About a month ago I was bass fishing at a nearby lake and saw a 12 inch orange and black comet swimming around by the shore. I quick grabbed my net, went in after it, and caught it. I brought it home and put it in my 450gal backyard pond. It never came up for the food pellets so I assumed it was eating the plants, minnows, or freshwater clams I feed my koi and other fish. Every winter I set up a 150gal indoor tank. I decided to put in the comet, 5 6-7in koi, 1 12in koi, and a few other comets to start about 2 weeks ago. All of the koi and other comets eat whatever I put in the tank, but the big comet seems picky. I tried corn. It seems to eat some of it, but it almost sucks it in then blows it back out half the time. I also tried small pieces of soft carrots, which it nibbles on, but doesn't really eat any large quantity of. Any thoughts on what I could try?
Problem getting fish to eat
- Thread starter LI2388
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Not really.
I can see it passing on the corn and carrots. Not coming up for pellets in the pond makes sense, they have to learn that. For new fish I use flake food and swirl it the water so it sinks. Get's it into the fish's zone, just like bass fishing. If it takes the flake and likes it it will follow the trail to the surface. They have to be taught this exactly once and will never forget. But it doesn't sound like the fish isn't seeing and trying the food already.
If water temp is below say 60F that could be the issue.
The fish could also be full of parasites or be sick and just in bad shape. If it doesn't move around much while other fish are active I'd guess it has some medical problem.
That's a lot of fish for 150 gal but assume you have that covered and water tests are all good, so I won't go into that.
Be cool to see a picture of this fish. An orange and black comet that's 12" is very rare, I didn't even know it was possible. Normally they're orange and black for a short period when smaller as they're changing from brown/black to red. So pretty cool sounding fish.
I can see it passing on the corn and carrots. Not coming up for pellets in the pond makes sense, they have to learn that. For new fish I use flake food and swirl it the water so it sinks. Get's it into the fish's zone, just like bass fishing. If it takes the flake and likes it it will follow the trail to the surface. They have to be taught this exactly once and will never forget. But it doesn't sound like the fish isn't seeing and trying the food already.
If water temp is below say 60F that could be the issue.
The fish could also be full of parasites or be sick and just in bad shape. If it doesn't move around much while other fish are active I'd guess it has some medical problem.
That's a lot of fish for 150 gal but assume you have that covered and water tests are all good, so I won't go into that.
Be cool to see a picture of this fish. An orange and black comet that's 12" is very rare, I didn't even know it was possible. Normally they're orange and black for a short period when smaller as they're changing from brown/black to red. So pretty cool sounding fish.
JohnHuff
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What WB said. Ya, that appears to be a lot of fish for 150g. The aquarium rule of thumb is 1" per gallon. If your 450g is deep enough you won't have to bring them in, though I suspect that NY is a lot colder and colder longer than where I am.
I like to bring some in just for added growth. The 6-7 inch koi will easily grow another 2 or 3 inches by may. And others just for show. I'll get a picture up in a few hours. My pond gets 3 and 1/2 feet deep. The pond temp when I took them out was 56 degrees. I put them in a tank at 59 degrees and heated it up a degree every other day until I reached 65. It might sound like a lot of fish, but it's only about 80-85inches of fish so far. I'll try some flakes and take a picture in a few hours.
Whatever he is, I like him. I know it is unusual for "gold fish" to get into this size range, but we have an all white guy that is just 12".. Have no clue "what kind" of gold fish he is, but is this size too...
Wow, that is a cool fish. I don't find the size strange, but don't think I've ever seen that coloring on such an old Comet (although it looks a bit more like a Common). It doesn't look like a Koi-Goldfish hybrid shape wise, but that's the only thing I can think of. Be interesting to see if it stays that color. It a color pattern I see in young so for me this is like having a dog that keeps its puppy looks.
So I searched to see if such fish were available for purchase. I could only find Fantails, but not Comets or Common.
So I searched to see if such fish were available for purchase. I could only find Fantails, but not Comets or Common.
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Neat fish! love the color. Bet it will get used to your food vs the wild pond food.
What about trying to hatch out some brine shrimp to stimulate him (or her) to eat???
The other fish devour them in seconds. I've got it to start eating some of the pellets though. I let them soak for a few minutes then crush the air out so they sink. It eats them that way, but the other fish get the majority of it first. We'll see. Hopefully it starts eating more.
I would have guessed after some time, it would go with the monkey see, monkey do routine. If it is eating something, more will come in time. Sounds like you will have the new kid for awhile
Mmathis
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Pretty fish -- what a lucky find for you!