I found a fish in the priming pot

[CarpCharacin]

A while back, a small koi that I introduced into the pond this summer went missing, so I assumed a predator got him. Today I found him in the priming pot, dead. I think he might have died and gotten sucked in.

But I found another fish in the priming pot and it was still alive. I think he hatched in the pond, and I didn't think he was going to make it when I first brought him in, but now he's doing pretty well. I put him in my empty 20 gallon tank that I'm planning to plant, I just haven't ordered the plants yet. I think he might have some fungus on his fins, but it might just be a slime coat irritation, since quite a bit of water moves through the priming pot. I think he's either a koi, or a goldfish koi hybrid.

 

[Five 97]

Congrats on rescuing him, hope he continues to do well! Is it a common occurrence for koi and goldfish to hybridize?

 

[Anders247]

Nice find!

 

[CarpCharacin]

Congrats on rescuing him, hope he continues to do well! Is it a common occurrence for koi and goldfish to hybridize?

Yeah, I think it's pretty common. I think some of the fish that I introduced to the pond this spring are hybrids, I had some pond plants in a small container, and I think some of the pond plants I got had eggs on them, so some fish hatched in there, and I brought them in last winter, and introduced them into the pond this spring. But the fish I found in the priming pot was smaller than any of the fish that I introduced in the spring, so I think he hatched in the pond. I had kept the pond pump on over the winter, but we turned it off last night, because the lid of the priming pot cracked.

 

[CarpCharacin]

He's doing really well. Most of the slime coat irritation has gone away, but his tail fin is kind of raggedy, but it should grow back.

 

[Anders247]

Good!

 

[CarpCharacin]

He's grown quite a bit, and all of his fins have grown back. He's still in my 20 gallon, but I'm planning on moving him into the pond when it warms up some more.