LabRat99 322 Posted April 29, 2014 And now we need pics of the granddaughter too! I have to run that by her Mom and Dad, but I'd love to show her to ya'll. After all, she is the cutest baby ever! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted April 29, 2014 Alright, I think I've decided what to keep. I think I'm gonna keep the deep bodied single tails. There are a few of these, both mattes and metallics. I've got a National Geographic magazine from 1924 with an article about goldfish in it. Accompnying the article are colored illustrations of various types of goldfish. The only one that I wasn't familiar with was the "nymph". It's essentially a single tail fantail. Think fantail with comet finnage all around. I really like the looks of the fish in the illustration a lot, and I would love to have one. Mine have shubunkin tails, and since mom is an oranda they could end up with wens too but we'll see. At least now I've given myself some criteria for culling. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 1, 2014 Well, guess what? It looks like we're about to start round two of raising fry. Yesterday I did water changes and general cleanup on all my tanks. After I was finished I noticed a lot of chasing going on in the single tail tank. That's not unusual, that's why I nicknamed them "the three stooges" - they chase ALL the time. But this was different. Usually, any two will pair up and chase the other one for a bit then they'll regroup and chase in another combo. It's nuts how much they chase each other around. Anyway, yesterday it was Chub chasing Shrub almost exclusively. Hammy would join in occasionally but only chasing Shrub too. Then I noticed Chub getting alongside Shrub and nudging her around. At that point I decided that there might be spawning in the offing, so just for the heck of it I threw a spawning mop in the tank with them. And then, I honestly forgot all about it until this morning when I went out to feed the fish and there were eggs on the tank walls! I drained a couple of gallons of water from the tank into a tub and put the spawning mop in that. I also went ahead and moved the fish to another tank until the eggs in the tank hatch. If these hatch, I'm NOT gonna try to keep anywhere near as many as last time. I'll keep one batch in one set of tubs and that's it. Anyway, it looks like baby shubunkins are on the way! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BronwynH 1,109 Posted May 1, 2014 Wow! Congrats! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuba Toothpaste 197 Posted May 1, 2014 Congratulations, that's exciting! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 3, 2014 Here are pics of three of the fry that I took yesterday afternoon. One of the metallic ones. One of the matte ones. One of the blue/silver ones and the matte again. The mattes and metallics are about split 50/50 and there are only a handful of the bluish ones, probably less than a dozen all together. I've got 200 - 250 fry and shubunkin eggs about to hatch. I'm really gonna have to start thinning these guys out one way or another. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
koko 14,316 Posted May 3, 2014 I like the silver dudes 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jenzaar 11,605 Posted May 3, 2014 Wowzers!!! How old are the ones in the pics? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuba Toothpaste 197 Posted May 3, 2014 AHHHH they are adorable!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BronwynH 1,109 Posted May 3, 2014 Oh goodness - suddenly they're recognizably little goldfish! So cute! I love the blue ones! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shellbell4ever 1,381 Posted May 4, 2014 i wants a matte one so bad with button eyes please 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 4, 2014 Today the goal is to start up my other 75 gallon tank. I finally got around to painting the back glass on it and I bought some big sponge filters for it so it's ready to become temporary storage for some baby goldfish. I'm still hoping that I can release all the culls in my father-in-laws pond, but I've got to start thinning them out somehow. Starting up this other 75 buys me some time in that I can move the culls to it for the time being. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fantailfan1 26,742 Posted May 4, 2014 The fry look fantastic! Congrats on the new batch too! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 6, 2014 Okay, time for an update. I got the 75gal started up Sunday with two BIG hydro sponges and a cheapie Aqua-tech hob filter filled with bio-max and an ATI pre-filter on it. I seeded the sponges by setting the filters up in two buckets and then siphoning tank water & mulm into the buckets. I let them run like that until they had cleared the water up in the buckets and then for several hours after that. Then I transferred everything to the 75. After letting it run for a few hours, I moved 15 fry over to it. They're doing fine. If everything goes well, this weekend I'll finally start separating all the fry into potential keepers and culls. I'm trying to figure out a workable plan to keep as many of them as I can. So far my efforts involve adding proressively more kiddie pools from Wal-Mart to the back yard until I end up in divorce court. I might need to refine that idea a bit. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 9, 2014 I've still got approximately 250 babies left, split amongst three tanks. The matt/calicos (whatever they are, I'm not sure) are starting to color up now, so that's pretty neat to watch. I'm seriously thinking about buying a 12 foot swimming pool and raising all of these guys over the Summer then culling down to the few I can actually keep in the Fall. I really want to see what they look like once the metallics all get color. I'm pretty sure all the olive green ones will be orange, I've seen that change before in fish I've bought when they were really young. I'm curious about what color the silver/bluish ones will turn. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
koko 14,316 Posted May 9, 2014 I've still got approximately 250 babies left, split amongst three tanks. The matt/calicos (whatever they are, I'm not sure) are starting to color up now, so that's pretty neat to watch. I'm seriously thinking about buying a 12 foot swimming pool and raising all of these guys over the Summer then culling down to the few I can actually keep in the Fall. I really want to see what they look like once the metallics all get color. I'm pretty sure all the olive green ones will be orange, I've seen that change before in fish I've bought when they were really young. I'm curious about what color the silver/bluish ones will turn. Im watching 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fantailfan1 26,742 Posted May 9, 2014 I'm trying to figure out a workable plan to keep as many of them as I can. So far my efforts involve adding proressively more kiddie pools from Wal-Mart to the back yard until I end up in divorce court. I might need to refine that idea a bit. That made me LOL. Now where are some pic updates? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 18, 2014 I haven't decided for sure on setting up a pool in the back yard or not. I'm kind of leaning that way, but not 100% yet. The babies are still doing well, they are split into three groups. I've got two groups in 30 gallon tanks and one in a 75gal. One 30 has about 35 fish, these are the ones that I'm most likely to keep through the summer, especially if I get the pool. The second 30gal has about a 100 fish in it, these fall into the maybe category - I may keep them, I may send them to my father in law's pond. And the rest, probably 150 or so are definitely going to the pond. I'm gonna try to move them out within the next two weeks. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 20, 2014 I think I've found my pool! 10ft x 30in deep metal frame. More importantly it will fit where I want to put it. I think this is the route I'm gonna go now. I'm gonna take about half of the first batch of fry to my father in laws place and release them in a large pond that he has. It's stocked with fish but there is cover for them to hide so they'll have as good a chance of survival as any other young fish. The rest of the first batch plus all the shubunkins I'll raise in the pool over the Summer, pick my favorites in the Fall, then sell or trade as many of the others as I can and release any I've got left in the pond. If I order the pool today it should be here early next week, so things should progress pretty quickly after that. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 21, 2014 I've still got approximately 250 babies left, split amongst three tanks. The matt/calicos (whatever they are, I'm not sure) are starting to color up now, so that's pretty neat to watch. I'm seriously thinking about buying a 12 foot swimming pool and raising all of these guys over the Summer then culling down to the few I can actually keep in the Fall. I really want to see what they look like once the metallics all get color. I'm pretty sure all the olive green ones will be orange, I've seen that change before in fish I've bought when they were really young. I'm curious about what color the silver/bluish ones will turn. Im watching I ordered the pool this morning. My wife is okay with it too - she's the greatest. I ordered a 10ft diameter instead of 12, it will fit better in the spot where I want to place it. I did the math and that's still something like 1400 gallons. That should be plenty of room for growing a bunch of baby goldfish over the Summer. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amoonklein 1,212 Posted May 21, 2014 Imagine all the goldies you can keep in 1400 gallons?! OMG! Your wife really is the best Glad she supports your love of goldfish It's been fun reading through your thread and I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow up. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 23, 2014 And now we need pics of the granddaughter too! This is Ella Rae. She gets cuter every day. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HomerJay 4,668 Posted May 23, 2014 She's a cutie! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fantailfan1 26,742 Posted May 23, 2014 Ella Rae. I bet you'd like to swim in the pool with all the baby fishies, wouldn't you? Sounds like a good project for the weekend. When are you supposed to get it? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LabRat99 322 Posted May 23, 2014 The pool is supposed to be here next Tuesday. So maybe I can get it set up next weekend. On a side note, I think the babies were two months old yesterday. I need to post some pics of them. They're getting big! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
