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The skinny on the fatties...

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Ichthyoidus Butterballus
Sometime around the end of June we decided to purchase some fish to help keep the horse's water troughs clean. After doing some research (and talking to some folks that were already doing it), we bought six itty bitty goldfish. Three for The Girls and three for the Moo Crew. Since Goldfish are essentially domesticated members of the Carp family [a.k.a. vacuum cleaners with fins] and will not outgrow their environment - in this case a 70 gallon stock tank - it seemed to be a terrific and inexpensive green solution. If you'd like to read a bit more about the whole process, I made a lens about it here: An Epic Farms Fishtail.
A stickler for the rules, (remember Harvey and Elwood?) I gave them names on the way home in the car. Since we are a non-profit, Faith, Hope and Charity seemed to be the obvious choice for the Girls' fish. As for the Moo Crew? Why, Larry, Moe and Curly of course (it's SO them :o)
When we first added the fish to the tanks they looked awfully darn tiny in there. Even so, I must admit to worrying whether or not the little guys would have enough to eat after a while (although the horses do dribble an awful lot of "stuff" into the tanks with each visit). To the right is a picture of the Girls' tank on the first day we put the fish in; isn't she tiny? 
Apparently, my fears were groundless. Our little fishies have tripled in size; now they look more like Gobstoppers with gills. Dang. Even my husband (a self-proclaimed obliviousness enthusiast) stated that the fish looked like they were "ready to bust". Thankfully there have been no *kaBOOMs* (well, not yet anyway). Shadow came to see what we were doing when we added the fish to their tank - of course you know he was afraid of the baggie and stood back eyeballing it suspiciously *sigh*.
According to the experts - which would not be me - a fish's activity is directly related to their state of mind. In other words, the more they swim around the happier they are. Cool. Considering the fact that we get dizzy watching ours zip and zoom around in the tanks, I guess it means we may have unintentionally created Fishtopia (we'll call it a happy accident, 'kay? :o) For those of you wondering just how well it worked, here's a before and after of the Moo Crew's tank taken a couple of weeks apart (I left the dates on there for you). You can't even see the fish in the "before" shot; and do I need to tell you it's the one on the left? I didn't think so...
When we first put the fish in the tanks, anytime anything "loomed large" over their little world they would hot-fin it (haha) toward the bottom of their habitat. While it was good to know that they were not in danger of being slurped up anytime soon, it also made it pretty darn difficult to get pictures of them since they were initially quite small. Apparently time cures all in the fish world too though, as it wasn't too long before they figured out where their food was coming from (in this case it's Supermarket Sarabear ;o) Guess that explains why every once in awhile one of the Girls (or Moo Crew) would suddenly pop their head up from the water with a snort of alarm and head for the hills. Since horses cannot see underneath their chins, I imagine our little food finatics (ooooh, that was bad! Did you catch it?) gave them quite a start with their curiosity and enthusiasm. *Grin*  It's amazing how fast they've grown, too!
Of course then I had to see what would happen if I put my hand in there. The answer? They all came to investigate, and Charity even gave my fingers a bit of a nibble (it tickled).
Must be nice to have your food brought to you at home for every single meal, don't you think? I have to admit, I'm duly impressed by their complete lack of fear when it comes to the delivery method...A la Bella this time. Wow, right? So thanks for reading to the end [my friend] and I hope you have a terrific weekend!


 







 

25 comments:

  1. What a great idea! A win-win for everbuddy: fresh clean water for the horsies, a great environment for the fishies, and fun new pets! The water does look so much better. Good job, fishies!

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  2. I have heard of this method before but wasn't really sure it actually worked. It looks like it really does! I am going to have to try it. Would save me a bunch of water.

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  3. Thats really neat. Now what about the winter? Plan on putting them in a tank?

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  4. Daisy: Awesome, isn't it? I couldn't believe how clean the water was; of course the horses are happy to crud it all up again for them (keeps 'em busy too, right? :o)
    Kat: I had heard of it before too, but always with catfish. I talked to some folks around here first, then decided to give it a try. I think we have 5 Fantails and one Ryukin (that'd be Moe). I need to try the hand experiment in the Moo Crew's tank; I want his picture - he's really cool looking! :o)
    Sydney: Believe it or not, winter weather was one of my big concerns about trying this. Ready for my science report? *Grin* Fish go into some kind of quasi-hibernation state during the winter. Their little systems slow way down which enables them to go without food for something like 150 days, so thankfully we will not need to feed them or move them. Neat, eh?

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  5. Goodness Jen that's just amazing! Nature cures all :)
    happy fish, happy horses! and a funny read too :) or should that be 'finny' (heh heh)

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  6. Wow, those gold fish made a huge difference. Brave little things too.

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  7. That's just a great idea! Those fish sure keep the water cleaner and how fun to see them swimming around in the tanks!

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  8. Annette: Hey girl... so happy to "see" you! That was a pretty punny comment you left me too *grin* (sheesh, we're bad ;o)
    Ann: Yep, I'd have to say I was pretty impressed with their cleaning capabilities. You know, now that I think about it, I wonder if they'd consent to do my house...I'm quite behind (all that horse quality er, quantity time don'tcha know).
    BeadedTail: I've really enjoyed watching them tool around; it's very relaxing. Now that they're a bit bigger, it's even easier to see them. I have no idea how big they'll get; I think their maximum size is about 6 inches (I don't think they will get quite that big though :o)

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  9. I love the way the fish come when the horses drink. I know that I'd be concerned that one of my horses would inhale one of the swimming guys!
    We used to have a fish pond. Yeah, it was in SC and I could count the number of nights that went below freezing on my fingers - no toes needed. But, as soon as the water cooled down they'd settle to the bottom and hang out in the detritus that collected over the summer. We would rarely see them until the water temps came up in the spring.

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  10. i have read this, too before and it looks like it is true, ty for sharing

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  11. Absolutely hilarious! I;m so glad it is working for you and the equids :)

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  12. That is a great idea and the fish do keep that tank all nice and clean. Nice to meet you little fishies. Have a great day.

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  13. Wow! Did not know of this solution for outdoor tanks!

    Thanks for sharing as I really enjoyed your narrative.

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  14. Dreaming: Hopefully, this winter will not be as wicked as last. I talked to the manager at our local co-op about the winter; she said hers did great (she could even seem them swimming around underneath the ice :o) Wild, isn't it?
    Imelda: You are most welcome; thank you for commenting! :o)
    Meghann: Hey, we'll take all the free entertainment we can find around here *grin*.
    Marg: We're having a good time just watching them zip around in there :o)
    Betty: Thanks for stopping by! A lot of the cattle farmers around here keep catfish in their tanks, but they're the monster troughs that are 8 feet long or better. I was tickled to learn we could easily implement it on a smaller scale :o)

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  15. I must admit that I was the most shocked by the size of the goldfish in that third picture. In fact, if it was not for its distinctive gold/orange color, I would have thought that it was a person!

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  16. Fishhawk: *Laugh* I had no idea that goldfish could grow that fast! Although I know they won't outgrow their environment, I am not sure at what size they'll stop growing. I think 6" is considered the max for fantails, and 8" for the Ryukin (Moe), but I don't know what the final size will be within a 70 gallon tank. Guess we'll find out eventually, won't we?

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  17. Well, it may have been a different kind, but I have seen goldfish in cattle pasture ponds that were at least a foot in length and had to weigh well over five pounds.

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  18. I'm off to buy some goldfish..what an excellent idea!

    Our koi sort of hibernate all winter when the water reaches below 50 degrees, then they appear again around March and we start to feed them again. I think it's probably the same with goldfish.

    Maybe I should put some of our 2 1/2 footers into the tank! LOL

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  19. Fishhawk: There are a bunch of different kinds of goldfish. I know the Koi (the La-Di-Da's of the goldfish world) can get pretty doggone big (Carol's are 2-1/2 feet - WOWZA!).
    Carol: I'd say your Koi might find their new quarters a little cramped *laugh*. Living in the south, I'm thinking if we had one of those I would have had to name him, "Cousin Bubba" ;o)

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  20. That is so amazing...wow...so the horses don't slurp up the little fishies? And the fish keepthe water clean, huh, I would never have guessed. Don't think I can do that with the cat's water though

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  21. Rebecca: *LAUGH* No, I am pretty sure it wouldn't work quite so well for the kitties (although I'm betting they would absolutely love the idea ;o)

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  22. Well, I've never heard of that before but it seems to be working. I thought at first they would get slurped up, but I guess they're smart enough not to. Great idea.

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  23. GreyHorse: We were initially running a recount about every two or three hours *grin* (and can you say paranoia?) I've noticed though, that anytime they brush a little too close to the horse's muzzle, it spooks the horse (since they can't see under there) so I guess we don't have to worry about it after all... we hope :o)

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  24. What a fantastic post! Who knew that fish could live and thrive in a water trough. Everyone looks happy and healthy ~ horse and fish! :)

    Very fun!
    xo Catherine

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  25. Catherine: Oh, thank you :o) Isn't that just the coolest thing ever? I could not believe how well it worked either...Boo-Yeah.

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