Short Tailed Ryukin

[frankalank]

Hello everyone,
Please let me know your thoughts on my short tailed Ryukin. He (or she) currently in my pond being fed Saki Hikari Green and blood worms around 4 times a day. I got him from a local shop thinking I could groom him, but still have much to learn. Any reccommendations?
Respectfully,
Frank

[frankalank]

Well I got some views on my last post, but no comments, so I thought I would try another fish.

I got this little guy from petsmart so I know its not great quality but I was wondering what I could do to groom him to be the best fish possible. Like all my fish it lives in the 300 g pond and is fed saki hikari green and blood worms. Any reccommendations?
Very Respectfully,
Frank

[joe]

I like the all orange one better. Good examples of short fin ryukin. You rarely see hump development in a pet store fish. As far as grooming, I would not keep them in a three hundred gallon pond. They would probably have to swim too much in that large of space and fish with short round bodies with very short fins may have a difficult time. I would keep them in a twenty gallon long, with not much current in the water and feed them a variety of foods from pellet, blood worms, and green peas. I think they both have potential

[frankalank]

Joe
Thanks for the adivice! I will plan the move.

[Romewhip]

I think they're very nice for pet store fish, and with more time they will be great pond fish. For grooming I would also put them in a tank, I like 20g per fish as a baseline. You'll need to do large water changes frequently as well. They'll be good to practice grooming on, and will be pretty in the pond when you've gotten them as far as they can go.

[small_ranchu]

Hi,
They have decent hump and beautiful coloration. But tail is too flat for me.

And I am not sure about moving them to small tank. If they live in the pond with other Ryukins or slow-swimming fish, 300g Pond is the best enviroment for them. In outside pond, they have access to algae and natural food which is good for their SBD.

[nygold]

These are healthy looking ryukin I think you have done a great job with them so far. But as far as grooming them in a 300 gal. pond that's kind of hard. It's best to view the fish from the side in order to see how it's developing. I guess you can scoop them out every once in a while to take a look. The pond should make them nice and BIG but big and good are 2 different things. just about anyone can make a BIG fish but not everyone can make a GOOD BIG fish. Anyhow you seem to be thinking in the right direction keep us posted. Since these arent show quality fish you can try different methods, compare results and use that info on future fish. A few months in the pond might be real good for a Ryukin especially the sunlight.

[small_ranchu]

The real question here is "how do we groom Ryukin to become a good fish?".....

[nygold]

The real question here is "how do we groom Ryukin to become a good fish?".....

The real answer your not going to like. It depends on the fish.:D

[small_ranchu]

It sounds very politic. Until certain level, it is true. But I still believe we still have some general rule everybody can follow until reaching that level.

[nygold]

It sounds very politic. Until certain level, it is true. But I still believe we still have some general rule everybody can follow until reaching that level.

Fred I think the real key is in young fish, if you can find a young fish with good balance and ANY signs of a hump you have something to work with. You wont always end up with a great fish but your chances increase alot. My method is lots of protien when thier young. Since the hump is firm and under the skin I believe it's a muscle so I use egg whites, blood worms and green water. Once you get the hump to pop then I bulk the fish with carbs pellets and such. BUT if you have a bad fish with bad genes you'll need a magic wand and a plastic surgeon to make anything out of it.
Is that less political Fred?

[small_ranchu]

We love you for solid information. :P

[frankalank]

Wow! This is all great information. I built the pond so the fish would be able to get some excercise and variety in their diet. I think I will leave them for a few months, but not permanently there, as I enjoy side views too much. I normally take them out and put them in a small tank once a week for observation while I do waterchanges in the pond.
One question, How do you feed them egg whites? It's the only thing that caught me by surprise.
Very Respectfully,
Frank

[nygold]

One question, How do you feed them egg whites?

I just take a hard boiled egg, discard the yolk, dice up the white part and feed it to the fish. Put the excess in a little tupperware container and it should stay a week or longer.

[frankalank]

Awesome, I will include boiled eggs in their diet from now on. Thanks!

[Ranchufan16]

Since the hump is firm and under the skin I believe it's a muscle so I use egg whites, blood worms and green water. Is that less political Fred?

how often are you doing waterchanges when feeding egg whites, i hear that can turn your water sour pretty darn fast!

[nygold]

how often are you doing waterchanges when feeding egg whites, i hear that can turn your water sour pretty darn fast!

Egg whites don't turn the water the yolk will but I haven't had any problem with the whites.

[frankalank]

They have been in my care for a few months now, and my feeding regimen has been tweaked accordingly, here are some recent pics of both ryukins, I hope you all approve.
949

950