Ranchu Christmas Update

The Christmas festivities have now passed and the ranchu are a little nearer to their winter resting water temperature. They are in the main pond which is now unheated, currently holding around 14 degrees C. In the coming weeks, I will turn down the heater in the conservatory and perhaps open windows at times, in an attempt to reduce the temperature further, aiming for a temperature below 10 degrees C.

I was fortunate to receive a couple of items for Christmas that will be essential for the start of the next ranchu breeding season. Top of the list was synthetic spawning mops. I received a couple of spawning ropes that are designed for koi. They look to be great, the bristles are a little firmer than i had hoped, but still just as soft as live plants are, so i'm sure they'll be fine. Each rope is around six feet long, which may also allow me to trim them, giving me several, that can be used for different pairings.