Where Did You Get Your Goldfish ?

[Nyboy]

It seems Koi keepers go to breeders for their fish. Where do goldfish people get theirs, breeder, pet shop, other goldfish keepers. I have some shubunkin from local pet store, when I see photos of some member's shubunkin I realize what poor quality mine are.

 

[Jhn]

Everywhere..... pet shops, pond shops, local breeder, from a pond I removed for a customer.

 

[j.w]

First fish were feeder fish from Petsmart. Then got some off a site called Freecycle.org, then some Shubbies from Petsmart.

 

[Mmathis]

Some from Petsmart, WalMart, Mom & Pop local pet store, breeder in Hawaii, breeder in Baton Rouge, Koi to the World [online, they sell goldfish as well as koi], and some that self-bred in the pond. And of all the ones I bought, there was no difference in hardiness. Go figure.

 

[Gemma]

I got my Shubs at Petsmart, along with some koi! I just started shopping for fish online at Next Day Koi, last year!

I love this Ryukin!
https://nextdaykoi.com/shop/goldfish/2-5-imported-calico-ryukin-2/

 

[Gordo33]

Initial fish were feeders from Petco. Then from local garden centers that also had variety of gf and koi

 

[cas]

I bought my fish from a couple of local pond stores. My sister started her pond with goldfish her kids won at a carnival. I believe she still has a couple of them and that would make them about 12 years old.

 

[Patfish]

Mine are all feeder fish from local pet shops

 

[Nyboy]

I have a few feeder fish, employees let me pick when I told them not going to be food. I got to thinking when another thread stated shubankins should have red, none of mine do. I picked them out at petsmart for blue color.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In the past. I had an agreement that if a goldfish survived my cichlids as food, or any goldfish I got as food that had unusual coloration, they would live out their lives in a pond.
I ended up with 20 goldfish in two small ponds.
Now those same goldfish live in a 100 gallon tank with four golden shiners who had survived a Peacock bass fishing trip.
Only one of those goldfish has been reintroduced into the new pond. He's very large. White with an orange head.
Otherwise, it's just koi in the pond and I'm trying to find forever homes for the remaining paroled goldfish.

 

[Tula]

Our local fish hatchery sells koi, comets and shubunkin, in addition to fish to stock lakes with.

 

[j.w]

Our local fish hatchery sells koi, comets and shubunkin, in addition to fish to stock lakes with.

Lucky pup!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My first two fish were from a pet shop. Overpriced, but didn't know that at the time.
I've also gotten some from a guy who runs his own business out of his basement. Gotten some from a local garden center, and gotten some from a pond business.

Many of those fish were when I was still trying to figure out how to maintain a healthy pond, and I lost many of them. Now, I have about four fish that were purchased and the rest are fish were all born in my pond over the past three years. I really miss many of the fish I used to have. Had a lot of shubunkins with great variety. Now I mainly have orange or white.

 

[sissy]

All my original fish where rejects from a koi breeder .None of them were good enough for sale to customers ,so they set up an area inside a greenhouse and sold them for a couple of dollars .None over 5 dollars .Mine were up to 3 dollars in price.He also sold goldfish that were not up to standard

 

[MoonShadows]

I bought a few from PetSmart...anywhere from $0.28 to $4.98 and a few from a local nursery that specializes in ponds. I forget how much they were, but I do remember they was cheaper than the most expensive PetSmart ones I bought.

 

[bagsmom]

I got 17 cent feeder fish from Petsmart. 4 at first, then 2 more. I bought two sarassas (spelling?) from a pond store and ended up adopting 6 from a friend's pond. There have been some in-pond-parties and now have a bunch of fish kids! I have counted a total of 22 all together. The first resident fish are all around the same size now but one of the sarassas is the heartiest. I call her Pig and she lives up to her name.

 

[cas]

in-pond-parties

You're too funny!

 

[CometKeith]

If you want to get some nice quality goldfish you can should check garden stores that sell pond supplies. If there are not any like that by you then you can check some of the large goldfish breeders like Ozark Fisheries and Black Water Creek to see who is handling their fish. The problem with big box stores it is kind of hit or miss if you are getting healthy fish because A) A lot of their fish are stressed out when they first arrive B) They put healthy fish in with sick fish. The garden shop I buy from won't sell fish for the first few weeks of the spring until all the fish have been successfully quarantined. There are some very reputable on line stores on E-Bay like Next Day Koi if you don't mind paying the shipping and you are okay with not seeing the fish before you buy them. Also if there are any Koi or pond clubs in your area a lot of them have yearly auctions of both Koi and goldfish and will sometimes even give fish to a newbie for free just for showing up!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are there any other keepers in south Florida that want 7 decent sized (4") comets for free?
These are healthy and all, just of the long fin, plainish, gold variety. Not nice enough for my new pond by the wifes standards.
I'll be posting a new thread about them.

 

[addy1]

My shubunkins came from a great fish hatchery near Thurmont. They had koi, gold fish, shubbies, fan tails etc. Beautiful fish. The shubbies I bought all have long flowing fins. My "butterfly koi".

If you live near well worth the drive.

http://eatonsgoldfish.com/