New Pond in Progress #2 (Bonnie)

Yes we are getting unusual weather.

Question:I put this on other thread but don't want it to be missed. Made a new ponding friend up in Chiefland, Fl. Saw her pond and she has 2 black fish she thinks are goldfish. All of her other fish are reg. goldies and 1 large koi. Is this possible?? 1 is about 8" and the other about 6". They are not a black black more like gray black. She has no idea how they got there.
Bonnie

Bonnie

If she has other goldfish, they could be a result of a spawning. We have no idea as to the history of colors that have gone into the other goldfish she already has. This is one reason we get so many different colors and combinations when our fish produce fry. Did she have the other goldfish when these guys would have been born? You say they are 8" so they would be a couple of years old.

The other thing is that these 2 black guys could have come in on some water plants as well. This is not uncommon either. I always thought black fish would be really neat looking, but then realized they wouldn't show well in my pond. I still love black/red combinations though....

Yeppers.....fertilized eggs can come in on pond plants. Surprise! :) There are definitely black goldfish....doubt they would interbreed with the single koi. Check for the barbels (fish whiskers) to determine if they are koi or goldfish.....(goldfish won't have them)

No barbels I looked.
Her pond is now all screened in an enclosure but this happened before that time. Yes Carolyn I believe she had goldfish long before these 2 showed up. I've only known her a few months but looking at size of reg. goldies I'd say they were their first.
My Jeff said he saw 2 black babies in my newest large pond that were now about 3". I've never seen them as my pond is black bottomed but I'll take his word for it.
Fascinating what fish can do. I'll e-mail her and tell her your comments. Thanks

She e-mailed back. No barbels so they are goldfish. Fascinating. Her fish are so tame they come right up and get into her hand looking for food. It's so cute and fascinating to watch.
Happy Thanksgiving All.
Bonnie

Water temp in our outdoor aquarium has dropped below 55F so half of the tropical fish are dead, one or two per day. They were a small investment at $1 to $2 each at the pet store on-sale , so we plan to re-invest next spring. I need to get a stock-tank heater for 500 gallons. There are 16 goldfish that have grown to 4 to 6 inches. They are fun to watch.
We started on the tile project and decided to do the pond structure and back patio area in terra cotta. Materials were a few hundred dollars and I looked at you-tube how-to videos on how to lay tile. I was just getting going on the project when my back went out. Still suffering persistent lower back pain after a month, so tile progress has stopped until I can get feeling better again. Ibuprofen helps and I saw the chiropractor Thursday. Being a do-it-yourselfer has it's costs ;-]

John

That really stinks about your back. I hope you are in good shape by the holidays so you can enjoy them.

The tile are really beautiful. Your patio and tank will look so attractive when done.

Woo hoo,
Today son Jeff and I are going to fish farm to get more koi food. I so enjoy his company as he is a born comedian. Doesn't take after his dad thats for sure.
Will have to control myself and not buy any fish. It's only a little over and hour ride. Will try to get some pics.
Jeff called and they said they changed fish food and of course its more expensive. Can't think of anything that isn't now a days.
Reading Bonnie's Plants newsletter yesterday. Some man lost 25 fish in his pond. She said she warned him many times 25 fish were too many for 7,500 gal. pond. I've got more than that in 3,000 gals. I know she has 30 years experience at raising fish but I don't agree with that ratio.
I'd like to hear others thoughts.
Have a good weekend.
Bonnie

Like most things I would think it would depend on size. What if they were all 36" long? Don't know. Mine is about 2800 after last rebuild.

Bonnie

Filtration is the key and it is so important. What will happen with that many fish is as we all know, koi produce a lot of waste. With a lot of waste comes low oxygen levels and the bad bacterias, so there is more chance of having ulcer disease and that type of thing.

With filtering the pond and consistently keeping it clean, this helps to reduce wastes and the possiblities of disease.

I have 17 fish and my pond is 4850 gallons. I know if I don't run the smaller pump through my pea gravel, that waste smell seems to come from the pond and there seems to be the clarity issues as well. It is only a 500 gallon pondmaster mag pump, but it does the job.

So bottom line, you can cheat the numbers if the level of filtration is there.

Hi all,
Owner of fish farm said if you want to grow REALLY big fish 500 gals. per fish but he also said thats overkill in most situations. Guess I had better not add too many more. Along that line I bought 1 more butterfly today and added to larger pond as it came out of tank where they had been treated and quaranteened. Kind of odd coloration. Yellow on head, white on body with smatters of gray and black. Beautiful fins. Also 13 mostly blue shubunkins, little guys and put in old pond. Old pond got 3 from my sons house as he bought 2 and he had to thin out. His pond is only about 150 gals trough tank. He's always giving away and swaping. Someday he is hoping for a larger pond on his lanei. Keps him happy so what the heck.
I couldn't get any good pics of fish as many tanks were empty due to them being away on vacation. Had 1 there 2 1/2 feet but it was out of my budget range and not a butterfly. When the shubunkins grow up they will pretty much fill up old pond. What caught my eye with them was all the blue ones with yellow heads. Very pretty. I just put all of them in old pond as I'm not worried if they die, they were cheap.

Well we got lost again going over but finally made it. I'm exhausted. Happy son and grand sons anyhow so its worth it. New food is from Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery. Hope they like it as good as the other. 6 5lb. bags to a case. Will last us for quite a while.

I'm heading for shower and looking forward to to bedrtime.

Guess you know I didn't keep my promise of no buying fish. What an addiction. Could be worse.
Bonnie

Bonnie, I so enjoy reading your posts. The water lilies I brought down are still doing ok in the 5 gallon bucket. Our weather has been absolutely beautiful here in Cocoa Beach. I'm looking forward to meeting you face to face.

Mittsy,
Sure can't complain about the weather its wonderful.
I think March would be a good time for a plant roundup. Due to sickness we didn't have one last fall so we are overdue.
I'll have to see how the Jacksonville crowd are doing now. I sure hope they are all doing better.
I really enjoyed hosting the one we had here.
Something to work towards.
Bonnie

Jeff came over today and deposited 4 koi in old pond for me to grow them. We were only able to see 1 of the black fish and scoop it. VERY strange. It looked like too many fins to me. He swears it is a goldfish (no barbells) but sure has a lot of fins and is very beautiful. He will keep it in his little pond until it gets larger and then bring it back to me to grow more. He loves swaping fish. I just don't move any of the large ones in the larger pond. I think moving them isn't good for their immune system so less moving the better.

In case anyone here missed it I have set a date of April 13th for spring roundup at my place. Everyone is welcomed. I have started potting stuff up now for to give it a chance to get established. More info on roundup site will be forthcoming.

Bonnie

If Spring ever gets here....... I feel like winter has been forever!

Honestly we haven't had a normal winter this year at all as far as I'm concerned. I still haven't had to cover plants and usually by this time I do at least a couple of nights. Very strange. Lots of plants are budded out and are confused. If we get a freeze now it will really cause some damage. I'm not complaining mind you.
Bonnie

Do you have any guidelines for your round up? I have extra tomato plants that I have started from seed, I call them sandwich tomatoes as the original tomatoes were bought at a farmer's market to use on sandwiches. Very tasty. I can pot them individually if anyone would like one. I also have some hardy water lilies that I brought from my pond in NY.

Spring is just around the corner. I'd love to hear from fellow ponders what your plans are for your pond this spring. I'd like to re-do the perimeter of my pond by replacing the "necklace" of stones with grasses, plants and pathways. Anyone have suggestions, images, etc. for me?

seems like that would be a Ponds 2013 thread, yes? time to start one anyway.

I agree - definitely time to start one.

Mary

you did start one last month.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1293718/

Great minds --- even if one is sort of forgetful lol

Mittsy,
I'm sure lots of people would love to have some tomatoe plants. I would appreciate a water lilly as my ponding son took all but 1 of mine that you sent me. I do think it is living as it still has 2 green leaves on it. Can't complain as he is always bringing me fish. He also said if he is successful at growing them he will bring them back to me as he just has a stock tank pond which he finished off beautifully.

Really looking forrward to meeting you and aren't you glad your not up in NY with the weather they are having.
Bonnie

So thankfull to be able to escape the cold!