4/9 update--LAST CALL!
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6 spawning mops that have been used to collect the eggs from my Watonai pond (there are a couple of regular wakin in with them), regular Priority Shipping, & PayPal payment only. $50 which includes the shipping/mops. PM to make arrangements.
I am already seeing fry from the eggs that I've kept for myself, so I know that they are viable this season.
Raising goldfish eggs---I have Watonai goldfish that I've gotten from Steve at RainGardens in HI. Also found some watonai locally (confirmed by Steve that they have the correct body/tail shape).
When the fish spawn, I make sure they have yarn spawning mops or floating plants with long roots for them to spawn on. The younger fish in the pond will eat the eggs, so I will keep an eye on the fish, removing/replacing the mops with fresh ones in order to save as many eggs.
Prior to collecting the eggs, I will have emptied my 300 gallon stock tanks of all fish. I use the stock tanks to grow water lilies. The tanks will be refilled with aged pond water. There will still be plants, algae, & scuds. I try to have the tanks empty of fish at least a month in advance so the natural foods will have a chance to build up before adding the spawning mops. These ponds are outside & temps this year were in the high 60s/70s & the temps fluctuated quite a bit due to the wacky spring weather.
It takes approximately 2 weeks for me to be able to see the tiny fry that have hatched. I've been told the eggs will have a fuzzy look to them prior to hatching. One person that I sent eggs to dipped hers into a 2-3 drops Melafix per 30 gallons in order to stop fungal growth. Most of the people that got eggs from me have gotten a decent hatchout rate. They have noticed the fry like to hang out around the spawning mops/plant roots.
The types of fry I get from my watonai eggs over the ENTIRE season of spawning are: single tails, fantails, wakins, watonai, & deformed. Colors are orange/red, orange(red)/white, white/yellow/pink, dark brown that doesn't change color, calico with orange/black/white. I don't know the percentage of each, but I do a lot of culling. I seem to get more single tails than fantails & more wakins than watonai. The calico is not a very high percentage (but then I don't have that many calico parents). Not every fish is involved in each spawning, so I'm sure each spawning will not result in the same looking fry each time.
I do not use filtration in any of my lily ponds. Once the summer heat sets in, I will use airstones to add oxygen. I've even raised eggs successfully in small patio ponds (about 35 gallon) but the fish stay very small until I move them into something larger. If you do have a pump & are trying to raise eggs, be sure to have a sponge filter over the pump intake.
Since I raise all my fry among water lilies, it takes considerable time catching, sorting, culling, etc. in order to end up with a small percentage of fish that to me look like keepers. You need to watch out for toby fish (eat smaller siblings), dragonfly larvae, frogs, or anything else that will eat fry.
The keepers will be put into my larger timber lily ponds to grow out. At 2-3 inches in body size you can see how they hold their tails, colors, check for missing fins, etc. Lots of pretty fish, but only a few will end up going into my breeding watonai pond which has almost all watonai & a couple of wakins. It is a fun process but can be very time consuming. If you don't have the time or patience for this, I highly recommend ordering from a reputable dealer that has already done all this work for you.
So don't expect every egg to hatch into a perfect wakin or watonai. I'm in the Dallas, TX area, so if you are in a colder climate, different ways of raising the eggs may be needed. I know other folks will hatch out brine shrimp for live food. I grind up my koi food into crumbles & powder good for the smallest of fry. The crumbles are a good size for bigger fry until they get big enough to start eating the floating koi food. Crushed goldfish flakes will also work to feed the fry.
Of the approximate 15 people that I shipped eggs to, 3 of them said they got less than 10 fish to grow. So I cannot guarantee any hatch rate or issue a refund if this occurs as I don't have any control over the eggs once I take them to the post office. Payment must be made in advance so I have the funds available for when the fish do spawn as I cannot predict the exact days that they'll be in the mood
Spawning mops with eggs
Parents
Here is some of the fry after culling.
