Cleaned the Wakin pond today

[tracey_shafer]

A heat index of at least 105 and it felt like a sauna out but we need to get it done and wanted to check the health of the fish since there has been ick in my other ponds. At 5000 gal. and no bottom drain its an all day job. I had put over 100 baby fish in last fall but the bullfrog and the dragonfly nymphs have been eating gourmet.
I only had a handful of the babies left and at least 2 of my big fish were missing. And none of my babies from this spring have survived the nymphs & bullfrog. (I do have babies out of the pond in other tanks.

This is everyone we pulled out of the pond:

)



These are the big boys, their are lines on the bottom of the container.











I did find all of the watoni I put in to grow out last winter and have put them with the calico wakin, we will try to breed some calico watoni for you. :

[Kabuki]

Ooh. What beauties. You do such a great job of taking care of your fish babies.

[Missa]

Lovely ... I'm jealous.

[miguynmkoi]

The reds are so red!  Nice!  When the calico watonai are ready give us a show!

[lorraine1960]

i love them,,,they are oustanding......i need a pond the size of my whole backyard...but the heat...lord...lorraine

[Jennie in MT]

That's it!  I am moving to Tracey's!  I will even be her volunteer 'Pool Girl'!

[tracey_shafer]

I could use the pond help but you would have to pitch a tent right now. All of my adult kids have moved back home and their friends, I have 3 bathrooms and we have lines in the am  . I am charging board but it is not enough. 
This is a picture of the $5.00 wakins as they "color up" . When I get one with good color I put it in the big pond to grow out. They will not be available much longer.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

[GHouse]

Tracy,
You are breeding more nice fish than anyone else on these boards that I see. Your Wakins do look nice. 

[Jonna]

The dragonfly nymph eat fish???  Yuck! I knew i hated those things.  They are the grossest looking things, this spring when I first started the pond there were lots of dragonflies and then lots of those space alien monsters.  I throw them in the compost if I find them.  I had no idea they ate more than the lily pads.  Now I really don't like them.  I'm not like some of you, I squished every one of the butterfly nymphs I could catch on my passion flower vines in California too.  Anyway, the dragonfly nymph's give me the creeps, I don't even like getting in the pond when I know they are in there. 

[Jennie in MT]

Oh no Tracey.  I travel in my own little world.  A 30 travel trailer.    Got my own bathroom, kitchen and even extra bunks for you if you want to come hide out!  Methinks the holding tanks could be used for    hauling!!    A tent???   

As we discussed in the PM, I am defintiely in for some fish.  Just trying to firm up how many.  Will finalize in the next few days?  Will that be soon enough?

I could use the pond help but you would have to pitch a tent right now. All of my adult kids have moved back home and their friends, I have 3 bathrooms and we have lines in the am  . I am charging board but it is not enough. 
This is a picture of the $5.00 wakins as they "color up" . When I get one with good color I put it in the big pond to grow out. They will not be available much longer.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

l

[tracey_shafer]

A hideout and getaway sounds good about now  They are driving me nuts, of course it is a very short drive.
A few days sounds good.