Fish food & fish growth!

[alice]

Hello, what do you guys feed your fish? I have goldfish flakes and pellets.
I have babies- I find my baby koi comes out more to eat than the baby goldfish.
How often do you feed your baby fish?

How long does it take for baby Koi to grow, and how long for goldfish.

 

[Lisak1]

@alice All I can say is I hope you're spending your spare time digging a pond, because that "baby" koi will grow so fast you won't believe it. We had one grow to 10 inches in one season. And it's not just length - their girth is amazing.

I really would encourage you to stick with a couple goldfish in your container pond.

 

[alice]

My mom is wanting a bigger one in the garden . But for right now this should be okay?

 

[MitchM]

That's great that your mom wants a larger one in the garden.
However, the small size of the one you have means that you will have to pay close attention to it because the conditions that the fish are subject to will change very quickly.
Issues such as direct sunlight, overfeeding, lack of water changes and lack of a proper water filter means that your container pond can turn deadly for your fish, very fast.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

As Lisak1 said--Start digging!

The Koi will outgrow that small container in just a few weeks.

And as MitchM said--This many fish will quickly create a water quality nightmare without adequate filtration and water flow. Water changes will prove to be futile at some point.

 

[Lisak1]

Here's our small patio pond. We keep 4-5 goldfish in here happily all spring and summer. The plants obviously do well, the fish thrive, the water stays clean. The bottom is covered with a shallow layer of gravel and a few bigger rocks. We have at least one frog a year that sets up housekeeping in this little pond. We never change the water, just add more from the big pond when the level gets low due to evaporation. We have a small aerator that runs 24 hours a day. I love my little patio pond - it was my gateway drug!

 

[MitchM]

Very nice, Lisak, which direction is that side of the house facing?

 

[Lisak1]

East side of the house. It's a little too shady for the small lily in the pond, but we get two or three blooms every year.

 

[alice]

The Koi I feel is the only one that comes for the food. When my mom sets up the other pond should we justkeep th goldfish on the deck until they get bigger or have just a Koi pong than later on add the goldfish when they get bigger?

 

[alice]

I just feel like he Koi is thriving better than the goldfish, any reasons why?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I think that you are seeing different behavior from your young Koi because of the fact that it is growing at a much faster rate than the Goldfish. This will result in a much more aggressive feeding response. In other words, the Koi is hungrier and wants to feed more often than the Goldfish.

 

[alice]

Okay, thank you!