Hi, I am a newcommer to DG. Have enjoyed seeing everybody's ponds and share in alot of the issues posted. No Herons yet - but the neighbors dog has enjoyed a few swims thru mine, along with their cat swatting at the edges.
Has anyone ever tried the "Hi-fin Banded Shark" in their Koi Ponds ? A well-known aquarium shop here in Memphis recently got some in. They are about 6 in. now, and can grow to be 3 ft ---- only growing 1" / year. Being the first time he has gotten them in - they are stating they will make it thru the winter months and they, like the koi, can handle the cooler water temps here. The owner said they came from a North Carolina source, so I was hoping some of you in the Carolina's have had experience with these. They are a bit pricey, but I did go on and purchase 2 of them (yes I can be suckered !) I just don't want to have to scoop them out after the first temp. drop - it's not the money - it's the "death" that bothers me.
Very interested in hearing if anyone has had any of these !!!
Sharks for the Water Pond ????
The fish can certainly take a cooler range than most that appear in fish stores, but I don't believe he could ever stand the drops you get. But now that I've looked him over, I believe he might just be within my lower range, I do think I'll get one next time I see one in the stores :-) Thanks!
Lynn
BTW We've had dojos and algae eaters in our ponds for years, plecos don't make it, though....we take them inside (which is getting difficult!)
Pixie - not sure how to do a link. Will try it.
http://www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aquariums/myxocyprinus/myxocyprinus.html
Let me know what you think. I see there are places on the internet you can buy these also.
Do you have Koi in your pond with these other fish ? At first my Koi seemed to pick on my sharks, but seem to not notice them now.
Azreno - not sure what a dojo is. Will definetely look that guy up. My pond is at least 3 ft deep, so am hoping these sharks do ok. I, like you, tried the plecos - but was very sad when we had to scoop those huge guys out after the first drop in temps. I have put apple snails in this year also, and know I will have to winter those guys in the house.
Dojos are also called weather loach, http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/other/misgurnus_anguillicaudatus.html
I don't recommend this guy for your pond either BTW- there's a BIG difference between my low and your low, even at 3' deep cold water is cold water, 52 degrees is not the same as 42 or 38 degrees (plecos bite the dust at 55 BTW). My pond is 4' deep and I don't maintain above 55 degrees, just shy of it in the months of January and February.
That's the loach I have in my pond. I do plan to capture him and bring him into the greenhouse for the winter. But he's been in the pond for about 3 months now and he seems very happy - he's really growing. I would love to put some clown loaches in but I fear they could not take the cooler water. Some of the white cloud minnows overwintered in the pond and I'd like to get some rosy minnows, but no one around here has them.
My pond froze over, but I keep the pump running all year so it was never frozen solid. Your temps get much lower than mine and stay low longer. We get some below freezing weather, but it generally doesn't last very long (except for last year. It was strange). Also, I have a pond that is 3 feet deep and in my climate it will never freeze solid.
I have not seen these 'sharks' around here. Since they are endangered in China, and the source for pet stores is unknown, according to the link you posted, I don't think I would want to keep them. Since they eat algea, it is tempting, but I would have to know that they were captive bred. I do have koi in the pond with the loach, but I doubt they even know he is there. He is a shy creature and comes out only at night. They don't seem to mind him at all.
Tell me about your apple snails. I'd like to put some snails in for the algea. I was thinking 'trap door' snail but I haven't made any moves to actually get any yet.
I have seen these "sharks" around and do know they are being bred for the aquarium trade and not captured in the wild.
I have koi in with my loaches, too, I think you're right- they don't know they're there LOL
I'm surprised you can't find rosey reds, not the most common feeder fish, but I usually see them at independent aquarium stores.
I wondered the same thing and did an extensive search last year only to come up with a couple that I couldn't find locally, don't know how I missed that "shark." What you want to look for are species indigenous to asia. List is long gone now BTW :-(
Well, that does make sense. I'd really like to find some that can survive the same way the koi and goldfish can. Although, with all of their reproducing, I am seeing a new fish I've never seen before every night when I feed them. Seems I've had a lot of little 'hiders' over the winter. They are now big enough to eat with the big fish, so there they are.
LOL The bad thing about goldfish in a koi pond is a lot of the time they start out brownish then all of a sudden will turn orange and you realize you have a ton- darn things reproduce like bunnies! We're trying to get rid of the last remnants of comets in our koi pond but leave the fantails and orandas (they're such a nice contrast to the koi and if you have too many they're soooo easy to catch :-)
Sorry if we hijacked your thread n2birds- I am really glad you posted this though!
Not a problem azreno. Enjoy reading other people's comments. I always try to learn from others. Just wish there were more people in my "zone" area that would chime in sometimes. Guess from what you said earlier though, looks like I will be moving my sharks inside this winter. Hate it.
Pixydish- I do think you would enjoy the snails. I bought about 4 small "mystery" snails at a local pet store - think they were only like $1.99 ea - and have been amazed every time I seen them because they are now huge. Will try to capture a good picture of them and post it. My understanding is, because the small snails are more "unknown" of what they are - hense the name "mystery snails" - Maybe azreno will chime in and let me know if that is true or not. The ones that have grown so large - are indeed the "apples". I also bought another large apple for $8.99 but isn't much bigger than those others that were less expensive. I love watching them. They do move around the pond alot and like the fact they will be much easier to gather up for the winter. I also do not believe they have bothered any of my pond plants at all. My koi do more damage to my plants than anything does.
azreno, if you have an easy method of trapping goldfish in a pond please share it. We "removed" over 100 last fall. Four years ago we started with 6. I have about 30 left to go. What a horrible, horrendous, wretched mistake it was to put goldfish in the koi pond. Did I mention that it is not a good idea to put goldfish in a koi pond?
Yes, we learned our lesson about goldfish in the pond the hard way, too. Hundreds of fish later, I've removed all but one of the comets and I see that the reproductive activity has gone down to a mild roar. I've come to believe that comets live to breed. They are the rabbits of the fish world. I have shubunkins in there,too, and they breed with the comets so some of the babies are really cute. Little polka dotted fish. The brown babies that hid so well during the winter are now starting to get their colors and I'm actually enjoying watching the process. After they turn, I'll have to give them away. I freecycled about 300 fish last year. You can tell the shubinkin babies from the comet babies because the shubunkins get their colors right away. I think the mixes must get theirs right away, too.
Oh, and I'll have to look for the snails. I understand that the 'trap door' snails are also a good way to go as they don't reproduce as quickly as some other snails.
This message was edited Jul 2, 2006 10:55 PM
n2birds, I bow down to your knowledge of the "mystrey snail" I had a friend with an apple snail and they do get very large and we did have some mystery snails ourselves, they were fun to see in the pond, but they do all need to be overwintered :-( I can't imagine why they would be called "mystery" :-( weird!
Snapple, we always wait til winter (your fall) and move the plnats away from an area and try to corral them there, they move slower in winter :) We actually had them all gone at one joyous point, then DH decided there were these really bright red ones we should put in because they were soooo colorful, he doesn't get to make descisions like that anymore. I have a friend who used a minnow trap to catch the babies in early summer. I bought one and caught a dojo with it :-( and just never put it back in. I'll be busy with the net this winter.
Pixy, I bet those shub babies are cute! They really make nice fish for ponds.
Here's one we named 'ghost'. The momma fish is almost all white with some blotches of blue and orange on one side of her. It's a blurry photo, but you get the general idea. I'm trying to take a photo of the two babies I chose to keep from last year. They are growing like little pond weeds!
Cute!
He's got your eyes pixy!
And I thought I was safe with having 1 Shubukin and 1 Comet. Maybe they are both boys.
Here is a pic of one of my apple snails. Hope it works - first time to post a pic.
I've just about got cabin fever with my pond, so I'm reading through old water garden threads. This one is informative and funny. :)
I didn't realize that you had to overwinter snails...when I was cleaning out leaves from the pond the other day I found out what a frozen and then thawed snail looks like. I feel so bad! I know I have 2 more, but they are dark blue so it is kind of a lost cause. I wonder how n2birds' sharks have faired?
Also, my local pet store told me I shouldn't put shubunkins in my pond. What's the truth?
Don't feel badly about your snail. If my loach survived, I don't know it. I think he perished. I'm a bad fish mom. Also, the momma fish to the little white 'ghost' baby fish got taken by what I think must have been a king fisher. I was very saddened by the loss of that fish. However, one of her babies is turning out to look exactly like her.
I don't know why you shouldn't put shubunkins in your pond. I have lots of them in my pond. They are as hardy as goldfish and koi and very pretty.
Here's a photo from this year in the pond. The small white fish in the middle, facing you, is Lily's baby who is starting to look just like her, even with the same colored spot on the side. This one shows several koi and shubunkins. The little white one and the two to the left of her are all shubunkins. Some of the others are shubunkin/comet mixes.
I would say that person was voicing their personal opinion, there';s no reason not to put Shubs in the pond.
I haven't gotten a shark yet BTW, too pricey, too many other things to spend $ on.
Well, my sharks didn't fair too well. One didn't make it thru the summer last year. The other, I brought in, along with my apple snail and that shark died about a month or so after bringing him in. However, a friend of mine found some of these sharks at a small town Walmart and they weren't real sure what they were, so they said they'd sell them for $5 a piece. Anyone interested in them, may get lucky and find some there too. I opted not to, since my experience wasn't so great. My apple snail is still doing well. Have already brought him in this year for the winter too.
Oh, that's terrible! So sorry to hear they did so poorly. Did it seem as if they had an illness?
No - I didn't even know the first one had died until I couldn't find to fish out for the winter. The second one just didn't do well in my "temporary" tank set up. It looked like he just wasted away. It was probably more my inexperience with aquarium set-up, etc.
That's too bad about the sharks. Sometimes they just up and die for no reason. I had a new tiger barb die the other day for no good reason.
I wonder why that lady told me not to put shubunkins in the pond. She was rather curt about a lot of things she said...so I wonder if she isn't just sick of her job. lol
Pixy, is Coco the gold and black one? How gorgeous!
I've had shubunkins in the pond for over six years. They are nice hardy fish. Some are very strikingly attractive. They don't over populate like comets. I prefer them to comets. The only "goldfish" I've found attractive and hardy is the Sarassa comet. It also does not over populate the pond either and I still have the first one I ever put in. They are tough. They overwinter here in zone 5 in two feet of water with a deicer with no problems.
Snapple, that's exactly what I wanted to know. I'm gonna go back and buy some Shubunkins! I have my indoor 50 gal tank set up and I'm addicted to putting fish in it to prepare them for my pond, eek! I'm gonna have to make that next pond pretty big and pretty quick when it warms up :)
Pixydish: those are some nice fish! how old are they and where did you get them?
Hiya koifarm! The white one with ginrin and Coco I got at a Seattle pond nursery and koi seller. They get their fish from Japan. Twinkle, the white one, is 2 and Coco I got this year. I hope he keeps his color as he grows. He is a very cool looking fish.
The orange one is a generic 'butterfly' koi from a local breeder, and the orange/white/black one is a rescue koi from Walmart. My sister's husband, not knowing anything about koi, bought her this fish and expected it to live in a 15 gallon tank inside. After seeing it in that tank a few times, I took pity on the poor thing and invited it to live in my pond. It was very amusing when they brought the fish over. It was in a large bucket and the moment they set the bucket down by the pond, he leaped out and landed in the middle of the other koi in the pond. I will swear that he knew exactly what he was doing! He's been very healthy and happy since and has grown about 3 inches.
Pixydish I envy you the gin rin. Around here they are scarce. The local sellers keep the nice ones for themselves. I'm afraid to order from the net because of koi herpes virus. Even with a good quarantine set up you have to keep all equipment strictly separate and practice good koi house keeping and hygiene . Around my house & gardens stuff could get mixed up too easily plus I'm getting to be absentminded.
You've got beautiful fish!
Thank you! How bug is your pond?
Thats pretty big. Do you have any problems with birds because its only 3 feet?
The pond is three years old and I never had a problem with birds until this year. I lost my favorite shubunkin to what I think must have been a kingfisher. Over the summer and spring there is no problem because the plant leaves cover much of the water. Just now I have had to put some things floating in the pond to cover the water a bit. I had a heron in the tree a few weeks ago, but he went away hungry and I haven't seen him since. There are many lakes in this area, plus Puget Sound, so they have many places to fish that will be more rewarding for them than my pond. To give the fish cover all year long I have placed large flat slate rocks up on clay pots at the bottom of the pond. They almost cover the deepest area. So the fish hang out underneath the rocks and they are safe there. Also, I do not hand feed my koi so that they continue to be wary of anything they do not recognize.
Here is a photo of the Lovely Lady Lily, the white fish with the big spot on her side. She was extremely beautiful and is the mother of several of my nicer shubunkins. I have a baby of hers that looks like it will be the spitting image of Lily. I hated to lose that fish.
Tose fisheys are B E A utiful =] my favorite is the yamabuki "yellow,gold" koi. how old is he/she that fish will grow up nice