- constantly chasing it around the pond,
seemingly nibbling at the 'joint' where the tail meets the body. The
fantail has developed a white spot at that 'joint' where the Shubunkin
is nibbling.

We decided to give the shubunkin to a neighbor who has an actual pond
(not a water garden). Couple of questions:

1. What can we do to help our fantail? There is a white spot at that
'Joint' and it seems to be having a bit of trouble using it's tail.
Sorry for the seemingly basic question, but we are brand new to this
(2 weeks into fish ownership).
2. Is this normal behavior for Shubunkin? Should we be concerned
that the other shubunkin will exhibit this behavior?
3. If it's not normal, are Shubunkin school fish? Should we get
another?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it.

Shubunkins has become very aggressive
towards one of the fantails -- constantly chasing it around the
pond,seemingly nibbling at the 'joint' where the tail meets the body.
Thefantail has developed a white spot at that 'joint' where the shubunkinis
nibbling. What can we do to help our fantail? There is a white spot at
that'Joint' and it seems to be having a bit of trouble using it's tail.
It sounds to
me like normal spawning behavior. They can get really rough, and at times kill
the female. Most experts recomend that you don't put fantails in with other
fish because of the very slow swimming ability. When you watch a fantail swin,
it does look like it is having trouble, and shakes its tail end to get thru the
water. If the pond is large enough I am sure it will heal up ok. Shubunkins
and orfs are fast, so make sure the fantails get enough to eat.I have never had
a fantail survive in my large goldfish pond ....Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond

On 4/28/03 2:12 PM, in article ,
"Jerrispond" wrote:

Shubunkins has become very aggressive
towards one of the fantails -- constantly chasing it around the
pond,seemingly nibbling at the 'joint' where the tail meets the body.
Thefantail has developed a white spot at that 'joint' where the shubunkinis
nibbling. What can we do to help our fantail? There is a white spot at
that'Joint' and it seems to be having a bit of trouble using it's tail.
It sounds to
me like normal spawning behavior. They can get really rough, and at times
kill
the female.

I have not seen such aggressive behavior in my small pond with 2 shubunkin
and 3 fantails, though the largest shubunkin has been seen "chasing" the
fantails around from time to time. If this is normal spawning behavior, do
shubunkin and fantails breed, or just hit on each other? If they can breed,
what do the offspring look like?

Curious (in part because I now have a bunch of fry in my pond and I'm
wondering who the moms and dads are),

Fred

I have not seen such aggressive behavior in my small pond with 2 shubunkin
and 3 fantails, though the largest shubunkin has been seen "chasing" the
fantails around from time to time. If this is normal spawning behavior, do
shubunkin and fantails breed, or just hit on each other? If they can breed,
what do the offspring look like?

Curious (in part because I now have a bunch of fry in my pond and I'm
wondering who the moms and dads are),

Fred

Yes, they are all goldfish. You will get a mix of everything that looks
like a fantail to a regular tail and everything inbetween. Even with
breeding only fantails together, one gets single tailed babies. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website


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Thanks for the info. I was, in fact, looking at the little guys and saw
that some of them had the double tail and some just the single. How fun. I
guess now I wait to see how many don't get eaten.

F

On 5/4/03 2:47 PM, in article , "~
jan" wrote:

I have not seen such aggressive behavior in my small pond with 2 shubunkin
and 3 fantails, though the largest shubunkin has been seen "chasing" the
fantails around from time to time. If this is normal spawning behavior, do
shubunkin and fantails breed, or just hit on each other? If they can breed,
what do the offspring look like?

Curious (in part because I now have a bunch of fry in my pond and I'm
wondering who the moms and dads are),

Fred

Yes, they are all goldfish. You will get a mix of everything that looks
like a fantail to a regular tail and everything inbetween. Even with
breeding only fantails together, one gets single tailed babies. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website


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http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
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