Fishin For A Name..

Baby Skeeter and Godzilla having a conversation..

My first Koi was 2" long, cost a buck and a quarter, and was a pale yellow gold. I named him Godzilla (well, i had to name him something Japanese!), and he lived to be a foot long and bright orange, and would eat from my hand. He was pretty much a "common" variety, but i thought he was awesome! Koi can live for many years - unfortunately, Godzilla only made it to 6. When he died three winters ago, i was actually very saddened (yes, i know it's just a fish! So?), and did not have luck with Koi for quite awhile after him. I did get 3 small Koi two years ago, and one of those three became another favorite. He's white with black "cow" spots, and is very noticeable (hopefully the herons won't notice, though!).

But i can't think of a good name for him (her?)!

i'm hoping i can rely on my blog group to help me out! What do you think? (i do have an orange and black Koi, also - if there are two good names, he'll get one too! This is actually dangerous - you know what the "rule" of pondkeeping is - the first Koi to die young are either the most expensive, the biggest, or the ones you have named!)LOL

But I'll risk it! Please help! He's been nameless long enough!

Fish Favorites

Pet shop people don't like me. At least if they've seen me before. i'm the one who goes into the fish department, stops at the "10 cent Feeder Fish" tank (the 30 gallon tank filled with 500 1/2 inch goldfish), and wants to pick out ten "pretty" ones! Yes, they always warn you that those fish may be inbred and/or diseased, and there's a chance they could affect the health of your current fish population - which is very true! - if you just toss them in immediately. So i definitely recommend putting the new purchases (even if they were NOT feeders) in a quarantine tank for a week or two first. i don't always do that, but that's my risk to take! Most of the time, the store employees are very polite about it and actually chase down and net the fish i pick out. NOTE: don't come in on a Saturday or at a busy time and expect them to take that time - be considerate :o)

Some of the cheapie fish in the pond - the little ones in the photo above are Rosy Red minnows

Seriously, though, my feeders have done very well. Oh a few do die right away, but that's why they cost practically nothing! But i try to pick out color mixes, longer fins/tails (Comets), things like that, and they breed with the others and really create a colorful bunch of fish. In fact, around here, that's the only way i can find Comets anymore.

These two (the bigger ones) are Koi - they cost a little more than the feeders! This is the first time this year that they made an appearance. i had a third, but haven't seen him yet - he may have not made it thru the winter...

Speaking Of Fish....

...This is MY fish tank...

....And these are MY fish! Since i'm almost always outside in the warm months, my allegiance lies with my outdoor pets! i have Goldfish, a few Koi, a bunch of Rosy Red minnows, and Japanese Trapdoor snails (at least i think they're still in there!). i always thought that Shubunkins were just as hardy as these others, but i have never had one live through a winter (...or a season, come to think of it...). So for now, these are the residents of my "tank".

Koi Tales

Have to put in a word about Godzilla! When we first set up our larger watergarden, i decided i needed some Koi in there with the goldfish. Being a novice and knowing virtually nothing about Koi, i hit the petstores and was thrilled to find a 2" Koi for $1.25! Yes, he was a completely uninteresting pale gold color- probably the most basic junk color they come in, but i was happy! Named him Godzilla (well, they're Japanese, and that's the only Japanese word i knew!), stuck him in the pond, and he thrived!

**Let me interject right now that i have no idea what sex he was - if i had to guess, i would say female because of the body shape, but it didn't matter - and he "looked" like a male to me!**

Anyway, i had Godzilla for several years, he didn't grow very fast, although i have heard that Goldfish will only get as large as the area/container they're in will allow, but Koi continue to grow, regardless. He got to about 8 or 9 inches long, a dark gold color with black spots, and learned to eat out of my hand, which just thrilled me! I showed everyone how i could feed him, since no one around here ever heard of that, so i had a lot of fun with it. He also liked to climb the waterfall, like Salmon going upstream!

Then a bad winter hit, the pond froze over, and my de icer quit on me! Ran out and bought a new one, it was a lot smaller and only opened a tiny hole in the ice. Apparently that wasn't enough, because i lost most of my fish that winter, Godzilla included. I found his body in the spring, and he's buried on the shore of the pond. i actually cried over him - never thought i could get emotional over a fish! But i still miss him, even after 2-3 years, i have not had such good luck with Koi since, and have not tried to hand feed any others. i guess this is a good example of a fish that, in other circumstances, would be culled out or unwanted by Koi afficionados, but to me was a treasure!