Effective Grooming

[small_ranchu]

Hi All,
I will like to discuss how to groom goldfish effectively without considering the genetic issue and without effect the life spam of our fish too much.
As far as I know, we have to treat our goldfish differently in their life time. I break down the time line as following. If I miss something, please let me know.

1. fry stage(0 to 1 month)
2. young fish(1 month to 3 month)
3. Junior fish (3 month to 2 years)
3. Adult fish (2 years and above)

What is the feeding method? type of food? water change schedule for each stage?



Thank you. :yess:

If it is necessary, this topic will break down into different types of fish in future.

[Virginia ranchu]

Fred,

If by "grooming" you mean conditioning to optimal show specimens, I think most fancy varieties would peak at about 2-3 years, and would not be very long lived. While overwintering outdoors always results in a few casualties, those that make it through the hibernation seem to live the longest. Female fish in particular benefit from an annual fasting/hibernation. When I have tried to maintain female ranchu or ryukin in breeding condition for too long, they often become egg bound, and then get peritonitis/dropsy and die.

I have a few favorites that I hang onto for sentimental reasons, but in general, I like to find homes for older (3 yrs) fish before they get too old. I want to make room for the "keepers" from each year's breeding efforts.

Rob

[small_ranchu]

Rob,
I agree w/ you. For breeder/professional keepers, 3 years is considered as a old fish. But some of us are intermediate keepers who do not breed (or not yet becoming professional breeder) and keeping fish as a hobby at home. 3 years fish the most beautiful fish for us and we need to know how to maintain the beauty of the fish. Thanks.

[Virginia ranchu]

Fred,

To maintain a nice fish for a long time, I would suggest feeding the fish to a nice condition and enjoying it for awhile (maybe a couple of months), then back way off on the food and let the fish slim down again. These cycles are natural for the fish. I would also recommend varying the diet between a well-tolerated pelleted food, and a gel food plus frozen bloodworm.

I have a planted 55 gallon "show tank" with goldfish, gravel and Siamese Algae Eaters. The filtration is by a Penguin 330 hang on type power filter. I think the water chemistry is more stable in a planted tank (assuming it's not overcrowded), because the plants and gravel provide more surface area for the good bacteria. I don't feed the fish on Sundays, and this gives the filter a chance to "catch up" on the water cleaning. I do an 80% water change about every other week.

Cheers,

Rob

[Cincy Ranchu]

I like the foloowing;

fry up to 8 weeks ( sorry, I sometimes can't see anything about these guys until 4 weeks.

Tosai - Current year, note this has been modified because in North America the fish breeding season starts October 1

Nissai - 2 springs

Oya - breeders:yess:

[small_ranchu]

Ok, Japanese style is good as well. How do we treat our fish in each step then :) ?

1. Fry
2. Tosai
3. Nissai
4. Oya

[Fishdork]

I think the first week or two after free swimming is absolutely critical. Delicate balance between having food almost continually available and not losing water quality because of uneaten food. Ideal conditions would be warm pond of green water and daphnia, but that's often unavailable.
I like to put a large spawn in a 10 gallon tank to feed them, but connect the tank (small pump and siphons)to a 55 gallon tank with an established filter. Net breeder cage contains siphon return back to big tank. Fry have 10 gallons to look for food in and 60 gallons to pee in.
My perspective is raising pet fish in a world that rarely reaches 70F, not producing giants with large hoods at a young age. (timeline changes drastically at higher temps)
Most of their growth potential occurs in the first year or two. If you can grow the bodies up the first year, then when their tails grow next year, they will still be able to swim. If they are stunted at a year, you can pound them with food for years and never get them big enough to get a decent size spawn. I say push them moderately hard for 1 or 2 years, then back off protein, food, and temperature and let them coast. Most winter hardy at age 2-5 years.
Norm

[Virginia ranchu]

Hey Norm,

That's good advice. I hadn't thought of a sump type system for increasing the water volume. For those of us who might be less mechanically inclined, a large and well-seasoned sponge filter is a must. I feed newly hatched brine shrimp for about two weeks, and then introduce finely crumbled flake food. I also have continuous daphnia culture that I use for feeding fry. I have had bad experiences using crumble-type fry foods. The fastest growing fry gorge themselves on the starter food, and then end up dead. I suspect they actually rupture their guts. I also had a high incidence of prolapsed cloacas with the fry starter foods.

RC