Icy Pond

It’s been a mild winter here, but the temperature does go well below freezing, especially at night. The ice on the pond has varied from thick to thin.

Sometimes ice spans almost the entire water feature, sometimes only the edges. The pump is on and so there’s always flowing water, which the wild birds appreciate.

Look closely at that flash of color under the ice, walk around, bend a little, and this is what you’ll see:

Goldfish and goldfish-koi. Are there really that many? Are they really that big? It must be an optical illusion caused by the rippling water. After all, the fish are supposed to be in a state of suspended animation in that frigid water. They don’t eat. They certainly don’t grow. Or breed. Right?

We’ll have to wait until springtime to find out.

Comments:

  1. apparently they spawn between 60 and 70 degrees so I doubt they are breeding but it sure would be cool! it’s really hard to breed koi as you need two males for each female and the males have to be about three years old blah blah blah. congratulations!

    • Interesting! The Beast is now 8 years old and is a Koi. I put some inexpensive goldfish in with her and they’ve been breeding – I know the Beast is a mama because many of the young ones sport white markings. I’m assuming the Beast is a female because the others follow her and from what I read she acts like a she. I think I need an underwater cam to know what is going on :)

  4. Koi might be hard to breed, but goldfish aren’t !!! They can spawn several thousand fry each. But they also like to eat their young just as much, so they can keep their populations low enough that they don’t overwhelm your pond.

  5. I’m pretty sure I just saw something about koi and goldfish being able to hybridize. Probably Wikipedia!

    To add to what Kit said- goldfish eat their young but not directly: they tend to nibble surfaces, consuming their own eggs. But they are not predatory, just grazers.

    • Oh okay, thank you Suzanne for that information. I thought goldfish would also eat their fry as well. But it’s just the eggs.

      • I used to be really into goldfish! Once in a while, that stuff comes in handy :-)

  6. maybe just a pond cam. for those of us stuck inside all day.