how high do goldfish jump?
Edward Reid
and was dead by the time my wife noticed. The area around the pool is
flat, so a fish that jumps out won't get any help from slope.
Obviously we need a lip around the pool, but how high? We've never
actually seen them jump in the five years since we acquired them and
the pond along with the house, so they don't do it often.
We can't really lower the water level -- we only have 140 gallons for
six, well five now, goldfish which are pretty large and still getting
larger. (When I asked about oxygenation last year, I learned that it
takes a pretty good circulation to keep enough oxygen in the water in
this setup.) The pool is only about a foot deep, so lowering the water
level is probably out of the question -- we have enough trouble
already with the level getting low due to evaporation. That's part of
the problem -- when we fill, we take it all the way up to the brim, so
there's no lip to keep a jumper in.
I've read some old posts about koi jumping, but these don't seem to be
in the same league by a long shot.
I've thought of just putting a line of bricks around the edge -- the
lip is brick anyway. Or some edging blocks -- we have some that stand
about six inches high and are reasonably attractive. But of course if
a fish jumped over a barrier, then the barrier would make thrashing
back in even harder, so I want to make sure the barrier is high
enough.
Edward
Mike.
pond with a waterfall, and when we had just 1/2 whiskey barrels with
goldfish. The most effective way to keep the fish in we found was to
have some nice floating plants like water lettus, lilly pads, etc. to
cover the surface. Even when there was several inches of lip above
the water, fish could still jump out in the past, so plant cover is
best.
Mike Owens.
Dan
On Jul 6, 11:19 pm, "Mike." <theseek...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> We had this problem in the past, when we had a nice in ground bi-level
> pond with a waterfall, and when we had just 1/2 whiskey barrels with
> goldfish. The most effective way to keep the fish in we found was to
> have some nice floating plants like water lettus, lilly pads, etc. to
> cover the surface. Even when there was several inches of lip above
> the water, fish could still jump out in the past, so plant cover is
> best.
> Mike Owens.
Yeah, GF can do some jumping, particularly when they get 'frisky' or
startled. I agree with the plant cover. It also provides some shade
& something for them to munch on.
Dan
Jim and Phyllis
Jim has plants over much of our pond. They totally cover the berm
ponds, from which we have never had a fish jump. Only the koi have
jumped from our main pond. Only one of them. I suspect that any
raising of the lip will in fact reduce the number of jumps that would
succeed.
Have you a theory about why the jump? Breeding or startling do seem
the most likely reason if everyone seems well.
Phyllis
Edward Reid
> Have you a theory about why the jump? Breeding or startling do seem
> the most likely reason if everyone seems well.
No real theory. We haven't noticed any jumping ordinarily, just this
and a couple of other times when we discovered that one had jumped
out. (In the other cases we found them in time.) There's no obvious
source of outside startling, and the pool environment is very quiet.
It's on a screened lanai with fiberglass roofing, so no other animals
get near the pool. And the fish have been in this same pool for at
least eight years. (We know that the previous owner also got them with
the house, but we do not know any earlier history.) Mostly they are
pretty calm -- only occasionally do we even see them swimming quickly.
My wife startles a lot more easily than the fish, and she didn't
notice anything -- she knows it happened within about half an hour
while she was sitting at her desk writing.
We haven't sexed the fish -- no idea whether we have males or females
or a mix. All I can say is they've never hatched any new ones. We
probably wouldn't know breeding behavior if we saw it.
Due to the location, I doubt we'd be successful growing plants --
there's enough light to grow adequate algae, but virtually no direct
sun, and even the shade is pretty deep. I have to keep the leaves off
the fiberglass roof to get any decent light, and even the roof is
mostly shaded.
Thanks,
Edward
Jim and Phyllis
happenstance or breeding.
Breeding looks like a bunch of fish (males) chasing after one fish
(female) and bumping her side from behind...to get her to disperse
eggs. If you have a waterfall of any sort, you will have foam on the
water after from the milt. If you have a bunch of goldfish and never
had babies, it is probable they are eating the eggs and young. Our
main pond has that steadily. Lots of koi and goldfish breeding and
VERY few babies...like one or two per year from perhaps 20,000 to
50,000 eggs laid.
Jim
NetMax
a convenient happenstance for the fry, resulting from all the organic
matter being released into the water. They may not spawn if there
isn't any suitable surfaces/materials underwater though.
~~