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Spring time is traditionally spawning time, but depending on where you are located, they can keep at it for a while. I think my last spawn last year was in late July, early August, and I'm in Florida. I had my first spawn of this year about 2 months ago.
Sometimes you can get pet shops will take your 'extras,' usually as feeders. If you can stand that, then it's a great option. So far I haven't had to cross that bridge yet, but if it gets to that point, I will probably offer the fish on my local Freecycle group since most of the local fish stores won't take fish from home tanks (too high a risk of disease I suppose.)
For me, I have found that thinning some of my plants provides less safe spots for eggs and fry and reduces the numbers. Additionally, I have evil frogs that sneak into the pond and eat some of the eggs and fry...and, well, the adult goldies snack sometimes too. It's a fine balance between wanting to do everything I can to rescue every fish possible...and being realistic about what I can manage.
* * * * The higher the point of view, the broader the horizon...said the giraffe. Plants: 132 | From: Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2005
| Seeded: 67.8.143.137
posted
A lot of the smaller floating plants they will happily eat (frogbit, duckweed, salvinia.) The larger plants like hyacinths and lillies are usually too tough for them.
They will nibble a bit on anacharis usually if hungry, but if there is enough in there they won't completely kill it off.
Bog plants, like parrots feather, are usually safe and are great nutrient absorbers.
Goldies are omnivores, so the 'veggies' are good for them, but you can float real vegetable slices in the pond to meet those needs (as well as the occasional slice of orange, kiwi, broccoli, sweet potato, etc.) Then, supplement with a sinking pellet that has a decent amount of protein and you'll have happy fishies.
I grow out duckweed in the top section of my pond and toss a handful of it into the main area of the pond once a week for a healthy snack. I also offer sliced cucumbers or zuchinni/squash about once every other week. They get pellets once a week and the rest of the time they are on bug patrol.
* * * * The higher the point of view, the broader the horizon...said the giraffe. Plants: 132 | From: Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2005
| Seeded: 67.8.143.137
posted
Cool! When the garden gets going, I can make the fish real happy! By protein, are you talking meat? I don't want any pirahna! Maybe butterbeans or pintos....right?
quote: Sometimes you can get pet shops will take your 'extras,' usually as feeders. If you can stand that, then it's a great option.
No way I could do that! I'll get a big pool for them if I have to.
I just hope the babies won't have babies real soon.
I haven't had ANY plants in my pond... They had sex right out in the open, I guess. (Or, whatever they do to have babies.)
Gardencrazy sent me some plants to put in the pond, and I'm slowly getting them all in. It has already cleared my water up a LOT.
I know I feed my fishies too much fish food, but they didn't have plants or anything else to eat (except algae!). I had to take some of the little floating plants out that G-Crazy sent me because they were eating them all up! Whenever they see me walk up to the pond, they all come to where I am, waiting on their food to hit the water. If I stick my hand in the water they all check it out real good to see if there's food in it!
I love them little fishies already!
Cindy
* * * * Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car! Plants: 43285 | Registered: Mar 2004
| Seeded: 69.170.162.6
posted
By protein I actually do mean meat products. I am not suggesting you toss in bits of steak or chopped chicken, but find a staple flake or pellet food that has a high percentage of protein in it. Goldies will eat beans, but the protein they seek for a balanced diet is primarily fish and shrimp, usually in the form of meal in their staple foods. In the wild, goldies (basically carp) would eat smaller fish, shrimp, snails and bugs to meet this protein need.
When I first added pond plants to my pond, my fish did eat a good bit of them. What finally worked for me was I added a ton of anacharis all at once and basically overwhelmed the fish with plants. If you just add a few bits here and there, they eat them (kinda like the fast or famine issue...they eat them quick because they don't know when the opportunity will arise again.) But, if you can manage to add a bit portion at once, they may nibble a bit, but the plants will take hold faster than the fish can eat.
If you get some of the smaller floating plants like duckweed or frogbit, they reproduce extremely fast. You can put a bucket of water with the plants in it, on a porch somewhere and keep a source producing in case your fish eat whatever portion you add to the pond.
The feeder issue can be tough. I have not had to cross that bridge yet thankfully, but if it ever comes to losing my pond balance or taking some fish to a store to be sold from the feeder tank...the pond is the first priority. It sounds cruel, but big fish have to eat too and in some ways, and it's nice to think that my healthy fish might feed another fish one day (rather than the sickly, overcrowded, feeders the stores keep.)
You can also post notices in stores like Petsmart that you have fish available. They often have a community board near the shopping carts.
* * * * The higher the point of view, the broader the horizon...said the giraffe. Plants: 132 | From: Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2005
| Seeded: 67.8.143.137
posted
Jim bought me a complete water plant garden this week-end to add to the pond. It has a water lily attraction, water lily alba, sweetflag, and water canna pretoria in it. Will all of those be too much to add to my 85 gallon pond? I already have one water lily and a needle spike rush in it. Will all of these clear my muddy water?
By the way, is there a difference in the water canna plant and just canna plants?
posted
I don't know that there is such a thing as "too many plants" in most ponds. If you get to the point that there is too much decay from rotting plants that would be a problem. If your fish are unable to move around the pond, that would be a problem.
If you put too many plants in the pond, you may need to supplement the fertilizer at some point, but otherwise it shouldn't be a problem.
At one point, we had so many plants you couldn't push through them with a pool skimmer and I worried the fish could no longer reach the surface. At that point I had to remove some...but it was likely more for my peace of mind than true necessity.
* * * * The higher the point of view, the broader the horizon...said the giraffe. Plants: 132 | From: Central Florida | Registered: Apr 2005
| Seeded: 67.8.143.137
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I don't want any pirahna! ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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them little fishies already! ![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
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