- as usual, in the early spring I floated some large plastic asparagus ferns. Part for cover until the live plants start growing, part for spawning media.
- one morning as I walked to my car I saw the fish getting busy in the ferns
- that night I netted all of the ferns and put them in two 100-gallon stock tanks of water
- let them go all summer
- water always turns pea-soup green since I don't run a filter (would suck the fry in)
- fed them flake food from time to time, but not a regular basis
- a few days ago, I emptied the one by dipping out the water with a basin, pouring it into a large plastic kitchen strainer into a five-gallon bucket
- put those fry in the other tank
- filled the first stock tank with clean water - added dechlor
- netted out as many fry as I could
- most of the fry were 3/4" to 1". Last year when I fed them regularly with goldfish flake food most were twice that size.
- one sarassa comet was over 3" though! Cannibal . . . :'(
Threw him in the pond since he's large enough my 15" golden orfe can't eat him
- I emptied the second stock tank by dipping out the water with a basin, pouring it into a large plastic kitchen strainer into a five-gallon bucket. Put all of the fry in the clean water stock tank
- only got about 30 fry from original 300+. Sarassa comet "toby" must have eaten quite a few
- about half are mutts since I the parents are sarassa comets, shubunkins and midnight shubunkins.
- I do know a guy that I always takes the mutts. Will raise the nicest ones inside in a 55-gallon aquarium over the winter