Help - what are the Mystery fish in pond

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Several months ago I had an 800 gallon pond installed. I live in Hawaii, and the pond is tropical, lava surrounded with a small waterfall. I started with 8 small feeder-type goldfish and one large koi I was given. I also had a pot with waterlilly in it and this pot had several of what are commonly called (here, at least) mosquito fish. They are very small (about an inch long), black, and used to control mosquitos. So, I put a few of them in the pond also. Imagine my surprise when a few months later several very large black fish appeared! They had been invisible, as the pond bottom is black stone, and surrounded by black lava walls. It seem the small mosquito fish have grow large - as in several inches long, and there are several of them. The biggest are bigger than my goldfish, which have become quite big. So, my question is - what in the heck are these big black fish???? A friend said I should just throw them out, but I can't stand the thought of killing anything. Another weird thing - one of the black fish slowly turned orange, and now has only a small amount of black on him. I know each of my goldfish (they have names) so there is no mistaking that these black fish were the little ones I put in. Also, the goldfish have reproduced twice already, and so I have 8 more smaller goldfish. I would appreciate knowing what these black fish are, and if they will continue to grow. They add to my fish load and I don't want to get another koi (although I really want to) if it would be too much. Mahalo (Thanks!)
 

sissy

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Welcome and all my baby fish from the spawns started off black then went to red orange and then to gold and then to white .Seems most goldfish I have had started all black
 
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How exciting to find fish in your pond :) Please don't throw them out. I'm sure if you don't want them you can find a new home for them.

I'm willing to bet they are goldfish. As juveniles they start out a bronze color and then change to orange/gold, white or some combination of both.

Can you post a few photos? Would love to see them.
 

j.w

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Yep I'm pretty sure they are goldfish. Your goldfish laid eggs and some survived. They start out black when hatched to raise their survival rate from predators. Some of mine have stayed black for years now. Each fish is different on the rate they turn to orange and some may always stay black.
konalady
 
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I am thinking mrsclem may be right and they could be koi-goldfish hybrids. I did not know such a thing was possible, but I have googled it and they look like some of the pics i have seen. They are coal black (except the one who turned color) and very large - a couple are now second only in size to the koi (who is BIG). In the same time span of just a few months (pond was finished last April), the ones that are obviously goldfish babies are nowhere nearly as big. Another thing - just a couple of days after we put the koi in the pond, she released a ton of eggs, no doubt due to the stress of moving. Maybe some of those eggs got fertilized, although the goldfish were not very old at the time. They are so black, they were almost impossible to see until they got big. I need to examine them more closely, to see if any have barbels, as I read some hybrids have them. I will need to get a net and catch a few! Many thanks for all the prompt replies. This is a great forum, as I am a newbie to ponds and fish!
 

j.w

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Whatever they are they are fun to enjoy and a nice addition to the pond :biggrin:
 
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Beautiful box turtles never seen them colorful like that. You should post a picture showing the pond and habitat I can just imagine how beautiful it looks
 

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