I always talk about koi but I love my Shubunkin too

[Gemma]

I feel kinda guilty always talking about koi so I thought theses two deserve a thread.... the colors are way better in reality, but anyway these are my 2 Shubbies, the oldest fish in my pond
I love the long fins

 

[BarbO]

I can hardly wait for Spring when I will get my first Shubunkins for my newly finished pond. Just had Koi before. I need a big fake Great Blue Heron first though...

 

[Gemma]

I can hardly wait for Spring when I will get my first Shubunkins for my newly finished pond. Just had Koi before. I need a big fake Great Blue Heron first though...

The fake Heron is a great decor, but will not stop the real one from coming you know that right?

 

[j.w]

You know the song Duke of Earl? Well if you are older you will and in that song it states that Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl...............................well guess what? There is almost nothing that can stop the Great Blue Heron..........except maybe a net or a gun

 

[addy1]

Glad you love your shubbies Gemma! I love mine too!

 

[Gemma]

Just to give an idea on the size the baby koi in this pic is between 5" and 6" long

 

[j.w]

Me too I love mine, I have 6 of them. Yours are very pretty @Gemma
Mine are too but they don't hold still for photos much

 

[Tula]

Very pretty shubunkin

 

[BarbO]

The fake Heron is a great decor, but will not stop the real one from coming you know that right?

Oh dear. Around here everyone with a pond has one and we have been told that GBH are solitary birds and won't go where there are others. Do they wade into ponds or swoop dpwn from above and grab fish? Gemma your fish are beautiful!

 

[Gemma]

Oh dear. Around here everyone with a pond has one and we have been told that GBH are solitary birds and won't go where there are others. Do they wade into ponds or swoop dpwn from above and grab fish? Gemma your fish are beautiful!

Thank you!
Unfortunately there is no stopping that bird, other than a solid net! I learned the hard way that decoy do not work, they might buy you some time, but in the end if that's all you have to protect your fish it won't be enough

 

[Jhn]

@BarbO GBH land next to the pond and walk up to it and will wade into it. They are solitary but are smart and will eventually figure out a decoy is not a real bird.

As was said either nets held up a few feet high over the pond so the herons can't stab the fish through it will work. Water scarecrows sort of work but if your pond is large it is hard to protect it completely with one, water spray needs to hit the heron to scare it off.

Stringing fish line up around the pond edges can work if you do it right.

Years ago I used to have the koi addiction that others on here have, but herons have tempered it with their population control in my pond.

I still have koi, orfes, shubunkins, comets and some channel catfish in the pond, but none are that big. Shubunkins are cool looking fish all mine are runts though as they seem to fall prey to various wildlife in and around my pond before too long.

@Gemma, those are some nice looking shubunkins, big too. I have some at the moment in a 300 gallon stock tank with a net over it. I am thinking of trying to grow them larger in there then reintroduce them to the main pond.Shubs are probably my favorite pond fish.

 

[CometKeith]

I feel kinda guilty always talking about koi so I thought theses two deserve a thread.... the colors are way better in reality, but anyway these are my 2 Shubbies, the oldest fish in my pond
I love the long fins
View attachment 106134

Gemma. Those Shubunkins are gorgeous! I have several pretty shubunkin babies in my pond right now probably not more than an inch long. I hope they make it okay through the winter.

 

[Gemma]

@BarbO

@Gemma, those are some nice looking shubunkins, big too. I have some at the moment in a 300 gallon stock tank with a net over it. I am thinking of trying to grow them larger in there then reintroduce them to the main pond.Shubs are probably my favorite pond fish.

can you post pics? I'd love to see them
I bet you they're beautiful, and this is the right thread to honor them

Gemma. Those Shubunkins are gorgeous! I have several pretty shubunkin babies in my pond right now probably not more than an inch long. I hope they make it okay through the winter.

Thank you!
I have to say that those two were so small when I got them it was hard to see any patterns, I could clearly see the longer fins and that's why I got them...when they reached few inches long they were gorgeous, but as they grew in size they started losing a lot of color...and then they developed all those poke-dots and a lot of their original color came back
So my point is one shouldn't judge a fish too fast cause it could be going through it's "puppy ugly" time

 

[CometKeith]

Just to give an idea on the size the baby koi in this pic is between 5" and 6" long

View attachment 106150

Gemma, I have a few shubunkins but they never got large like yours. How did it grow so big? I feed my fish as much they can eat in a few minutes once or twice a day but never overdo it with food.

 

[Gemma]

Gemma, I have a few shubunkins but they never got large like yours. How did it grow so big? I feed my fish as much they can eat in a few minutes once or twice a day but never overdo it with food.

These two are both male, I figured around 8 -10 yrs old. How old are yours?
I feed them Omega One koi sticks now, but when they were younger (and I didn't know any better) I fed the cheapest food I could find and most of it was wasted cause they didn't like it so I'm not sure how they grew this large