Lots of Babies!

[Adam S]

Hi Everyone,
I appreciate any help you can give!
So, a little background, I bought a house 4 years ago and inherited a 5-6 hundred gallon pond, with 2 albino catfish and 2 decent sized goldfish.
I have been caring for the pond and fish since I inherited them and have done my best, they have lasted 4 winters in NJ so I'm hopefully doing ok.
Well a few weeks ago, for the first time we found the goldfish had babies, lots of babies! We have counted around 12-15 baby goldfish and they seem to be getting bigger!
So I guess my question is now what?
. I know my pond isn't big enough for everyone, but can I keep them in there for awhile?
Can/should I bring a few inside and keep them in a tank?
Any other advice, ideas, thoughts are welcome and super appreciated!

As a side note-terrible timing--my pond seems to have real bad leak, I think from now (hopefully) dead rodents, so waterfall is off and running blubbers. If rodents ate somewhere, do I need to have complete re-do? I know this isn't correct spot for this question, but if you have thoughts on this too, I can use the help!

Thanks everyone, have a great day!

 

[mtravigne]

I had this same question I have a bunch of sarasa goldfish babies and don’t quite know if they can survive in the pond over the winter. So I’m looking forward to reading the replies too. Sorry I have nothing helpful to offer.

 

[Lisak1]

The babies will absolutely survive. They are tough little buggers. Can you bring some indoors? Sure - but it would be for your entertainment. They don't need to be brought in. Good luck catching them - they're quick! And honestly with 500 gallons and 20 or so goldfish you'd probably be fine. The problem is, those 20 will soon multiply and you may find yourself overstocked. One strategy is to learn to watch for signs of spawning - lots of chasing, mainly, that goes on for hours or even days - and stop feeding the fish. They will eat the eggs and control the population naturally.

 

[CometKeith]

The babies will absolutely survive. They are tough little buggers. Can you bring some indoors? Sure - but it would be for your entertainment. They don't need to be brought in. Good luck catching them - they're quick! And honestly with 500 gallons and 20 or so goldfish you'd probably be fine. The problem is, those 20 will soon multiply and you may find yourself overstocked. One strategy is to learn to watch for signs of spawning - lots of chasing, mainly, that goes on for hours or even days - and stop feeding the fish. They will eat the eggs and control the population naturally.

Agreed with Lisa. I used to have a 600 gallon pond. For some reason i decided 8 goldfish was enough and I stopped buying fish. Well needless to say 3 years later I had more than 50! They will reach an equilibrium where at some point babies just won't survive because there are too many hungry mouths!

 

[addy1]

I never feed when they are spawning. Mine can survive well with no food during the summer. They do a good job at population control.

 

[sissy]

I had moles chew my liner and it was not pretty .I am hoping my luck has changed .I don't feed like addy but if I see eggs I take them out .Put and ad at your local garden center ,FREE POND FISH

 

[Lisak1]

As a side note-terrible timing--my pond seems to have real bad leak, I think from now (hopefully) dead rodents, so waterfall is off and running blubbers. If rodents ate somewhere, do I need to have complete re-do? I know this isn't correct spot for this question, but if you have thoughts on this too, I can use the help!

Just caught this one - start a new post with this question. You'll get more responses. And pictures if you can - those are always helpful!

 

[Adam S]

Thank you all so much for information and replies! I

I will post the leak question in the appropriate forum!

Have a great day!

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

Hello, y’all. This was pretty much my question. About five years ago I started out with 21 2 inch Koi, one comet and one fantail. Oh yes, there also was one bluegill – that’s a whole story in itself.
Anyway, I now have the bluegill and a few of its offspring in a separate tank.
My outdoor pond is 9000 gallons. The original koi have all grown to over a foot long and are incredibly beautiful. we only lost one, a gray one that had become enormous.
This summer I believe I must have 101 inch babies swimming around and nibbling at the fish food. They must’ve been hiding in the algae on the bottom of the pond. As they grow, will they endanger the larger fish? This is my concern.

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

That is 100 one-inch babies

 

[mrsclem]

How would they in danger the larger fish? They will grow and overload your filter system. Time to start finding homes for the babies!

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

Wish I could just throw them into a local river or lake but know that that is absolutely prohibited.

 

[GBBUDD]

The answer is yes as the babies grow and become of good size the waste they produce and 02 demands will stress the pond. can 9000 support 101 koi of size .. not without some serious filtration, oxygenation and a strict feeding regiment.

 

[j.w]

Wish I could just throw them into a local river or lake but know that that is absolutely prohibited.

Post them up for free or ask you local fish store if they want them to sell. Somebody starting out w/a pond may want some.

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

Thank you. I’ll do that!