Small Fry and Other Pond Pleasures

It's no secret that my little pond (about 200 gallons) brings me endless hours of calm pleasure. From colorful flowers to the sound of water falling, from horsetail rushes standing tall to fish swimming happily to and fro, I am gifted each time I sit for a quiet moment here. 
 

This year I planted some Parrots Feather, a floating plant in an effort to offer some protection to the five goldfish who live here (in case the blue heron shows up again). They have been a little rough on the water weeds, but seemed to love them from day one!



Getting rowdy in the Parrots Feather!

 

 

When Bo enjoys a drink from the pond, the goldfish often swim circles around his tongue.


 

Mud dauber wasps (non-aggressive insects, just trying to do their job) also appreciate the Parrots Feather as it gives them a place of balance when they come in to scoop up a load of water. 

 

A few days ago, Toryn brought this young fish over to see if it could survive in the pond. She'd bought a few Wal-Mart goldfish babies and he was the only one who lived. I figured he might have a chance by hiding in the water weeds, but this little guy (about 2 1/4") was so thrilled to be in the pond, he swam happily here and there. I decided to call him (or her) Happy.

 

I went out later that night and shined a flashlight into the pond to see if I could find Happy. I almost fell into the water when I spotted these small fry (baby fish) swimming amongst the plants (two tiny ones on the left; one larger fry in the center)! I've had goldfish in this pond for 11 years (since 2002) and only once have I had a baby fish. That was the first year the blue heron came (2006). The beautiful bird ate four of the eight goldfish I had snagged from Pete's pond four years earlier. The remaining four were so traumatized they hid behind the pump and filter for several weeks, and must have missed one little egg that hatched out a fry. By the time they resurfaced "Survivor" was bigger than they wanted to eat. About five years later (2011) the heron returned and nabbed the other four "original" goldfish. Only now full-grown "Survivor" escaped again. So last year I bought some feeder goldfish and ended up with the five comets seen in the second photo above. I guess the Parrots Feather provided a place for eggs to attach and fry to hide. Amazing!

 

It seems as if there have been a few spawns this summer! I've only seen one fry this size. Happy (the upper fish) and "Go-Lucky" (the lower fry) seem to hit it off and can often be found in close proximity.

 

There are at least a dozen (maybe more) small fry ranging in size from 1/2" to 1 1/2".

 

Goldfish are terrible parents, eating eggs almost as soon as they are spawned and feasting on the babies as well. So I'll just enjoy the show until fall, when I will take a head count, see who is still swimming, and find homes for most of the young 'uns. I'll probably keep a few (Happy and Go-lucky if they make it). It's fun to know that Survivor probably fathered some of these and the offspring of Pete's pond fish will still grace my pond.

On a final note, the big fish were fooling around again this morning and I captured this shot of some eggs tucked amongst some algae under the rock edge. Of course the "parents" are gobbling up as many eggs as they can find...but we'll see.