How Many Fish Can I Put in My Pond?

[JBtheExplorer]

So, one thing I'm not sure about, but I'm sure many of you know... I dont know how many fish can go in my 400-ish gallon pond. I only plan on Shubunkins and Comets. Obviously, I'd like to put as many in as possible without overstocking it. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[dieselplower]

There will be a variety of answers but I like my estimate of 50 gallons per fish. Factors such as filtration, feeding habits, water changes etc will all play into this however.

 

[HTH]

If you mix the two you will have mostly mutts. If you go straight Shubunkins when the fish have fry you will have Shubunkins fry.

I would buy 6 or 10 good looking Shubunkins and go with that. Think quality over quantity It will give you some headroom for fry and when you do need to thin them out you stand a chance of having some nice fish to give away or even sell.

But it is only a suggestion.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

If you mix the two you will have mostly mutts. If you go straight Shubunkins when the fish have fry you will have Shubunkins fry.

Yeah, I already own shubunkins and comets, just was wondering how many i could have total.

What does a comet/shubunkin mix look like?

 

[CountryEscape]

Actually, a Shubunkin/Comet mix would still be very nice. Shubunkin simply means tri-colored, Comet is a bi-color (red/white) fish. Otherwise, they can have same body style, if I understand it correctly. I have both in my goldfish pond, but have added more Shubunkins, as I prefer the tri-color mixture. Also, odds are if you buy from a local pet shop or Wal-Mart, and you get only Shubunkins, they may likely have Comet as a parent! However, if you purchase them from a breeder, you would have all Shubies for babies. I totally agree that if you like the Shubies, and the red/black with white spots one in your first pic is gorgeous, stick with them. In that size of pond, any babies you have out of 10 adults will need to be moved, IMO, so if you have friends that like Shubunkins over Comets, keep it to the same color. If you like diversity, go with both. Most importantly, have fun! :blueflower:

 

[HTH]

Here I go being the stick in the mud again.

Strictly speaking Shubunkin may have a similar shape but they are not comets.

What does a comet/shubunkin mix look like?

Goldfish genetics are on the complex side. It is a crap shoot whenever you breed unrelated goldfish. Do it often enough and you end up with goldfish that will not even turn color. The shubunkin was created by crossing Calico telescope eye with common goldfish. I expect it took a good number of generations to get it to breed true. Still there could be some interesting ones crossing it back to common goldfish.

As DP said 50 gallon per fish is OK. It really depends on surface area, filtration, aeration and how well the pond is maintained.

 

[CountryEscape]

I learn something new every day! Thanks for the info, HTH. I had no idea! :cheerful:

 

[Mmathis]

http://www.your-garden-ponds-center.com/fish-load-calculator.html

A fish load calculator.

 

[fishin4cars]

Here I go being the stick in the mud again.

Strictly speaking Shubunkin may have a similar shape but they are not comets.


Goldfish genetics are on the complex side. It is a crap shoot whenever you breed unrelated goldfish. Do it often enough and you end up with goldfish that will not even turn color. The shubunkin was created by crossing Calico telescope eye with common goldfish. I expect it took a good number of generations to get it to breed true. Still there could be some interesting ones crossing it back to common goldfish.

As DP said 50 gallon per fish is OK. It really depends on surface area, filtration, aeration and how well the pond is maintained.
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Howard, I'm not sure this is actually true. Shubunkin were around for years before Calico Telescope. Black moors were the first ttelescopes to show up in the hobby back in the early 70's, red/orange showed up after that then calico. If I had to guess I would say Calico telescopes were probably crosses between orange/red telescopes or black telescopes and shubunkins. Shubunkins are Comets, with tri color. crossing them with regular comets will produce fish that don't develop true color. may end up with calico, red, black, brown, white orange, etc. The colors will develop in many cases slower than pure line shubunkins. I do agree that if you want the best quality babies there should only be one particular kind kept and work with that type of fish. But even breeding Shubunkin to shubunkin doesn't assure only shubunkin will be produced. It takes breeding out all other colors for 2-3 generations before a pure line is formed.

As far as how many can be kept in a 400 gallon pond,, Again it depends on how well the fitration can breakdown waste and how good the water quality can be kept. 8-12 is probably a safe # with average filtration. I've kept 100 small goldies in a 450 gallon pond to raise and grow to pick out 6-8 best to grow out. but I also had more than enough fitration and heavy water changes to do this. NOT recommended for the average pond keeper to try this extreme, but it can be done..

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Thanks to all of you for your answers. I personally planned for 8-10 so it sounds like that'll be just fine.

 

[Fishylove]

Hey there! As they have said above, the number of fish you can have in any pond, for sure depends on the biodiversity of your pond, filtering, water surface area, oxygen exchange etc... Many, many different senerios can factor in. My advice is to first off, take into consideration how much time you have and are willing to put into your hobby. I don't know how experienced you are with ponding or fish keeping in general, but if you are just starting, learn as much about how a pond works and what is needed to have a balanced Eco system. As an experienced ponder, Fishin can keep more than the normal amount of fish because he knows what to look for, how to handle a problem, if for some reason something did go wrong. No matter how many fish you keep tho, keep in mind, if you DO have too many in there and you don't have the skills to handle it, Mother Nature will titrate them herself to the right amount.
Good luck and welcome!