Companion Fish?
This was the first year my
goldfish in the quarantine tank spawned. In fact, it was the
first year I had more than one goldfish in the quarantine tank
for a potential spawn. It was so rough in there that my
round-bodied opalesque female actually died during the
spawning. I had bought her as a little baby during a koi
emergency about 8 years ago. She had been my koi “companion”
fish. (Goldfish are able to live in solitary while koi
require another fish in their environs.) She actually grew
into a beautiful big silver fantail fish and I didn’t even know
she was a she until it was too late. Naturally, I found out the
hard way. I had brought in some very large “rescued” comets
late last fall. The only place to put them at the time was the
quarantine tank. There was no way I was putting a bunch
of big fat rowdy goldfish in my beautiful koi pond!
All joking aside, it is
important to have one companion fish ready when you need to
quarantine a fish. This is a fish you know isn’t harboring any
deadly parasites and is used to your water. That little
silver-white fish was perfect for her job. She showed new fish
where the food was at feeding time and kept koi comfortable in
the quarantine tank, so I had no problem with jump-out
suicides. In return, she had a good life in a 300-gallon
clean-water quarantine tank. This fish had but one purpose in
life, to be a companion fish when needed.
By Carolyn Weise
Ecological Laboratories, Inc.
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