i was just wondering is it ok to put goldfish outside in a large plastic tub when the weather is good, just for like a day. thanks

U can, but the stress on the fish would far outweigh the benefits of putting the fish outside for just one day.

Yes, and no. If the tub is kept in good water parameters, temperature and all other parameters controled, the fish should be just fine. I regularly take mine in and out - to give them the full sun. They go to large tubs that are fully cycled and filtered. I also take extra precautions to protect the fish from the local predators in our area. They are housed inside a small, glass "greenhouse" for the blue heron, raccoon, coyote and wild cats are particularly dangerous to fish life.

Is there a reason you wish to do this? If you are painting or fumigating, this might be a good idea.

no special reason, i just thought they might like to go outside for the warm weather, thanks for replying

I've had my fish outside all summer! They love it!

I've been buying these "tuff stuff" livestock troughs from the feed/farm store, and I think they're cheap, like $50 for 110 gallon. I get two tubs for each "tank" of fish, and rotate them. I use no filters outdoors, just an airstone and a heater (cause it's been getting down to 39 at night some lately). I fill both tubs, and treat for chlorines. The fish all go into one tub. After 4-6 days, the water gets kinda old, and I transfer them into the fresh tub. Then I clean the old tub out (but try to protect the green-layer of algae), rinse, and fill again, and it waits afew days till I need to transfer them back.

I've got those amonia-alert badges in there, since ammonia is really the only concern. But really, if I figure I should check the ammonia badge, I figure it's then time to transfere into the new tub anywho.

And water plants are totally awesome! I've been keeping duckweed in there, but then in the middle of the summer I introduced water hyacinth and water lettuce, both floating plants. the fish love to swim around the roots, and I see them constantly nipping at the most tender, new roots. When the sun shines at the right angle, I can see mosquito larve swimming in the tub, and I'm sure the goldfish snack on these all the time. Also, I've seen dragon-flies laying eggs in there, and I'm sure my goldies eat those too.

Yes, I have a lid for the tanks made from welded-wire fencing.

The name of that image above is TosaiPond, right? Any chance for closer pics of the tosais, mate? Do u import them or buy locally?

Yes, I do have a recent pic of those Tosai (with one Nisai)!

I had these imported from Japan this spring. They are Oishi bloodline, hand picked by the breeder for me! Hehe! When I received them they were still brown, but within afew days they started to color up. What fun! The Nisai is obviously an older fish, from the same breeder.

Mate, they are awesome!!

What vivid, contrasting colours those TVRs have! From this pics, I love the nisai very much, plus the bottom left tosai and top right tosai I think have good potential.

I dunno if this is asking too much, but if u got them, I would reaaally like to have a look at proper top view individual pics! There's not that many members here who keep proper TVRs

Do u show your TVRs or just keep them for personal pleasure?

Congrats on the great looking fish and your efforts on creating an optimum environment for you fish. Have you considered keeping some of your fish in a green water environment?

Sincerely,
k_r_c

hey golem: here's a regular top-view of that Nisai. Yes, there is some really fun potential in these Tosai, I can't wait to see how they grow up! The top-right one you like has a totally stunning coloration and like the Nisai, the white color is really more of an opalescent, when seen in person. The bottom-left fish you mentioned is awesome, and proabably closer to a Western idea of the perfect Ranchu, as he has a little shorter body proportion, and the perfect curve down to the caudal penducle. These little fish are like a window into Japanese culture, and the Japanese sure have a refined and stylized approach to Ranchus. I'll try to round up some other pics of those Tosai, the pics I have right now are fuzzy. I'm keeping them for fun, at this point, and to breed in afew years. I did show this Nisai at the NWKGS in Portland, Oregon this summer (although nobody saw it!!)

Heya krc! Yes, I routinely keep my fish in green water, although this technique I've been using for the Japanese Ranchu makes that a little more difficult, as they're being moved to 100% fresh water every 4-6 days, and the green never really has time to build up. I supose I could seed each new tank with a little green water, but right now I'm trying to follow the breeder's instructions to the letter. I've got some Chinese ranchus (tung hoi) that are in green water right now, and they're totally loving it and some have nearly doubled in size this summer. Also, I heard a rumor from Tommy at the NWKG show that panda moors require green water for about 1/3 of the year to keep their white areas.

Glassgoldfish, thx for the wonderful nisai pic. He/she looks even nicer from the top. Well done!

I'll be waiting eagerly for the tosai pics

Stunning fish glassgoldfish . You say they were brown on arrival..I was wondering how you rated the importing process for your fish and how long it took for the fish to recover from such a long trip?

oh man, I wish I could have one. They are the best. Congrat for your fish GlassGoldFish...

As for water perams and such Daryls advice rocks. I personaly keep fish in a pond setting during the summer months, they seem to like it much better than the tanks at any rate, I would strongly suggest however that you read up on pond setups and such before diving into it, Its a lot of work at first but totaly worth it in the end. I noticed the fish outdoors grew faster than those I keep inside, and have nicer coloration patterns to boot. but it is all dependant on your time, space and financial restrictions. Also keep in mind that smaller pond set ups are harder to manage. Still I think it is worth it if you are willing to do the extra work!

Good question! I was absolutely blown away with how smoothly the entire process went. I don't know how much you know about Japanese Ranchu, but I'll tell you this much: they aren't cheap! So, I was definatly cautious about the whole thing. The importer I am working with is NeoRanchu, and I can honestly say that Stephen, over there, was simply terrific with all my question, and repeat questions, and more questions. He kept me updated on the hatching of the fish in Japan, the shipment to the US, and finally the shipping to me, with literally dozens of emails over the course of the spring/early summer. I even received pictures of the parent fishes early in the process.

I don't know what method was employed to ship the fish from Japan to the US, but I do know about the method used to get them from MD to me in OR: a technological marvel! Never have I had fish arrive in such terrific condition. you ask: "how long to recover?" Answer: there was no recovery time, because there was no (or very, very little) stress involved. These fish were shipped using the Kordon Breather Bags, which I mentioned breifly once before. These bags are made of a special plastic that leaches out CO2, and leaches in O2, so the bag is filled 100% with water and sealed up (no air!! yes, it's true, I'm not crazy). Because there's no air, there is no sloshing. The fish are super-happy in their little "bubble" of water, and they aren't impacked by the movement of their box. Also, I had them shippied via delta-dash, so their transit time was about 9-10 hrs total. (Well, then I had to drive home 3 hrs)

One of the "drawbacks" of the Kordon bags is that they allow more water to be used, like 2 gallons per bag. This isn't a drawback for the fish, it's a drawback because the extra weight makes it very expensive to ship via next-day UPS or FedEx. It turned out to be cheaper to delta-dash, if I don't count my time or gas to go to PDX to get them. But cost really wasn't the main factor here, I was glad to be able to receive the fish the same day the were sent.

Oh, btw- the fish were brown on arrival becuase thet were so young.

I was just going to say, I was at the Portland NWKG show and sure don't remember the nisai! Sorry we did not get to see him, i know Riz would've been drooling if I had taken a picture and probably yelled at me since I wouldn't have known to take a top view pic. Thanks for the pictures, your fish a gorgeous!

Thankyou for the detailed reply glassgoldfish. Very interesting

Heya Jen!! I begged the nice lady at the NWKG show to *please* let me show this Ranchu in the traditional top-view style, but that just flustered them. . . "Well, how would we move the 20 gallons of water that is in your reserved tank" is what she wondered. (hello! I move 20 gallons before I get out of bed each morning) I actually brought a japanese style show-bowl and all my own water (about 50 gallons I hauled to portland). I offered to move the 20 gallon tank (and the water in it) in order to make room for my show bowl, but they just wouldn't have it. What gets me is this: at a koi show, they can't wrap their head around the idea of appreciating goldfish from above, I mean, that's how all the koi are appreciated, right?

My Nisai was located immediatly to the right of the grand-champion, a huge redcap oranda, in a dark corner. What really stinks is it looks like that was my 1st and only year to show, as I've had a huge spawn of wakins this summer in my buddy's irrigation pond, and I'll be selling them this fall, so that will dis-qualify me from showing there (hobbiests only)

Beautiful fish! I have been admiring the fish at NeoRanchu for some time now.