It's the time of year again when the goldfish start chasing each other around the pond and love is clearly in the air. It's a few years since I bred any fish so I've just set up my hatching bowl and filled it with water from the pond. I collected the water that came through the filter and added a small piece of pond weed to the hatchery. The eggs attach themselves to the pond weed and I never know how many there are going to be until they start to hatch. I've done this several times over the years and it's always a thrill to watch the baby fish hatch. It's sad to see just how many don't make it for various reasons but each time I allow a few eggs to hatch we return them to the pond once they are big enough. This usually takes about a year so we have the fun of watching the babies grow into tiny fish. We introduce some new bloodlines every couple of years so that the inbreeding is minimised as much as possible. We always lose a few of the pond fish through the winter and it's nice to build up a little shoal again. As soon as all the babies hatch I transfer them to a small tank that will become their home for the next year. It's surprising how much care is needed when raising fish and it takes up a fair amount of my time.
We did have tropical fish for a couple of years, it was wonderful to see so many babies, although lots didn't survive. We gave up fishkeeping when the tank burst at the seams one day, flooding our lounge!
ReplyDeleteNot something that we have ever done, so I find it most interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I enjoy seeing the baby dish at the lake where I kayak. There were so many this year. They come up to me and nibble. There are water turtles basking in the sun, as well.
ReplyDeleteWow my husband used to breed tropical fish but his real job got in the way. So he had to stop. It was a very good business for us as the Japanese love fish.
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