12 replies to this topic

[RonsRed88]

I've had my pond for 6 years and never tried very hard to figure out what kind of fish I have. I believe they are some kind of goldfish, but I have had two Koi in there that disappeared thanks to racoons, cats, or possibly Kranes/Herron/Egret (whatever).

Here are some pictures I took today:




And a short video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5z4EWBagd4"][/ame]

Thanks,
Ron

Here's a link to my intro post

[DrDave]

From what I see, you have Koi. Do they have whiskers (barbells)?

[RonsRed88]

I've never really noticed any whiskers which is why I didn't immediately say Koi. Do the whiskers appear when the fish are small or only after a certain size? I probably have too many fish for the size of the pond and so they aren't nearly the size of most Koi I've seen. Is it possible they just haven't grown big enough to have whiskers?

Here's an enlarged picture of a few of them:


Thanks,
Ron

[stroppy]

i dont know what they are the ones with the big tails look abit like comets

here is a link http://en.wikipedia....Goldfish_breeds
if you click on each fish name it shows a picture of that fish ... sorry cant help much but its rather hard to see them close enough

[Big Red]

Mostly koi. I saw 2 comets. May be more but couldn't tell from the pics or video. Watch how they feed. Sounds crazy but they feed differently. Koi will hang on the surface and inhale the food like a whale. Comets to my knowledge are more hit, move away, hit, move away, etc.
If you are unable to differentiate by sight, give it a shot.

[RSFish1]

Comets/Goldfish will also have a differently placed and shaped mouth. Usually a little higher on the head. The barbels, whiskers, are the really easiest way to tell for sure. Anything less than 4 whiskers is a comet/goldfish. Or they could be a cross breed. I have both Koi and comets that do the hit and run on feeding. So I cannot attest to that one.

[DrDave]

There are Koi with only 2 barbells, some have 4. I have seen many show quality Koi photos online and they clearly have only 2.
go to Simikoi.com and take a look.

[RonsRed88]

Thanks everyone. I hadn't even thought of comets. I'll check the resources you shared.

Ron

[addy1]

They are pretty no matter what they are!

[RSFish1]

I learn something new every day. I was always told to look for four barbels. Thanks for correcting me on that. I have definitely given out some mis-information on that.

[digginponds]

Big Red said:

Mostly koi. I saw 2 comets. May be more but couldn't tell from the pics or video. Watch how they feed. Sounds crazy but they feed differently. Koi will hang on the surface and inhale the food like a whale. Comets to my knowledge are more hit, move away, hit, move away, etc.
If you are unable to differentiate by sight, give it a shot.

you hit it on the head ,with the feeding statement.Also koi are known,least mine splash me with there tails,while feeding......

Looks to me as if you have a multi community of goldfish an koi.

[abila]

Comets/Goldfish will also have a differently placed and shaped mouth. Usually a little higher on the head. The barbels, whiskers, are the really easiest way to tell for sure. Anything less than 4 whiskers is a comet/goldfish. Or they could be a cross breed. I have both Koi and comets that do the hit and run on feeding. So I cannot attest to that one.

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JML| Learning Resources

[DrDave]

I don't know where you get your information, but here are a lot of websites and experts selling imported Japanese Koi with only 2 barbells.