Spawning and Fish

Large water gardens are where you are going to find the owner caring for the fish while they are spawning and reproducing. Purchasing just a few fish and then allowing them to reproduce, and helping these fish reproduce you will have a water garden full of fish in just a matter of a few years. For the smaller water garden, skimming out the eggs and eliminating the areas where fish like to lay eggs, you can somewhat control the spawning of fish in your water pond.

So you are going to stock your water garden – should you put more females or males in your water garden? If you are really going to be interested in breeding your fish, keeping more males than females in your water garden is going to make the male fish compete for the females and you are going to have better results with breeding. If you are not going to be concerned with breeding your fish, it really won’t what your ratio of males to females is in your water garden.

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Similar Goldfish

Although you will find that there are many different colors and sizes of goldfish, you will find that many of their breeding habits, feeding needs and their climate needs are similar. In this article I just wanted to tell you a bit more about goldfish, their habits, and information you can use when raising goldfish in your own water garden.

Goldfish will survive best and thrive for years in a water that is either still or very slow moving. The water where there are plenty of plants in and around the water is an ideal location for raising goldfish.

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Purchasing Koi Fish

Koi fish are a breed that are well known and popular for the water garden as they are variant in colors, sizes, and they are one of the easier types of fish to care for. Koi are going to balance the water garden, and will live in harmony with your plants.

What you should avoid when purchasing koi:

Avoid fish that have parasites, as these fish will require medication often not living long at all. learn more about the different types of parasites on fish through the articles on this site. Parasites live and eat from the fish itself, eventually killing off the fish when it is heavily infested.

Avoid koi that have gill plates that stick out from the head, otherwise known as standing proud from the head. The gills that are sticking out become caught, irritated and can become infected easily.

Do not purchase koi that have bumps on the side of the head. The bumps on the sides of the head mean that this fish has some other type of medical problem and will not be a species that will live long or thrive in the water garden.

Koi that have red on the body or fins that looks like blood under the skin or under the gills are not a fish that you will have success with. Raised scales or holes that appear in the skin of the fish means infection or disease, stay away from fish with this problem.

If you find fish that have cloudy eyes, or that have white blooming looking sections on the gills, these are sick fish. Fins that are looking black, brown or that are broken are not fish that will thrive without attention as they are sick or diseased.

In purchasing koi for your water garden, avoid purchasing fish that are swimming near the top of the water. Fish that are swimming near the top of the water are in stress, having a hard time breathing and could be ill.

courtesy pondsupply.com

Choosing the right fish

Choosing fish to stock in your pond varies on the size of water garden you have and the price you are willing to spend. Fish such as goldfish are easily maintained and generally won’t grow to be bigger than six inches thus making them ideal for smaller ponds. The common goldfish, comet goldfish and Shubunkin are known to be hardy. However, fancier goldfish including fantails and lionheads are more easily preyed upon.

 

More desirable fish such as Koi take a little more consideration, time and maintenance. Koi require at least three feet in depth, better water quality and a bigger pond as a general rule of thumb. At one year of age, Koi will generally get to about 6-8 inches, 12-16 inches in two years, with the possibility of getting up to 24-36 inches in a decade. However, the size of Koi greatly depends on how big their habitat is as well as the quality of their environment, water and maintenance. Although much goes into the care and keeping of Koi, they make great pets and can become very friendly, even eating out of your hands at dinner time. They also help in keeping your pond beautiful as they graze on algae.

 

Fish such as The White Cloud fish and Catfish variety aren’t typically kept as pets like Goldfish and Koi. The White Cloud Fish are often kept for the purpose of mosquito control, mostly in warmer climates while Catfish will get rather large, tear up plants and stir up sediment and most likely prey on smaller fish.

 

Whatever your selection, with a little care and attention, fish can add color and fun to your water garden.

Problems with Koi, Nutrition and Vitamin C

Your koi fish are going to need your attention occasionally as they live in your water garden. Watching and examining the fish for any disfigurements, bulging and other problems can help you decipher what is going on with your fish in the water garden.

Your koi will need nutrition just as you do to become healthy adults. Fish need vitamin C, and a shortage of Vitamin C will make your fish to be disfigured. A fish that does not have enough Vitamin C will have muscle problems and their bodies will change to form an S shape, as the muscles in their body do not hold their shape.

complete article on koi nutrition here

Keeping healthy fish

What is Spring Sickness and how can I avoid it and/or treat it?

 

Spring Sickness is a term that loosely describes poor health shown by some fish after the winter season. Spring Sickness is not a specific disease but an umbrella term for anything from excessive body slime or mucus production to Bacteraemia, also known as internal bacterial infections. Most cases of Spring Sickness will clear up on its own as spring progresses and the immune systems of the fish get going again.

 

The best way to avoid Spring Sickness is to make sure your fish go into winter in good health. Fish that come out of the winter season in a weakened state will have greater difficulty fighting Spring Sickness and are at a greater risk of dying and passing the sickness onto others. Spring cleaning not only applies to a cluttered garage but also to ponds that need a bit of TLC after the long winter months. Just keep in mind that slow and steady is the key. Treating your pond with an anti-bacterial mix while gradually increasing feeding as well as splitting and rearranging plants is a must as this will help keep down the stress level for your fish and encourage a lush water garden for summer.

Learning about Fish, Cyprinids

There are many types of fish that you are going to be able to choose from when building a water garden. The types of fish that you will use in the water garden will be dependant on how large your water garden is, what colors of fish that you like, and a little bit dependant on the climate or grow zone that you live in as well.

Two of the smallest cyprinids are the Bitterling and the Moderlieschen, Opaline, Clicker Barb, Stone Moroko and the Belica. There fish are range from 3.5 inches to about 4.5 inches. These small fish do really well in the smaller water gardens because of their size, of course you still will need to limit the number of fish in the water garden if you choose to build a smaller garden.

The Clicker Barb is a fish that actually makes clicking noises during their mating season. The Bittling is best known as a fish of the sea as they prefer to lay their eggs inside of water mussels when the mating season arrives. The Moderlieschen, Opaline and the Belica are all known for their easy to damage scales which could easily happen in you have several types of fish in the water garden or in you need to handle your fish more often than others.

Larger fish that you can buy include Silver Carp, Chub, and the Bream. The Bream is a flat bodied fish that will grow to be about 30 inches long. The Bream is also best known for its bottom feeding practices. The Silver Carp is a good example of a fish for the larger water gardens, pond, and streams. The Silver Carp will grow to about 40 inches long and feeds on floating types of small plants. The Silver Carp has a huge head and a smaller body that has small scales.

Similar to the Silver Carp the Chub is a fish that will grow to be about 25 inches long. It has a large mouth, large head and a slimmer body than most fish along with a silvery color along its scales.

Practical Koi Fish

Koi fish in the water garden are a beautiful site, the colors of the fish, the various sizes are great to look at and these fish are very functional as well as easy to care for. If you are going to collect Koi in your water garden, you will need to keep in mind how much room these fish need to grow and how the Koi fish likes to live. The early Koi, about twenty five hundred years ago, come from lines of fish, which are called Nishikigoi, and the Magoi. The Magoi is a black fish but color mutations over the year give you the modern day Koi which is also known as the carp.

The Koi raising and Koi gardening hobby is one that is not clearly seen through the world until the early 1900’s. As the railroads began connecting different parts of the countries together, the spread of Koi began advancing as well. The fish known as the Nishikigoi which is a more fancy type of Koi fish is seen in Japan with some collections seen spread out around the world.

The Koi fish is a very sleek looking fish, with an outer layer that seems to envelope the body leaving nothing uncovered. The short fins an the sides of the body, along with the thin sleek tail that helps the Koi moves gives the Koi a complete look that is not interrupted. The front end of the Koi is broader than the end potions of the fish, also called the dorsal portion of the fish. Imagine the comparison of that of a broad chested man and a thin waist. With such a streamlined body the Koi can move through the water without creating much disturbance in the water at all.

The scales on the Koi are similar to an armor that will protect the fish, even though they are a very lightweight protection, the scales cover the entire fish. You will find that there are two types of scales that are seen covering the Koi fish, one type of where the Koi is covered all over with the scales, and the other is where the scales are bigger more prominent. The scales on the first type of Koi are smaller and sometime can break off or peel off, but the scales on the second type of Koi are actually a part of the skin and will not break off or fall off.

Transporting Fish Safely

Transporting fish from one place to another is not an adventure to be taken lightly. Much goes into a smooth introduction of fish into a new pond as well as the process of getting them there.

 

If you are purchasing fish from a local pet store, the fish should be put in a plastic bag filled with pure oxygen. Ask if the provider has a stress-treatment that can be squirted in the bag. If the transportation will be a lengthy endeavor, consider putting the fish in a bucket with an air-pump or be prepared to splash the water every so often to allow the water to stay aerated.

 

Keeping the fish in a cool and dark place while transporting is important as this will lower stress for the fish. Keeping an ice-pack under the bag will slow the metabolism and awareness of the fish while slowing their need for oxygen.

 

Once you’ve made it to your destination, you’re only half way there. Letting the fish into their new habitat immediately will cause immense stress and can possibly be fatal. Start by placing the plastic bag in the pond to be floated for 10-15 minutes. If it’s a sunny day, place a towel over the bag to protect the fish from direct sunlight. Adding a teaspoon of dissolved salt will also help to alleviate stress. After the first 10-15 minutes (longer if the fish were transported with ice) add a little bit of the pond water into the bag and continue to float the bag for another 10-15 minutes. A lengthy transition yes, but it will make all the difference in assuring the health and happiness of your fish.

 

At this time you are ready to introduce your fish into the pond. Gently untie the bag and allow the fish to swim out. If you went the route of introducing the pond water into a bucket instead of floating it, be sure to wet your hands before picking up the fish and placing them in the water. For bigger fish, it’s a good idea to use gloves or a net to avoid injury to yourself or the fish.

 

It is a good idea to keep an eye on the new fish after their transition because fish, especially Koi, are known for jumping up and sometimes out of the pond. If you have a pond cover, place it over the pond for a couple of hours or a day to keep the fish from jumping. New fish will usually stay at the bottom of the pond while they recover and gets accustomed to their new surroundings.

 

Lastly, feed fish sparingly for the next few days to allow time to recover and also because you will find they are not particularly hungry at first.

Pond Goldfish

There are numerous types of goldfish; some of these varieties can be raised in the water garden while others must be kept in an aquarium or a more stable controlled environment. Goldfish that cannot be kept in the water garden are most often the tropical an subtropical types of goldfish. One thing to be aware of when you are going to keep goldfish in your water garden is the other fish that are kept in the water garden as well. Some fish will eat the goldfish such as the terrapins, just as some birds will eat the small goldfish as well. The birds that often prey on the goldfish are the heron and kingfishers.

What is often found, in the varieties that are in the water garden, is that attacks by birds or other fish can cause harm to the fish that are more delicate. The delicate fish who have the fluid filled sacs below their eyes are most at danger. If you only have goldfish in your water garden, you have already eliminated the problem of other fish attacks. Rocks on the sides of the water garden, cement in the bottom of the water garden, and even statues or plants in the middle of the water garden can sometimes cause damage to the delicate fish, but you can help control this problem with salves and medications for treatment.