My Fish are Going to Spawn Soon.

[ZmanArt007]

My fish spawned AGAIN! This time it was almost definitely the koi because there were a LOT of eggs, and the water is gross and bubbly. I put the eggs with the current fry, but I might put them in a new pool, not sure.

 

[mrsclem]

Zack- mine spawned exactly two weeks apart! I'm trying to get all the fry from the first spawn out of the main pond into the lily area but I keep finding more. I put the eggs from the second spawn into a 150 gallon stock tank. I'm not sure what to do once they hatch as the first fry are now 3/4" long and I'm sure will eat the smaller guys. this is the first time I have been able to actually hatch out the eggs in a separate area and monitor them. My underwater camera died yesterday so the fry camera is gone. Fun watching them grow! I'm thinking your first batch may be a hybrid mix of koi and fantails. Good luck with the babies!

 

[ZmanArt007]

I'm thinking your first batch may be a hybrid mix of koi and fantails. Good luck with the babies!

I'm not sure about that, there are plenty of goldfish in the pond that could have caused the long body and the fancy tail. I'm pretty sure that today was the first time that the koi had spawned, as there were lots of eggs and they destroyed the water quality. The other two spawns have been more subtle and clean, which in my experience is usually the case with goldfish.

I think I'm just going to let these eggs hatch with the current fry and hope for the best. Right now there are fry from the first two spawns together. There is a definite size difference but the littler ones are still making it okay. Hopefully the bigger ones are just good at being non-hostile.

 

[ZmanArt007]

Well, the first batch of fry are now about two weeks old. Here are some photos. I made sure to catch some of the fancy-tailed monstrosities to show how they are developing. There bodies are still long and straight, but they do seem to have slightly fatter bellies than the single tailed ones.




You can see some color developing. Most are brown or yellow. Some of them are still completely clear, which is odd. I'm guessing they will turn out white or a lighter-based calico.

In other news, the koi eggs have hatched. There are quite a few little guys hiding around the nursery pool. I'm not sure how maybe have been eaten by the goldfish fry, though. I can't really do anything now but wait and hope some of them make it.

 

[Tula]

Very cool! I love the interesting tails on the bigger ones....almost look like miniature propellers

 

[ZmanArt007]

I caught some more again and used a dime to compare the size this time.




Also, I'm pretty sure that nearly half if not more of them have fancy tails, which is neat. I'm excited for them to get some color soon!

 

[C-Note]

So cute!! This is a fun thread to watch. Any fry from the koi spawning?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

cute!

 

[addy1]

I like the little one with the tri tail and the white body stripe

 

[Priscilla]

This is so exciting I can hardly stand it!!! And these tails just take it to another level!

I wish mine would do something! Maybe they aren't attracted to each other.... Maybe they see kids are too much trouble.... Maybe my kids annoy them too much!

My pond is only 1.5 years old, so maybe next year.

Although I did have that ammonia spike which was totally unusual, after a huge rain storm ....... maybe ........ who knows.

 

[ZmanArt007]

So cute!! This is a fun thread to watch. Any fry from the koi spawning?

There are a few of them in there, yes, and some in the pond as well. If they stay alert and hidden they will make it.

I like the little one with the tri tail and the white body stripe

I think that might just be a glare on the water, not sure. I certainly didn't notice it when I took the pictures.

I'm on vacation now so I won't get to see the fish for a week. The neighbor kid is feeding them while we are gone. Hopefully everything goes well and they grow some and gain some color too. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK!

 

[CountryEscape]

Zman, it is possible that the goldfish fertilized the koi eggs, and visa versa, right? But, this is the first I'm seeing of someone having obvious fantail fry. Sooo excited for you! I have lots of fantails in my goldfish pond, but have never seen a baby. In fact, no babies for the last 2 years, too many fish eating all the eggs/fry. So, I will enjoy watching them grow up under your care instead. Thanks for sharing your pics and babies with us.

 

[ZmanArt007]

Zman, it is possible that the goldfish fertilized the koi eggs, and visa versa, right? But, this is the first I'm seeing of someone having obvious fantail fry. Sooo excited for you! I have lots of fantails in my goldfish pond, but have never seen a baby. In fact, no babies for the last 2 years, too many fish eating all the eggs/fry. So, I will enjoy watching them grow up under your care instead. Thanks for sharing your pics and babies with us.

It's entirely possible that the koi and goldfish could cross breed, but it's unlikely. My koi always seem to be on a later timeline in terms of spawning season. That and the fact that there are enough goldfish males to block the koi males from the female goldfish, and the reverse is the same for the koi when they breed. It's possible that I have some accidental mixes, but the majority will be single species. Also, I'm pretty sure the fantail genes are not passed to koi hybrids, so the majority are definitely goldfish in my baby pool.

I get home tomorrow. I'm excited to see my babies!

 

[mrsclem]

It's truly exciting to watch these guys grow and change. I now have 4 batches of koi fry- 6 weeks down to 3 days old!

 

[CountryEscape]

I applaud all of you that save your fry and give them a fighting chance. I don't have the space to house fry, nor the desire to have 100 babies to figure out what to do with at the end of the summer. LOL But, I sure love watching yours grow up.
You make some excellent points, Zman, thanks. I had goldfish and koi together, and decided to separate them so no cross breeding would happen. Didn't know about the fantails not intermingling with the koi. I guess I figured if a female spawned, the males are ready all the time, so either could have fertilized the eggs. You know, guys are always ready, girls have to be in the right "time". That's why I figured likely to cross breed, but I am so excited to see your baby fantails. There is hope for them yet! I have 3 fantails that have been in my pond for 4 years now. How large or old are your fantails that spawned? Just curious if they have to be older or a certain size. I think Addy posted that her regular goldfish and Comets, 2-3" when put in the first year, spawned that same year. So did mine.