Messages

1

Pond Chat / April is the cruelest month for the impatient in the Northeast

« on: April 12, 2009, 04:53:31 PM »

The plants are poking their sprouts out, the lily pads are groping toward the surface, and the overwintered plants are making their way outdoors, but blooms are weeks and months away!   

The good news is, that despite my brown thumb, all but one of my plants made through the winter, either in the pond or in the house. 

Pictures and details on my blog, Big Puddle.

2

Pond Chat / First feeding!

« on: March 30, 2009, 05:24:16 AM »

All my fish in both ponds made it through the winter, and have just received their first feeding of the spring! The plants are beginning to sprout! Or most of them anyway - I am much better with pesca than flora.

Read all about Sparky, Flash, Newboy, Harley and the rest, (with pictures) on my blog, which has also resurfaced for the spring:

Big Puddle

3

Pond Chat / Re: My New Website is Up!

« on: September 13, 2008, 07:39:38 PM »

Makes me wish I were within driving distance!

4

Pond Chat / Re: It bloomed

« on: September 13, 2008, 07:37:43 PM »

Very nice colors. I am jealous of people who can have tropicals - it is cold here in Philly, and I don't have enough yard or house to greenhouse or bring anything in. Or enough money to treat them as annuals...

5

Pond Chat / Re: Complete beginner questions

« on: September 12, 2008, 08:02:14 PM »

Greetings! I live in Philadelphia as well, and you should check out Aquatic Connections in Trevose/Feasterville.  They give terrific free seminars on pondkeeping basics from time to time - you just missed a great one last month. The next session is 9/24 on lighting, and they always have one in October or November on preparing for winter that you shouldn't miss.

There is also a local club that has just formed which meets regularly and goes on field trips.

Links are on my blog. Just shoot me an email if you have any questions about local resources for plants, fish or supplies.

6

Pond Chat / Re: Last but not least - a peachy lily

« on: September 12, 2008, 07:49:40 PM »

I believe it is called a changeable Aurora, which is a miniature variant of the Sioux (3" blooms vs 5"). It starts off yellowish and then turns peach and ends up peach with red accents.

I hope there are more buds coming up through the tangle of leaves, but that may be wishful thinking in Pennsylvania in September!

7

Pond Chat / Re: Last but not least - a peachy lily

« on: September 11, 2008, 07:57:39 PM »

One more for good measure.

8

Pond Chat / Last but not least - a peachy lily

« on: September 11, 2008, 07:56:03 PM »

One of my three lilies did not throw up a bud all summer long. Then, suddenly in September, it starting shooting leaves like crazy and produced its first very small flower! I hope more are on the way!

9

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: wakin pictures

« on: August 25, 2008, 07:02:36 AM »

You've got some really great looking fish & I wish you success with your website sales.  This is probably the wrong time of year to be selling pond fish & you'll probably do better in the springtime.  Although it is better to ship right now with the temps not so hot or cold.

I just attended a pond seminar with API, and they said that fish are strongest in the fall because they are fully fattened for the winter, the water temperature is perfect for their immune systems, the water quality benefits from a fully cycled filter, and stress from high temperatures (low oxygen, high CO2, toxic ammonia) is not present. Spawning season is usually over as well.

In the spring, the fish have been torpid for months, the water temperature supports parasite and harmful bacteria growth before the immune system gets fully cranked up, and the filter is cycling up from the winter.

Most people like to buy in the spring because it is cheaper to buy fish small and grow them. Also, that is when the pond bug hits, and it is when many people install a new pond.

10

Pond Chat / Re: Weekend Hardies

« on: August 24, 2008, 10:07:39 AM »

Pretty flowers and amazing foliage! What temperatures are you experiencing?

11

Pond Chat / Re: moptops, frilly, delicate looking, unclassic

« on: August 05, 2008, 06:10:08 PM »

Very nice lighting on the foxfires. Unclassic means interesting!

12

Pond Chat / Re: Want to see some hardies?

« on: August 05, 2008, 06:08:41 PM »

Beautiful variety of blooms. That first picture gives the lie to lilies not liking agitated water.

13

Pond Chat / Re: My first tropical lily bloom Thanks to watersprite

« on: August 02, 2008, 10:15:25 AM »

The first bloom is the sweetest!!

14

Pond Chat / Re: More boring lilies

« on: July 31, 2008, 08:39:46 PM »

Oh, no ... I like the 2 pic the best..  and what is the name of the last lily?? 

Myra

The yellow is a chromatella - green foilage with red mottling. It puts out a modest number of smallish leaves and has only bloomed twice so far this year. Its color is really intense.

The white one is the hyperactive Walter Pagels variety, which has thrown up 4 buds in the last week and a half and has nearly covered my small back pond with three dozen leaves. Pagels bred lilies specifically for water gardens, the more sun the better.

15

Pond Chat / More boring lilies

« on: July 31, 2008, 06:16:23 PM »

One is pretty much like the next. They are nice to look at, though.
 

16

Pond Chat / Re: Lily Pics from today

« on: July 31, 2008, 06:08:50 PM »

I live near Philly. Are you dividing next spring? I would like to buy/trade with you.

17

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: What temp water/outside can common goldfish live in?

« on: July 26, 2008, 07:09:44 PM »

A pretty broad range actually. They tolerate temperatures as low as 35F in the wintertime. They rank among the most temperature tolerant of fish.

At the high end, goldfish are pretty much like people. Temperatures in the 70s are ideal, but they can tolerate the 80s with no problem, and distress does not set in until the human normal temperature of 98 is exceeded. Incipient lethal temperature is 37-40 degrees Celsius (98.6 - 104F), which means that prolonged exposure to 99 or brief exposure to 104 can prove fatal. Just like us.

I have one pond that receives direct sunlight on a south facing wall, and during heat waves the water temp often hits the mid-90s during the afternoon. The fish do fine, but they swim less and tend to hide in the shade. The mercury dips back into the 80s at night.

High temperatures cause two other problems: low oxygen, and heightened toxicity for any ammonia present. The warmer the water, the less O2 it can hold. This especially causes a problem at night, when plants do not photosynthesize CO2 and therefore use oxygen. If your water is going to go above 85F, use an aerator in addition to a waterfall/filter flow. Also, as temperature and pH rise, so does the harm that ammonia can cause. Be sure your filtration works and do frequent water changes. Also replenish evaporated water, which can be substantial during the summer months. Remember, replenishment does not substitute for water changes!

You should be fine if 1) your filter works, 2) you have adequate aeration, 3) you have some plants with floating leaves for shade, and 4) you keep your water changed.

Just in case, freeze a couple of liter bottles of water to put in the pond if the water temperature exceeds 95 degrees.

18

Pond Chat / Re: My new pond

« on: July 07, 2008, 05:37:01 AM »

Nice looking ponds. And gorgeous fish. I haven't yet enclosed my above ground pond and the wood looks interesting - I was going to use masonry. What did you buy, and where?

Your sizes look similar to mine.  Check out my small pond blog at phillyrover.wordpress.com .

19

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: Vanished!

« on: May 19, 2008, 08:03:23 PM »

I did some research on jumping and found four reasons that fish jump: 1. bad water 2. harassment, especially during netting, spawning, or a predator attack 3. parasite irritation 4. a loud noise.

Bumpkin jumped during a thunder storm. Mystery solved. Maybe I should net every time it rains.

20

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Re: Vanished!

« on: May 17, 2008, 11:03:46 AM »

So sorry to hear about that, especially since it was a midnight - my personal favorites.  I have about 20 midnight shubunkins.  A few years ago I lost about 2/3 of my fish in the spring to a parasite outbreak.  Losing about a half-dozen of the midnights made it much worse.

The only breeder of midnight blue shubunkins doesn't have any to sell this year.  They lost some of their breeder fish and had to keep all of their fish to get some for breeders for next year.

Again - sorry.  That fish had very nice coloration.

Thanks for your condolences. Midnight blues are very special.

Where are you located in PA?

Bill

21

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Mystery unfortunately solved

« on: May 17, 2008, 07:10:09 AM »

Mystery solved - I found the corpse behind a roll of solar cover. He jumped!

Bumpkin leapt quite a bit when he was young, but never managed to vault out of a small 125 gallon pond. I hadn't ever seen him break the surface in the new pond.

Yes, it is always the pretty ones that die young!

RIP   

22

Wakin, Shubunkins and Goldfish... / Vanished!

« on: May 17, 2008, 05:11:32 AM »

My favorite fish and the most admired, Bumpkin, a lovely midnight blue shubunkin, has disappeared from my pond!

Yesterday afternoon, I took a break from the rain to photograph a new wakin for my blog. When I prepared the pictures for the net, I noticed that Bumpkin appeared in not a one. I ran outside in the dark and could not see him anywhere. I checked the few hiding places as well as possible with a flashlight and my hand.

In the past, I have thought a fish was gone only to find it later. Not this time. In the morning light, I looked again - no Bumpkin. There is no carcass in the pond. No odor in the yard, and I can't find remains there either, though I have not moved every chair and trash can.

Possibilities:

1. He jumped, and I will find the body eventually if a cat or possum hasn't already.

2. A predator. But why just him? He is not the easiest to spot with his blue black color, and he was the fastest swimmer of the lot.

3. A thief. But I have a ten foot fence and only the UPS and FedEx guys have the key to the gate. They don't steal, and only as afishanado would be able to spot my prize fish.

I am heartbroken.

23

Pond Chat / Re: lilies in bloom

« on: April 29, 2008, 05:44:52 AM »

Nice pictures! You couldn't have lit them better in a studio!

24

Pond Chat / Re: Lindsey Moore photos 4-08

« on: April 29, 2008, 05:43:39 AM »

Nice blooms.

The only time I am jealous of southern weather is in the spring. My lilies have only surfaced in the last couple of weeks and flowers are a long way off.

25

Chit Chat / Re: Happy Birthday Philly Bill, MCP and Daniel

« on: April 28, 2008, 09:52:50 AM »

Thanks!

I celebrated last Friday with a shipment of beautiful goldfish from Steve in Hawai'i ! I will be posting pictures on my blog soon.

26

Pond Chat / Re: Guess who keeps dropping by for dinner?

« on: April 16, 2008, 04:49:34 AM »

Yikes! You have such pretty fish, it will be a shame if they are eaten.

27

Pond Chat / Re: Fish eater??

« on: April 16, 2008, 04:44:15 AM »

Possums will not eat pond fish. They are lazy scavengers.

28

Pond Chat / Re: It's spring, and love is in the air

« on: April 13, 2008, 07:49:10 AM »

Yep, they can make babies.  You may not want 'em though.

Spring and spawning can be so hard on the fish.  I don't know what's worse, spawning or impacted eggs.

Yea, Steve tells me fewer than one in ten will have acceptable qualities.

Impacted eggs? You mean they don't expel them without a male's "aid?"

29

Pond Chat / It's spring, and love is in the air

« on: April 12, 2008, 06:36:18 PM »

The activity level in my pond was in overdrive today.

Bumpkin, my midnight blue shubbie, chased Sparky, a white watonai, all around the pond this morning, poking and prodding her. She swam sideways into the bog plant baskets along the margins of the pond, and he followed her there as well, resting beside her on the rocks! What an attentive suitor.

When I returned to the pond this afternoon, things were back to normal. I fear the eggs became a tasty meal, but I am even more fearful that some survived - can shubunkins and watonai make babies? At least I know the genders of all the fish in my back pond now.

Check out the X rated pictures on my blog.

30

Pond Chat / Re: Took some new pics of the new kids

« on: April 02, 2008, 08:34:13 AM »

Very pretty fish. I hope you don't mind that I touched up a few of your pics: