Fish and more fish!

A couple of days ago I posted about my plan to buy a couple of koi at Japanfest for my small backyard pond. My pond was filthy at the time - it has been a bad summer for algae and it was due for a thorough cleaning. I was not about to bring home new koi and put them in a murky pond so Saturday when I got home at 5:30 I started cleaning.

While I was in Japan last year I just let the pond go. I didn't arrange for anyone to feed the fish because I figured they needed to be fed every day anyway and who could I possibly get to do that. I had 3 goldfish that were five years old anyway so I figured they would just expire. Turns out they thrived during my absence! This spring when I cleaned the pond I decided to remove them so I could clean more thoroughly. I took out the 3 big goldfish and started draining. Lo and behold I came across a baby goldfish! Not only had my goldfish thrived they had reproduced.

Saturday night I did the same thing - I removed the goldfish and put them in a big bucket while I cleaned. And this time there were another two baby fish - one a tiny goldfish and one a bit bigger and totally black! So I have 3 adults and 3 babies.

Yesterday when I left the festival I went to pick up the 3 for $5.00 koi I had purchased before the gates opened. The really nice man from the koi farm allowed me to pick out the ones I wanted and then he put them in another tank until I was finished for the day. Turns out his brother inadvertently sold one of the ones that were mine so when I picked up I was given a replacement plus another one because he was sorry! So I now have 10 fish in my tiny pond . . . and I'm feeling like I will spend some time this vacation week cleaning up the plantings around it so it is as beautiful as these lovely creatures inside it.

They are so interesting to watch as they get to know each other. When I first put the new fish in last night the goldfish were swimming in one school and the koi kept to themselves in another. Today they are beginning to integrate.

Last week I posted a wanted message on freecycle for a fish aquarium and almost immediately got a response. I picked up the aquarium Thursday, along with some accessories (heater, pump/filter, nets, thermometers). I need to clean it out and figure out where to set it up. I'm so excited! It has been 20 years since I last had an aquarium and I look forward to being able to enjoy fish inside as well as outside. I would love to do a salt water aquarium someday and have seahorses but for now I will get this thing set up and buy a few freshwater fish and enjoy them. Nothing as relaxing as watching fish.