Last April or May I bought some small feeder fish (1 1/2inch skinny hungry goldfish) to replace ones that died over winter. They were still getting their coloring. With no guaranty on survival, 4 survived and are now a healthy 3-- 3 1/2 inches long. Today I noticed 4 small 1 1/2" fish & then to my surprise, 2-3 that are about 1/2"...all still dark colored. That means the fish bred at least twice! I bought them when they were prolly month or 2 from being hatched. I had fish for years and the first batch didn't breed until late in 2nd summer. These fish gotta be only 4 months old , and they are already breeding!!!??? Maybe all this heat put them in 'heat' LOL. Wonder how many I have in pond now???

The 4 biggest of babies are 2 inches and there are more babies coming out of rocks --1/2 to 1 inch...counted 12. 16 babies so far!
It's sooo hot out, I should throw some potatoes & onions in pond & have a fish boil.

Patty
Assuming that this is an outdoor pond, then it could be birds. Eggs get stuck to their feet and are transplanted from pond to pond.
Karl

Wow Karl, I never woulda thought that. I never see birds in it.. they'll drown. Ducks, geese..never saw one in there. The nearest pond that I know of is about a mile away. River is 2 blocks. Hmmmm, I dunno. I would think the eggs would dry up in flight. I'll just have to wait & see if they get gold in color.
Any fish people that know if goldfish can breed at 4 -5 months old & 3 1/2 inches? I used to breed angel fish & they will breed when they are about 1/2 dollar size.

Sometimes waterspout can literally suck up water and fish from one place and deposit them elsewhere. things like it's raining frogs and fish are not unusual events.

Patty,
did you put new water in since the fish died over winter? are there objects in the water that eggs could have been laid in.. Plant material etc?? The old fish might have laid eggs that wintered better than the adult fish did.. they don't require the oxygen as much as eggs do.. even if you changed the water it might be possible for eggs to have stuck to plants and survived there.. Maybe even eggs attached to plants purchased??..
There are a couple theories for you..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Thanks for all these theories! Let's see, if last yrs fish bred, it woulda been before Sept. (they don't breed when water gets cold) & Ida seen babies in Spring....that happened one year. I put a new pond liner in & put the 4 fish in bucket till fresh water was ready. Had lilies out (in bucket) & repotted them all in May. Eggs wouldn't survive the winter..they need to hatch within a week or so. The littlest ones in there now musta hatched in last 2 weeks or so. This is just so weird! I will call the fish place I got them at. Thanks

Also, the fish eggs or larvae could have hitched a ride in lily buckets or other water plants.

I have a true story experience told to me by my late father, that at one time when he was still young, he cut some bamboos growing by the river. When he split open one of them, it had a 3-inch fish fry inside it. You know bamboos are hollow and it could store water in the internodes. The fertilized egg must have found its way into the vascular system and hatched inside the bamboo and it grew, perhaps living off on plant tissue from inside of the bamboo. He released the fish back into the river.

I called fish place & the first thing the guy said was...maybe a goose or duck flew in with eggs stuck on feet!!! (hey Karl!) Then we ruled that out & he said it IS possible for them to breed this young, and even twice. Mainly because of the heat warming the water. When I wanted the angels to breed, I turned the heater up. I still like Joe's theory of it raining frogs & fish LOL.
Still won't know for sure if they are goldfish 'till they get color. Thanks all.
(Hey Gina, want some fish for your pond?)

oh no thanks Patty.. I had to give a way a few of my 6" gold fish to make room for all the babies I have.. I also have Koi and Shubunkin and don't know yet what the babies are.. could be gold fish could be one of the others.. but I do still have about 7 6" gold fish.. One of my pond filters/ pumps took a dump on me.. so my pond isn't as clean as usual.. not crystal clear.. but not BAD either... just not as pristine as I like..
couple of pics of my pond fish...

those white rocks on the bottom are about 3' down!!!

these were taken when both pumps were working..
It is still clear.. just not that crystal clear..
I'll see about getting pics early am.. to show the difference.. I also need to clean the one filter.. but it is too stinkin HOT to work on.. and my neighbor thinks I'm nutz when I clean out side and work in the garden by moon light.. She told my husband I was out sweeping the walk in the dark and she thought I was having a break down or something.. LOL hubby told her.. no.. my wife is smart and isn't out sweeping in the heat of the day..
I put some Ice in the pond today to cool the water down a bit.. because they were all on the bottom and wouldn't even come up to eat..
My fish are spoilt like the rest of the critters around here.. LOL
Gina *BabyBlue*

hi this is a test.
Thiis won't let me on. I triesd to respond but whenever I click submit it won't admit my post. I lost the forum and all.

I tried to respond 2 hours ago & the site wouldn't let me on -"page cannot be displayed", happenning a lot lately. I should tell Laaz.
Anyway Gina, speaking of ponds, I wanted to ask you long time ago how much salt do you put in your pond? You said it helps keep it clear? How big/ how many gal.'s is yours? Do you use pickling salt (that's what you use for salt water aquariums) or regular?
I 've put ice cubes in pond many times LOL, but recently used a bunch of the water for plants & then replace with cold water from hose.
My deepest part is 28 inches & I can't see bottom. Your pond looks great!
BTW, in first posting here I mentioned Fish Boil. Anyone down south ever hear of that? Started in Door County, Wi. They are popular around here. Served w/ lots of lemon drawn butter - YUM

Patty,
as you can see my pond is not big around..

I think it is 100 gal.. I use about 5tbs when I do a total water change.. but when only adding or after a hard rain I will add 1tbs..
ratio should be 1 tbs per 20 gal.. give or take..

It also improves the gill function for the fish so the fish are healthier..

The salt I use is aquarium salt called DR Gills or something like that.. I've never tried table salt or other rock salts.. If I am out I will usually wait till I can get to the store.. I think the cost is around $2 for a small box.. looks like a kids milk box..

This is the ONLY thing close to "addative" I use.. no declorinator.. no charcol in the filter..

Gina *BabyBlue*

I kept on getting "this page can not be displayed " each time I tried to submit If I write some paragraphs..

May have been system maint...