That was some rain on Thursday. About 16 mm, and it was most of the day. The water barrel, fed by the eavestrough, has filled up the pond. (I drained it to fish out the goldfish last week.) The fishies seem happy indoors.
Caitlin, during a phone call, asked how old Percy is, and I had to look it up. We drove to Brockville in 2018 and found him at the landscaping store. Four years old. I wrote on the tank to total them up. I think I have 8.
I've had a few over the years. I had a biologist give me some she'd found in a ditch, and needed to rescue. I said I would adopt them. They weren't long-lasting being ditch goldfish! I have added to the crew but once COVID hit, they were difficult to find in stores.
The trick to feeding such a wide range of fishies is to provide a selection of food. You can get floating pellets, fish flakes, some that sink to the bottom of the tank. A big find was fish food made of bugs. Seriously! It smells, um, rich we shall say. Goldfish are bottom feeders, you can see Percy's whiskers. Yet they do search around the edge of the water in the fish pond, looking for bugs.
I've fed them deerflies, peeled off my deerfly sticky stuff from my hat. I wrap it around a stick and set it in the water.
They are wildly tricky to photograph. (I can barely count them!) I just haven't had the patience last week. Maybe I should try the tripod!
I noticed a toe biter in the pond. (Belostomatidae: giant water bug) I am surprised it is there. This is one I found in 2014 sucking on a frog. I moved two last year, right to the frog pond. Thing is, they have wings and can fly!
It sucks the blood of fish, amphibians and aquatic invertebrates (Wiki), lying in wait at the bottom of a pond. I don't know how the baby goldfish escaped!
toe biter from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Meanwhile, Percy wags his tail to be fed:
percy from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
14 comments:
Hari OM
Oh, I loved this post and especially Percy the Poser vid... the giant water bugs are a bit freaky, though. YAM xx
...I hope that you and your fish have a pleasant winter.
you get up to the most interesting tasks. always making me smile. what fun!! calling for rain this week. hope u r well. ( :
You know your fish and have done well with them.
Those goldfish are lucky to have you taking care of them.
Love knowing more, and seeing more about Percy and his kind.
Percy is a beauty. I hope you can catch that remaining goldfish.
It was good to read the goldfish (minus 1) are safely in your warm home. I;'ve missed SO much and it was great to read they are all doing well. I hope you are able to catch the baby before it is eaten. Great video of Percy, too.
I have never had a tank of pretty fish but I know they are very relaxing. One smart dentist I knew, a kind and wonderful man, used to have fish tanks in his waiting room. I actually used to look forward to going there! Sadly he retired many years ago. How wonderful that yours were originally found in a ditch, now living a happy life with you. It was very interesting reading about their food. I learned a lot today, never knew about toe-biters. They look huge! Percy is a great name for a fish and he’s a handsome one. Fun to see read this post, thank you Jenn :)
Enjoy your goldfish over the winter!
I have tried to keep fish a couple of times in my life. I was not successful. Probably did not clean the tank often enough...
I love your fish and how you care for them so well and so carefully!
I love seeing your goldfish. So much personality!
Percy looks like a big guy. It's lovely how you care of these fish. My uncle is the same way.
Post a Comment