Survivor's Guilt

PondJunkie

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So I recently posted that I had a single survivor of a heron attack.

Well I started to do some Spring cleaning the other day and lo & behold, I saw another fish....then another....then another.

All told I have 7 fish!! (so far). It seems the shelter I built worked after all, as many of them are loitering nearby. More importantly, I think the string algae I was worried about in the past was pretty important in giving shelter.

Now I just have to get them coming out in the open. They are EXTREMELY shy and scatter at the slightest shadow over the water.

Who says goldfish don't have a memory......
 
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sweet! what a lovely surprise! Yes, they do hide until they start getting used to seeing your again. It could take a while. Mine are still shy as well...
 

DrCase

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Koi are smarter than the average fish
glad you found them
 

PondJunkie

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A quick update (2 years coming).

After my last post I bought a few more feeder goldfish to add to the shoal. I think at the end of 2010 I was around 12 fish after the feeders inevitably thinned out. Well 2011 was a busy year. No exaggeration, after all the eggs hatched and the fry thinned out I have somewhere between 40-50 goldfish, including my survivors who are now in the 6-8 inch region. They look like tacky bass they are so big!

I also have a healthy population of decent sized bullfrogs, dragonflies galore & some bumblebees that like my irises.

I have about 3500 gallons in varying depths, with a 3600GPH pump and good filtration. Water is consistently clear, and judging by the breeding, a very healthy environment! My question is, how many comet goldfish is too many for my environment?

Next question is, what do you guys do when you have population control issues? Craigslist? Local fun-fair? Sushi?
 

addy1

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lol the question a lot ask. Some just toss them, some take to pets stores, some craigslist free goldfish.

I feed my herd very little, they consume the eggs as they are laid it keeps the herd size down.

If your water tests are staying good, then the amount of fish you have is a mute point. ie your pond can handle the load, if your test start to go bad then it may be time to thin the herd.
 
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Yeah, what addy said seems to be the way to go. Keep testing, when ammonia goes up and doesn't come down, you're probably at your limit, and fish will probably start dying, then with dead fish the ammonia will come back down to 0.
 

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