Koi babies!

pondlover

Life is good today!
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
604
Reaction score
111
Location
Milan, TN
Hardiness Zone
7a
I am so excited. I got home from work today and my hubby said he thinks he saw a baby fish. Sure enough, I have counted 3 little guys. Well, not so little really. Maybe about an inch in length. I didn't even know they had spawned. :goldfish: :goldfish: I was trying to move lilly pads out of the way so I could see them. They are busy munching on the algae on the sides of pond.

Have no clue who the parents are, as this is my first time with spawning. lol As soon as I can I will try and get a picture of the little fellas. I sure love this pond stuff!!! :luxlove:
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
fish and koi talk is fine, Congradulations! It's so cool isn't it? We have raised 17 since they were a day old. We found them three days after we moved all the bigger fish from the old pond to the new one. then last week I noticed a few small babies in the big pond. today we noticed a small school of 1-1.5" babies. I'm seeing several different color combinations so I'm really trying to get some close looks. it's hard and each time you get a good look you get all excited wondering what they will turn out like. When you get some pics please post. Everyone likes seeing someone with some sucess at raising their own babies.
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
32,948
Reaction score
20,252
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
congratsblink.gif
PL
 

pondlover

Life is good today!
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
604
Reaction score
111
Location
Milan, TN
Hardiness Zone
7a
Larkin when can you tell if they are butterfly? Last night we definitely counted 4. It's very exciting and very surprising. I've read how everyone is seeing their fish spawn and I can honestly say that I haven't noticed any behavior like what I've read. They must have been secret spawners. :razz:
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
Congrats and when they are tiny it is hard to tell because as they grow they change .I have yet to see babies in my pond every year until they are at least 2 inches long .I guess they don't want to be eaten ,but all my babies started out black .Mine seem to spawn at night i have noticed as i have LED lights around my pond shining down and i can see them chasing and going crazy
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Butterfly koi take a few months before you can even begin to start telling they are butterfly. I have some in a aquarium that are about a 1 1/2" long and I'm just begining to tell which ones are starting to develope the longer fins. Koi normally spawn in the early early morning around day break. Depending on the size of the fish and how many eggs she's carrying, and how easy she can release will deteremine how long they lay. Just like humans, some get through delivery very easy, some take hours. It's not uncommon at all for the first spawn or two to be small. Of course the other fish follow and eat the eggs shortly after they are deposited so many hobbyist miss that part. Now, Do you have ANY goldfish in the pond? If so you may not have pure koi. Goldfish will interbreed with your koi. Very seldom will you get any real colored up babies if that happens, they are usually short stumpy fish with short fins and most will start off a brown color. They are fun to raise as well and as long as you know what fish they are they are fine kept with the others. problems start a rising when they are allowed to breed back. You'll end up with all sorts of JUNKY fish. It's a good idea to watch your fish and find out which ones are the females. (when chasing starts she'll be the front fish that all the others are harrassing) Females and males will chase a female that is laying eggs. so don't think all the chasers are males. If you have a agressive male goldfish he'll be the first to chase any female in the pond and get in there quickly to breed before the others find out there is free caviar breakfast.
 

pondlover

Life is good today!
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
604
Reaction score
111
Location
Milan, TN
Hardiness Zone
7a
I have only Koi!!!
I am going home and checking to see if there are more. I hope so. :)
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
That's good to hear, Now lets see if any more babies show up. Quite often there will be a few that are faster growing then others, Those usually show up first and the remaing a week or so later. Butterfly will start being able to be noticed around the 2-3 month of age.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2011
Messages
433
Reaction score
56
Location
Carolinas
Congratulations! I am jealous my goldfish and koi have laid hundreds of eggs but I have seen no babies.
 

pondlover

Life is good today!
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
604
Reaction score
111
Location
Milan, TN
Hardiness Zone
7a
I was finally able to get some pics of my babies. So far I have still only seen 4. It looks like 3 of them are mainly black & white and one orange one. Does anyone have any idea how to determine who the parents might be? I find myself looking in the pond for more!

photobaby.JPG photobaby1.JPG

photobaby2.JPG photobaby3.JPG
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,090
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
No fry this year, probably a good thing lol. Your little ones look great.
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
32,948
Reaction score
20,252
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
You saying you have no fry addy for this year? Ha ha, give them time. I don't see any of the fry that I dumped into the pond that were hiding in the plant ring anymore but bet some survived somewhere and there is still the whole summer left for more spawning!
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,585
Members
13,042
Latest member
lucaryan

Latest Threads

Top