Sun’s Lament
Fish, the great Ryukin, conveyed the magic to the man.
The magic of goldfish in their aquatic land.
The man could not grasp what Fish had to say,
So Fish grew weary conveying day after day.
Then Mojo, the beautiful Red Cap Oranda, joined in the task.
Fish saw the man watch Mojo, and knew his mission was done at last.
Mojo swam alone and was sad,
for the great Ryukin had crossed the Rainbow Lilly Pad.
Unknown to the man, goldfish magic conjured as he toiled over his troubles,
and the wonderful and magical Dragon Eye came along named Bubbles.
The man watched Bubbles and Mojo swim and as they whirled and curled,
He decided these fish needed a larger world.
Mojo and Bubbles had so much room and were so excited,
and when Lil’ Fish came they were both so delighted.
The man felt the goldfish magic and wanted more and more,
So along came Barri and along came me,
As Sun continues to speak of his family.
Wabi-Sabi, the gray Oranda was such a great reflection,
he showed us beauty in imperfection.
The waters grew rough as the man floundered outside,
When Mojo past, the man’s eyes grew so wide.
The man used chemicals to ease the storm,
Only to loose Bubbles yet another Life Form.
Bari watched the man and would report to me,
for I grew blind and could no longer see.
Bari spoke of Little Joe, the new Red Cap Oranda who would quickly grow,
and remind the man of his Mojo.
The man moved me to another tank and soon I fell asleep,
I dreamed of Wabi-Sabi and began to weep.
My eyes were opened I could now see,
but Wabi was hurting and I felt no glee.
Bari hung by my side,
When Lil’ Joe crossed the Rainbow Lilly Pad we both cried.
Then imperfection struck and no beauty could be found,
Wabi-Sabi had to be put down.
A small gray Oranda and calico Ryukin are now swimming and diving,
maybe soon our world will once again be thriving.
Will the man ever truly grasp the goldfish magic and will he learn,
and will life within this world safely return?
Video of what was
(Jan 2011)
Video of Mojo and Friends (Jun 2010)
Goldfish and Plants
So I go and make some changes from comments I have received about this Goldfish Tank. First Madi and Sheri both said, “Get some plants in there”. Now there are plants. Sheri also suggested a veggie clamp which is now in the tank. Haven’t tried to feed them any veggies yet, but this will surely happen in the near future. Everyone has suggested for me to put the gravel back into the tank. Bacteria and algae form on gravel they say. The trouble is Sun and Wabi are both blind and can’t find food in the gravel so I’ve kept it gravel free for sometime now. Thought it through and have decided to put gravel in one half of the tank. The side clear of gravel is where the fish will eat. Other recommendations is never change the filter cartridges or clean the filter media while doing water changes. Then only change like 10 gallons a week. Another suggestion is since I have two filters to change cartridges and/or clean media material in one filter and leave the other one alone for awhile. I’ll be playing with these ideas. Nearly three years now and the water is not cycled yet. Hopefully soon the water will be cycled.
Tails of Orandas
Wabi-Sabi and Sun are inseparable. Sun has been blind for some time now since his Wen has grown back over his eyes. He would sulk and not swim around so much when he became blind again however, mighty Wabi-Sabi would swim around Sun and encourage him. Sun now swims around and acts squirrely. Sun eats well since I’ve removed the gravel from the tank and seems to have a really good time.
Now Wabi-Sabi is going blind. His Wen has nearly covered both his eyes. Sun swims around him trying to encourage him. Sun will get Wabi to swim and has taught him how to collect the food which settles on the bottom of the tank. Both my Orandas are the best of buddies. This summer I will take them both in for Wen Removal surgery for not only around their eyes but also some removed which is growing and covering their back. Their Wen is so huge they tend to be top heavy.
I certainly enjoy these goldfish and intend on taking very good care of them.
Bright Wabi-Sabi
So I get this idea to remove all the pebbles/rocks from the aquarium for several reasons.
1. Because Sun, my Oranda with the overgrown Wen, is blind and can’t see his food and the food falls between the rocks.
2. Food fallen into rocks calls for a messy aquarium.
3. After they eat for a few minutes I can easily see if I’ve over fed and can recover any excess.
All in all it makes it easier for Sun to eat and for me to keep the tank clean. I’m discovering if there is anyway to make it easier to keep the tank clean it might be worth you while to do so.
Also I removed the background paper and put black construction board in it’s place. So far so good. This is a pretty inexpensive background and the black really makes the gold color of the fish stand out.
Two Oranda Goldfish ~ Sun and Wabi-Sabi
Two Oranda Goldfish ~ Sun and Wabi-Sabi
My two Oranda’s, Sun and Wabi-Sabi, are the best of pals. Wabi is Sun’s eyes. Here is what Sun’s eye’s looked like after he had wen, head growth, surgery: Sun’s surgery 7 months ago. However the wen has grown back over Sun’s eyes and almost over Wabi’s eyes as well. I may consider surgery for both of them this coming summer. The fish can smell their food out and Wabi leads Sun to his food, but their head growth is so huge when they go for the food their head gets in the way. They obviously eat well so I guess this isn’t too much a problem.
Now Wabi-Sabi was a little gray Oranda at the start: Wabi-Sabi Then and Now. It is interesting watching theses fish develop.
Six Fancy Goldfish
Finally my tank is back into prime condition. Now back to enjoying the fish. Here are all six of my Goldies. The one on the bottom left is a new Ryukin. The little calico Ryukin died when my tank became unsettled. This is the fourth Ryukin I’ve had. All of them have died over the last couple of years. Now the bigger fish, the two Oranda’s and the large Dragon Eye have overcome all sorts of obstacles. My belief is Ryukin’s are a more frail goldfish. My goal is to maintain the perfect tank. It is not an easy job, but I’m learning and maybe things will smooth out as I go along.
Prime Water Conditioner
Saved by Prime Water Treatment. Geez, I’ve been battling this Ammonia thing for quite sometime now. Mojo died a while back and I tested the water and found it as green as in the test tube on the right in the photo above. I figured I let the water get too dirty somehow even though I was changing water every 3 or 4 days. Never could get a handle on the Ammonia. I used Ammonia chips in one of my filters and it brought the level down to a light green. What I do is fill 4 five gallon water containers and let them sit for a few days and use that water for my water changes. I thought by letting the water sit, the bad stuff in the water would just go away. Nope, that wasn’t the case. In the above water test, the water was taken from one of the five gallon containers which had been sitting for a few days. The test proved the water to be in the toxic green level. Never a fish has been in this water, but yet it is toxic green. This is what I’ve been putting into my tank all along.
So, I put a little Prime into the water I had tested which came out toxic green. After waiting just a few minutes I retested and you can see the results in the test tube on the left which is in the safe yellow area.
The purpose of this blog is to record what I learn about raising goldfish. My goal is to raise several goldfish for a decade or longer (the same fish). So far the longest I’ve had a goldfish is just over two years and that was my beautiful Mojo.
The thing is, I had this bottle of Prime from a long time ago when I was setting up my tank and then I’ve forgotten about it. When I’ve noticed this toxic levels in my tap water, I went to research how to remove the Ammonia and came across this Prime Treatment. I knew I had a bottle of it somewhere and my wife helped me find it. Now I will be using Prime all the time. I put a little bit into each of the five gallon containers so when I do change the water it will be with safe water from the get-go. I only learn by hard knocks. I read about how to take care of a tank, but it doesn’t register with me until I actually do it or experience it.
Red Splotches on Goldfish
I’m so frustrated. The photo above shows Barri with all these red splotches. Goldfish change colors and their wen grows so strangely that I’ve grown a bit complacent. The water was sparkling clear and I thought all was right with the world, but I tested it and found the PH, ammonia, and nitrate great but the nitrite was hovering in the light to dark purple range. The thin white parts of these fish fins, rotted off within a day as the red splotches and dark red colors coated them.
The fish in the above photo is now known as Raggedy Anna. My wife Anna named her. Look what the red splotches did to her. Her fins are nearly bare bones. She had rolled over on her side and floating on the top of the tank looking pretty much gone. I moved her to a community tank for a bit until I got the Nitrite levels back down and I moved her back. She is still hanging on but I’m not sure for how long.
My guess is my tank (55 gallon) is too small for my six goldfish. Four of the goldfish: Barri, Bubbles, Sun, and Wabi-Sabi are all over six inches long. Bubbles is actually nine inches.
I put some Melafix into the water and some Stress Zyme hoping this will help. I’ve used Stress Zyme before and when I do, Bubble’s eyes cloud over. I think Stress Zyme is not good for all fish. Bubble’s eyes will clear and the red splotches will go away. I was very lucky to save these fish.
Then there is Lil’ Joe. As Raggedy Anna was floating on top of the tank barely surviving Lil’ Joe was nipping at her. I put Lil’ Joe into my 20 gallon community tank for a while.
Right now I’m replacing 5 to 10 gallons of water every day on my larger tank. This is really quite a job. I have to figure out what I’m going to do. I need to figure out how to drain the water and bring water up the stairs. It is quite the job hauling it. To get a larger tank means more water to haul up and down stairs. I need a source of water upstairs as well as a drain to continue with this goldfish raising.
Raising goldfish has turned into a huge job, taking the fun out of it. The community tank takes care of itself. I do maintenance on it once every week or so. Goldfish require everyday maintenance. I wish I knew more. I wish there was an easier way. I have two huge filters, each requiring two carbon cartridges (a total of 4 cartridges). I replace these cartridges every two weeks and that is pretty much at a cost of 20 dollars. We are talking nearly 40 dollars a month on cartridges. Is there a cheaper way? The cost and work of raising of these fish is making me wonder if it is worth it. There must be a better and more efficient way to raise goldfish, but I’m certainly learning by hard knocks.
Aquarium of Goldfish
Today I put two glass hoods on my goldfish tank. I was so glad to get rid of the plastic ones which were all scarred up and restricted light. I also put in a new heater for the thermostat on the other heater was stuck keeping the water too warm. I’m still struggling trying to keep the water well cycled. It is tough. I’ve got the ammonia to light green, almost yellow according to the chart. The best of course is yellow. When Mojo died the ammonia registered very dark green. The PH is just a wee bit high, but all in all the nitrates and nitrites are looking real good. I’m still trying to master this water situation. Since Mojo’s death I change five gallons of water every day to every other day. Every two weeks I give an extreme clean where I completely break down both empire 400 filters, clean them, put them back together and replace all four carbon filters. I clean the ultra-violet light pump, and change 15 gallons of water.
If anyone is planning on raising goldfish, be ready to do a lot of work. It is not easy at all. I have a 20 gallon aquarium which I have community fish in, now this aquarium is easy. A community tank is pleasing and relaxing however, goldfish are more like pets and have terrific personalities. They swim to the front of the tank to meet me like puppies every time I enter the room. Goldfish are great fun, but boy are they a challenge to raise. I will continue to report my successes and failures on this blog. Hoping of course to have less failures as I go along.
And Now There Are Six
The little Red Cap Oranda will most likely be called Lil’ Jo filling in the fins of the Late Mojo. Not sure yet for the name of the calico Ryukin. I still miss Mojo and realize I’m responsible for his death. I grew complacent after putting in some new filter systems and didn’t change the water as often as I should and the Ammonia Levels quickly grew to the toxic level. Even Sun was becoming listless. Lucky for the fish and me I didn’t lose them all.
I scanned the internet trying to figure out how to bring the ammonia levels down. All I learned was maybe I have too many fish. Accordingly I should have 20 gallons per fish. That is good and fine, but I’m unwilling to give up any of my fish and am unable to get a larger tank at this time. So I changed about 30 percent of the water, but the levels were still much too high. I replace the four carbon filters and still the levels were too high. The next day I replaced 5 gallons of water in the Am and again in the PM. Now the ammonia levels are finally dropping. My plan now is to change out 5 gallons of water per day with a major clean once a week. Will see how that works.
This blog is mainly a recording of what I’m learning about raising goldfish and of course about the goldfish I’m raising, as time goes on. I’ve never claimed to be an expert; far from it.
Later I’ll get a larger tank, probably 125 to 150 gallons. However I have to figure out a system of handling the water supply and how to drain the water. Right now I’m hauling the water up and down stairs and this is wearing me out. The larger tank will have to be downstairs near the television. However it works out I’ll be sure to record the experience.
Portrait of a Goldfish ~ Wabi Sabi
To see a larger version click here: Portrait of Wabi Sabi.
Wabi keeps growing and changing. To see a progress of his morph click here: Wabi Morphing. It is actually exciting watching these goldfish progress along. I’m learning day to day about goldfish. How big will they get? How long will they live?
Nitrite, Nitrate, Nightmare Survivors
Back in March of this year I put my fish through an awful ordeal. It was a nightmare and my fish suffered. Provided are the THEN and NOW photos of my Aqua-babies.
In the photo of carnage you see Lil Fish in the far left ~ he died. In the middle is Mojoanna with a deep scarred red varicose fantail. Below, almost dying on the bottom is Wabi-Sabi my once gray Oranda. In the upper right is Bubbles my Dragon Eye. To the far right near the bottom is Sun my golden Oranda. Not pictured is Barri, the baby lionhead. My wife had put Barri in her community tank until I made my tank safe. All of this was brought about by my ignorance on not cycling my tank.
However…
In the photo of beautiful life are the same fish minus Lil Fish. In the far left eating food off the gravel is Sun my goldie Oranda. Since the first photo Sun had surgery removing Wen from around his eyes so he could see. Beside Sun, is Bubbles my Dragon Eye. Bubbles is now 9 inches from tail to nose. Above Bubbles is my angel Mojoanna with a flowing beautiful flawless tail. To the far right completely opposite of Sun is Wabi-Sabi my little gray Oranda now turned richly gold with a highly developing Wen. Swimming off in the upper right coroner is Barri, the lion head my wife had a really hard time letting go of, but relented knowing he needed to be with the other goldfish.
Click here to see a larger version of Fish Family of Five.
Fancy Goldfish Swimming
This photo captures all my aqua buddies. Bottom left corner is Sun, above him is little Barri, above Barri is my dragon eye Bubbles, in front of Bubbles is Mojoanna, and to the far right is Wabi-Sabi. Between Sun and the bridge near the bottom of the aquarium is my little cory cat Charlie. I have a smaller 2o gallon aquarium which contains some neons, guppies, balloon mollies, a loach, and a snail.
All of these fish started out smaller than Barri. Now their bodies fill my palm with their tails extending way beyond my palm. I suspect they will grow two palms long. They are housed in this 55 gallon aquarium, but when they grow larger I will have to get a larger tank. Here is a video I took of them a little over two months ago:Five Fancy Goldfish.
I will have to make another video soon so you can see how much these guys have changed. Wabi-Sabi has changed the most. He was a totally gray little guy when I first got him. Bubbles also changed lots. Bubbles fins were totally black and lacy looking, but now he is almost total brilliant gold. My goldfish bring me lots of contentment. I will share my goldfish and their stories as time goes passes. I’m an amateur with these fish and am learning as I go along. I hope you will enjoy watching their journey.
Wabi-Sabi Swims by Bridge
My goldfish are doing so good, they really are. They all have turned so golden as in this photo of Wabi-Sabi. I had a photo of Bubbles, my dragon eye goldfish, turned into my mouse pad. You could have this photo, or any photo from my gallery, turned into a mouse pad by clicking onto the following link GOLDFISH MOUSE PAD Then you will have to click around and you will come upon the mouse pad thingie under merchandise. It will cost you $9.95 and shipping, but it makes a really cool mouse pad.
Oranda Goldfish Named Wabi-Sabi
This morning it came to me about how lonely my five goldfish are. Anna, my wife, indicated to me maybe they aren’t lonely and I just think they are, which may be true. I wonder what I can put into their tank to give them something to do. I do not want to clutter the tank with things just blocking their passage for they need their room. What type of toy, or is there a toy fish would enjoy? What would entice their attention?
Oranda Goldfish named Wabi-Sabi at Surface and Surface Photography Gallery.
Wabi-Sabi Continues to Change
This is not two different fish, both photos are of Wabi-Sabi. Actually when we acquired Wabi-Sabi we thought him to be a rather large goldfish. We thought it pretty cool he was gray. As he continued to grow an orange tint evolved, as can be seen in this link. As the gray started spreading out and the orange started to appear it was as if lava was rising breaking up the crust of his older self. Wabi is rather large now and his head growth (wen) is developing even further. It is fascinating watching these fish turn into the engineered fish the Chinese created.
Fancy Goldfish and a Cory
Here are all five of my goldfish. From left to right they are Mojoanna, Wabi-Sabi, Bubbles, Sun, and Barri. The catfish, I just call him Charlie. I had almost ran out of their favorite food which is Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Food. My first supply of this food came from Doctors Foster and Smith on-line store so I ordered from them again. However they were out and put a back-order in for me. So I thought in a week or two longer I would get it, but it never came. This was like over a month ago. So I email them and they say it will be another month before they get any more from their supplier. Since I already paid for the shipping, I’ve let the order remain and maybe in a few weeks I’ll get the two packages I ordered. Well my fish don’t really understand why I’ve rationed them on the good stuff and were getting impatient with me. They kept giving me this worried look. So I go ahead and order a package from Amazon while waiting on the order from Foster and Smith. The food came in yesterday so I give the fish the rest of the food I had been rationing out. They went crazy. They really love this food. I feed them crisps and flakes, but this stuff they go nuts over. So my fish will have to work with me here because the food is rather expensive along with the shipping. I will not feed it to them at every feeding, but every other day or so I will. I sure do enjoy these fish. They are a pleasure to watch.
Fancy Goldfish and the Pet.com Buddha
Wanting to give my goldfish aquarium more of an Asian flair, I acquired a Buddha from Petco.com. I will be taking a lot of photos of these fish and to make it interesting I need interesting Decor. I make sure my fish have plenty of swimming room first and foremost. The fish are the main subjects, but props are nice.
I had ordered this Buddha and a couple more items from Petco and they shipped them right away however, Fedex miss-delivered my package. The tracking had the item out for delivery and later had it delivered, only not to me. Petco was real good about it and sent me another order. While waiting on the new order the old order appeared by way of a staff member of the local high school. The high school was the recipient of my miss-delivered package. I called and emailed Petco to let them know I had received the items. Petco was able to stop the second order. The second order was shipped from Canada, to Tennessee, and made it’s way to Kansas before it was turned around and headed back to Canada.
Wabi Sabi Glows
To capture this image, I was laying on the floor with my head propped against my chair. As I was snapping away my little dog, Moppet, came up crying and whimpering. He was concerned I was hurt or something for I am not normally lying on the floor. Moppet is a true pal. I will do many entries about this little dog over time.
Wabi-Sabi The Once Gray Oranda Fancy Goldfish
Wabi was almost completely gray at the start. Then life happened and things changed. Kinda’ funny, I was quite colorful when I first started out and now am quite gray. Life does tend to change all of us. We learn things throughout our life. I’ve asked lots of older folks about life and for the most part they have the same answer, “Do what is fun, what brings enjoyment into your life. If what you are doing is not fun then stop doing it.”
Well I get a lot of enjoyment from watching and learning about and from my fish. I believe one can learn from other species. I know I’ve learned quite a bit from the dogs I’ve had and have. I tend the think the purpose of life is to learn.
Fancy Goldfish and Budda
Fancy goldfish do originate from China and I do have a bonsai tree in the tank, seems only fitting to have a little Budda as well. Have to admit these fish bring a lot of peace and contentment into my life.
Sun is doing so much better. He is pictured on the bottom left in this photo. He is swimming around and is much more frisky. Quite an improvement since his Wen Trim Surgery.
It is hard to believe Wabbi-Sabbi, Oranda on the bottom right, was completely gray when he was smaller. It is amazing watching these fish grow. They are constantly changing in shape and form right in front of my eyes.
Fancy Fish Dining on Saki Hikari
Recently I purchased some Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish food from Foster and Smith Aquatics. These are very small granules which sink to the bottom and my fish simply love them. For experiment I put in a few floating pellets and some flakes along with the Saki-Hikari. The fish ignored the pellets and flakes moving the small pebbles like little earth moving machines to get to the Saki-Hikari.
Quartet of Four Fancy Goldfish
Mojo swimming straight down acting the clown.
He is so pretty even upside down.
The Dragon heading upwards with a destination in mind.
His colors so elegant and refined.
Wabi-Sabi going forward with great determination,
Seeking further wisdom of his vocation.
Little Barri, the growing lion. moves on ahead,
As delicate as a caterpillar may tread.
Each and every one a pet,
These four making a great quartet.
