Fry update

[LisaCGold 1,691]

Such pretty colors - green and blue! Wow, that is a big grow-out pond for the fry. They are very lucky! How are the fishies doing?

[LabRat99 322]

Such pretty colors - green and blue! Wow, that is a big grow-out pond for the fry. They are very lucky! How are the fishies doing?

They are doing very well so far. I've never had outside goldfish before though so I'm kind of learning on the fly. On one hand I wish the water hadn't turned green, I want to look at my fish. On the other hand green water is good for them and it offers cover too. So, I'm not gonna stress over it - if it clears up great, if not that's okay too. The fish that I've put in the pool have grown noticeably in just a week and I swear their colors are brighter too. I don't know if that is just brighter light for viewing or if their colors have actually brightened. I've heard that fish kept outdoors do brighten up, but I wasn't expecting to see a difference in a week. Because the ones I've already added seem to be doing so well I added a netfull of the baby shubunkins to the pool this evening to see how they do. I was planning to add all the shubunkin babies that I have but waiting until later in the Summer to do it. I added about 15 of them today; I'll give them a week and see how they do. If they are growing like the other fish I've already got in the pool, I'll add the rest and be done with fry tanks for this year.

[LisaCGold 1,691]

I too have heard about sunlight and fish color. Although Shakalo says her pond goldfish eventually all turn white. Is it hard to do water changes with not being able to see the fish real well?

[LabRat99 322]

I'm not planning on changing water anytime soon. Hopefully, by the time I do it will have cleared up. I'm going to add some more filtration first. I've got two pond-sized sponge filters ordered for it. Later on, I might try to make a bucket filter of some sort as well.

When I do get around to changing water, the pool has a drain fitting that will connect to a garden hose so I can route it to a flower bed or whatever to re-use the water. the only thing I'll need to do is put some kind of mesh over the drain outles on the inside of the pool so that small fish don't get sucked out the drain.

[GoldenSpoiledRotten 6,786]

Do a bucket filter and use a sponge over the pump. You'll find that it helps greatly both in circulation and in managing the algae. (With microfiltration) I really enjoy mine.

Your fish are so adorable. I can't wait for mine to grow up to that size so I can see them!!!

[LabRat99 322]

My baby goldfish are three months old today! It's hard to believe. I'll try to snap a few pics and post them when I can. On a side note, I needed to add some water to the pool so I got out a tape measure and measured the actual dimensions. It's actually 9.5' in diameter and I've got it filled 22.5" inches deep. So that makes the capacity 990 gallons as I have it now. Each inch it's filled is 44 gal. so it's essentially 1000 gallons plus or minus depending on how full I want to keep it.

I've started feeding the group of babies that I had separated as being "most likely to keep" a few pellets in addition to the ground up pellets that I've been feeding since I shut down the brine shrimp hatcheries. They are eating them so that's good. The hydro pond sponge filters are supposed to arrive Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to getting them set up. I'm looking forward to getting all these babies plus all the shubunkin babies in the pool for the remainder of Summer.

[LabRat99 322]

The pond filters came today, right on time. Also, it rained for the first time since I set the pool up. After I got home and the rain passe through, I got out there and set the filters up. I'm really excited about the pool; the fish I've added so far are growing really fast and their colors are amazing. Can't wait to see how they grow out over the Summer.

[lldykstra 199]

I am really looking forward to seeing how the sunlight enhances their color - I find this very interesting.

[LabRat99 322]

Here they are at three months old...

I'm just about ready to put these guys outside for the rest of the Summer.

[LabRat99 322]

Here's another shot of the pool where I'm going to move the babies. Don't worry, nobody is swimming in the green water. The air mattress is just for shade for the fish. I need to get some water lillies...

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

hehe, have the neighbors strolled over to see what you're up to?

[LabRat99 322]

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted about the babies. The pool is working out well. I put some bamboo fencing around it to dress it up a little. I've also made and added a bucket filter to it. The water is still green but the fish are growing really well in it so all-in-all it's going pretty good.

[aquami 53]

Can't wait to see some pics of the fish. They'll look really nice growing out in such a big pool and outside.

[LabRat99 322]

My first batch of fry are over four months old now! They've been in the pool in the back yard for 5 or 6 weeks now and some of them are getting really big. Some of the single-tailed one are 3-4 inches total length. Also, there are quite a few interesting color patterns. I've got several calicos that are primarily orange on the front part of their bodies and primarily white on the back half with blue spots mixed in. Very striking looking. I've got one that looks like a panda; his top half is black and his bottom half is white.

One thing I've noticed is that a number of them have out turned gill covers. Not sure if that's genetic or what but it's not attractive.

[LabRat99 322]

The water in the pool has cleared! It sure is nice to be able to actually see the fish swimming around. I've been working long hours recently but it looks like my schedule is getting back to normal so I'm gonna try to take some pictures and post them this week.

I removed the filter that came with the pool and replaced it with two 5 gal homemade bucket filters and a small fountain to break the surface up. They seem to be handling filtration nicely.

[Moucho+Moncho 402]

That's great news!

[ActiasAmy 330]

The water in the pool has cleared! It sure is nice to be able to actually see the fish swimming around. I've been working long hours recently but it looks like my schedule is getting back to normal so I'm gonna try to take some pictures and post them this week.

I removed the filter that came with the pool and replaced it with two 5 gal homemade bucket filters and a small fountain to break the surface up. They seem to be handling filtration nicely.

I beg photos when you get a chance for sure! Goldfish development is fascinating, call me an audience

[LabRat99 322]

That's great news!

In hindsight, trying to use the filter that came with the pool was a mistake. I thought since all the fish were small that the bio load would be such that the pool filter could handle it. I think the bucket filters that I made are much more suited to the job.

The water in the pool has cleared! It sure is nice to be able to actually see the fish swimming around. I've been working long hours recently but it looks like my schedule is getting back to normal so I'm gonna try to take some pictures and post them this week.

I removed the filter that came with the pool and replaced it with two 5 gal homemade bucket filters and a small fountain to break the surface up. They seem to be handling filtration nicely.

I beg photos when you get a chance for sure! Goldfish development is fascinating, call me an audience

I'll be sure to post pics as soon as I can. I've raised and kept goldfish for years, but this my first attempt at breeding; I've learned a lot and the experience has given me some ideas for what I'd like to accomplish in the future with breeding my fish.

[LabRat99 322]

Here's what my pool/pond looks like as of today...

The bucket filters and my awesome fountain.

You can kind of see some fish in this shot. It surprised me how quickly the water cleared once it began. Over about a three day period it went from pea soup green that you couldn't see more than two or three inches into, to crystal clear. It looks a little yellow/green in some of the pictures but that is the scum on the bottom of the liner. The water is clear. I just need to sweep the bottom now.

A little closer look at some of the fish.

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

Looks fantastic, and you must be having an absolute blast!

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Forget any future fry, my kids would love the pool.

They look great. What a fun summer adventure.

[Flipper 13,057]

So, is the dad paying his child support?

Your parents and babies are very cute