Rosey Reds and cheap comets

[rcr203]

So, who has minnows in their ponds?  I have had rosey reds the past couple of years - they overwinter in zone 6, and school nicely in the mid/top areas.  they're also only 12 cents at the pet store, and reproduce quite well.

I also noticed they now have 12 cent Comets at Petsmart (selling them as feeder fish!).  Some of them actually look like they may be misplaced shubunkin.

So, any opinions on the minnows?

[Reedman]

I like my rosey red minnows - nice to see them school.  They eat any leftover food pellets too.

[Derrick]

I never see the rosy reds around here for sale. Wish I did though because I would love to try some! They may not over winter here, so that might be why.

Derrick

[rcr203]

they are surprisingly hardy.  You can usually find them in a pet store being sold as 'feeder fish' for 10 cents a piece, which makes getting a small school rather inexpensive.

[EagleEye]

You want rosy reds? ------- Go to a bait shop.

Steve

[Missa]

Do the rosy reds eat mosquito larvae?

[Derrick]

It's usually comets sold as feeders around here for some reason. I'll keep looking though because they sound fun!

[txpondnut]

Hi,
We have rosey red minnows in our pond and we got them from petsmart for a penny apiece.

[rcr203]

Yes - minnows eat mosquito larvae.  Actually, they are supposed to do a better job than mosquito fish.

That is why I got interested in them in the first place.  I was looking for gambusia, but then read up on them a bit more and found that they tend to favor other insects and fry more than mosquitoes.  Minnows tend to be less aggressive, are brighter colored, school nicely near the top, and like to each mosquitoes.

[Missa]

Wal-Mart around here has them.

It's just that some of the ones I got right before their tail was white & those ones had trouble swimming & died off rather quickly. The ones that don't have the white tail are fine.

I'm trying a container water garden this year & that's where they're going.

[Missa]

I got some to put in the ponds & the goldfish/koi took up chase trying to eat them, I think they got a couple.    How do y'all have them in ponds without them getting eaten?

[txpondnut]

Hi Missa,
 They need rocks or other places to get away from larger fish. In time they will grow and learn to be wary but some will be eaten. We add more when we see their numbers have dropped. Our pond is not crowed, 3000 gal, a dozen rosies, 7 comets and 1 small bluegill with rocks around the sides. The other day I saw one of our comets with a rosy tail sticking out of his mouth so we will be adding more soon.

[Missa]

Looks like all the ones in the bigger pond are gone ... maybe I'll try again.