Feeling guilty.

[KC Crook]

i have 3 "feeder" goldfish, two black and one gold, plus 3 fantails in my pond. I never, ever see the 3 feeder goldfish yet they take up valuable resources in such a small pond. They are living and growing, but I get little enjoyment from them. They are crazy paranoid and never swim in the open unless chasing a fertile female. I am tempted to transfer them to our local golf course pond and hope the best for them. Am I being too selfish and mean?

 

[Smaug]

Yes you are,they are a living thing that you are responsible for. Its a shame you need advice like this from strangers.

 

[KC Crook]

Umm, I wasnt going to kill them, just transfer them to a larger pond. But ok...if you choose to find the nasty in it, help yourself.

 

[Mmathis]

You should never relocate fish like that! They can compete with the fish already there, and/or they could introduce pathogens that could compromise a healthy aquatic environment.

Re-home them (to a pet store or to someone with a pond who can take them) if you think you have too many. If you just "don't like" the ones you have, give them a chance -- chances are they'll eventually come around. If not, then go back to option #1.

 

[KC Crook]

You should never relocate fish like that! They can compete with the fish already there, and/or they could introduce pathogens that could compromise a healthy aquatic environment.

Re-home them (to a pet store or to someone with a pond who can take them) if you think you have too many. If you just "don't like" the ones you have, give them a chance -- chances are they'll eventually come around. If not, then go back to option #1.

Thank you, I had no serious thoughts of relocating them, I was just wanting an opinion on the idea. With a pond many thousands of gallons and 3 healthy males, its unlikely it would cause a problem, especially considering it has no inlet/outlet to a natural water system. Its a water hazard on a golf course.

 

[Tula]

I've rehomed koi fry, to prevent my pond from being over stocked. I found a neighbor with a 20,000 gallon pond and he was happy to give them a good home. I also rehired an adult koi last summer, when I bought a new koi, again, to prevent over stocking.

You could try posting them on Craigslist, or at a local pet store, local businesses etc., but don't release them into any pond, lake or river.

 

[Smaug]

Thank you, I had no serious thoughts of relocating them, I was just wanting an opinion on the idea. With a pond many thousands of gallons and 3 healthy males, its unlikely it would cause a problem, especially considering it has no inlet/outlet to a natural water system. Its a water hazard on a golf course.

Yep that's what your think. Lots of people fish golf course ponds,some kid or irresponsible adult catches if and thinks it would look cool in their pond close to a creek and bobs your uncle,it found its way into a natural body of water. It's crap like this that give lawmakers the bright idea it would be smart to ban certain types of ornamental fish. If you had no serious thought of doing it then it almost sounds like an attempt at trolling seeing as how it's caused arguments in the past.

 

[Lisak1]

@KC Crook asked a question - sharing the potential negative impact on the environment is important. Offering alternatives to releasing the fish in the wild is helpful. But being kind to one another is just as important as - no, I'll say MORE important than - being kind to the animals in our care.

@KC Crook I don't know you personally, but I do believe you were genuine in your questioning. Judging by the title of your post, you want to do the right thing and I'm confident you will.

 

[Stephen T.]

Sometimes it gets crazy! Some folks in Port Orford, Oregon had an ugly cement pond colored "swimming pool blue" years ago. They decided to sell the house and gave the 2 Koi, 1 basic goldfish and 1 fancy goldfish to a realtor for her office with a 500 gallon aquarium. 8 years later, she redecorated the office and wanted to get rid of the fish and aquarium. Meanwhile, the house was vacant and owned by the bank and some close friends bought it to remodel and then re-sell. They took the fish, back to their original home. Once the house sold, the new owners weren't going to live there until retirement, 2 years later, so, since I had a couple ponds, the fish came to me. 3 more years and I was moving to central Oregon with no pond and the folks that bought the house wanted them so back to the pond they were home in the original pond again. So far they are still there and healthy.

Steve

 

[Mmathis]

@KC Crook asked a question - sharing the potential negative impact on the environment is important. Offering alternatives to releasing the fish in the wild is helpful. But being kind to one another is just as important as - no, I'll say MORE important than - being kind to the animals in our care.

@KC Crook I don't know you personally, but I do believe you were genuine in your questioning. Judging by the title of your post, you want to do the right thing and I'm confident you will.

I apologize! No ill intent.

Guilty feelings.... Yes, and it's normal. I feel bad when I look at and compare my prettier fishies to my mutts, and just for an instant the thought crosses my mind that I should cull my herd..... But then I start feeling sorry for the "common" swimmers and realize that THEY can't help being common. And I ask myself WHY I have a pond. I suppose if I was breeding, then culling would be necessary. But these guys & girls are my pets. So guess it depends on your priorities. But I'll bet even the breeders feel the guilt at culling. Normal (or we wouldn't be human).

 

[mrsclem]

Every year I have fry, I sell off some of my fish. last year I had a lot of adults I needed to remove from my ponds as I was overstocked. In past years, I have screened who I sell to, asking about their ponds. I have had fish end up in 55 gallon tanks and then back on Craigslist with deformed spines! Luckily I now have a list of people who have ponds that can give my surplus a good home. I currently have a deformed fish, (missing upper lip) that I have for sale. Probably going to be a permanent resident in my pond. There are a lot of people that have ponds who cannot afford fish who would give fish a good home. If you have Free Cycle in your area, check it out, or just list them on Craigslist for free.

 

[Gemma]

Every so often

i have 3 "feeder" goldfish, two black and one gold, plus 3 fantails in my pond. I never, ever see the 3 feeder goldfish yet they take up valuable resources in such a small pond. They are living and growing, but I get little enjoyment from them. They are crazy paranoid and never swim in the open unless chasing a fertile female. I am tempted to transfer them to our local golf course pond and hope the best for them. Am I being too selfish and mean?

I feel bad too when I have to rehome fish! ...so I try to find them a good home!

 

[KC Crook]

Every so often

I feel bad too when I have to rehome fish! ...so I try to find them a good home!

Well, No worries. With the new fish and the snake gone, my shy ones have come out to play. i have spent all morning outside watching and enjoying them...so....I hope I never have to rehome them!

 

[KC Crook]

@KC Crook asked a question - sharing the potential negative impact on the environment is important. Offering alternatives to releasing the fish in the wild is helpful. But being kind to one another is just as important as - no, I'll say MORE important than - being kind to the animals in our care.

@KC Crook I don't know you personally, but I do believe you were genuine in your questioning. Judging by the title of your post, you want to do the right thing and I'm confident you will.

Thanks Lisa, I was just looking for advise. Someone peed in Smaug's Cheerios. Lol! As for our golf course pond, noone is allowed onto the course unless playing so fishing is not an option. But I understand non native fish could be a problem and I take that to heart. I have relocated turtles and snakes to that pond (all natural native wild species btw) and the last thing I want to do is damage its natural equalibrium. So relax Smaug, no golf course pond will die because of 3 3"goldfish! Lol!

 

[Faebinder]

When I first paid attention to our pond that came with our house.... i noticed 3 orange fish... Back then I had no clue what they were and didnt care. I neglected the pond for 2 months. Then one day i come and note the water level was very low and the pump is struggling... so i added water. I noted the 3 goldfish still survived... They were 3 common goldfish. Fast forward a year later.... I added more fish and didn't want the three common orange..... they just took space. I felt guilty about relocating them or even euthanizing them... technically they lived in this home longer than I have and they even survived where other new fish did not....
So I made the pond deeper and kept them