Shiny Happy Ranchu

In the last few days we have had milder weather and seen a little more sun. At times the ranchu ponds have gone above 15 degrees C. I have also been feeding bloodworm in small quantities. The fish really seem to be responding well to the changes, which is reassuring.

With the recent change of pond, introduction of food, and warmer conditions, i decided to add my new artificial spawning mop/grass to see how the ranchu like it. It seems to have gone down well and they are all very comfortable with it, brushing themselves along its soft strands confidently.

I aim to keep the ponds somewhere in the 15-18 degrees C range now. The ranchu are looking and swimming about very confidently and im hopeful spawning activity could be just round the corner. 

During March of the 2013 breeding season the temperature jumped up to 20 degrees C within a couple days, fingers crossed for similar (or better) weather this year.

The Ranchu enjoy sun on the Pond

This month we have continued to see massive amounts of rain across the UK and recently very strong winds. Today the weather has been much nicer, calm and bright. Birds have been singing like spring has arrived, and the sun increased the ranchu pond temperature past 14 degrees C. 

I have been observing the ranchu closely and have noticed that a couple appear to have ulcers developing. Whilst i haven't  been feeding them, the ranchu have still been able to graze on algae and anything else foraged on the bottom, due to their increasing activity levels. Because they are back in the eat/poop cycle, i imagine the water quality us deteriorating. I must now get back into the regular water change routine without delay, to ensure water quality is pristine, allowing any infections to be cleared up.

With that in mind, i decided today, to give the ranchu their first serving of bloodworm. They all ate eagerly and as the temperatures continue to climb i will increase the number of feeds gradually. 

Spare ponds were cleaned and filled allowing the water to age, with the intention of moving the ranchu into it on wednesday.

First Water Change of the Year for Ranchu!

As February arrives the ranchu have now been resting for around 11 weeks. Over the last couple of weeks the pond temperatures have slowly crept up to, and past, 12 degrees C.

Today, i decided to move the ranchu into a new pond for the first this year. If i had any confidence in our weather improving soon, i would have kept the ranchu in the pond they were in for a little longer. However, last year saw freezing temperatures right through to the middle of March. This would make getting the spare fresh ponds water up to temperature with each water change quite a challenge, aswell as expensive. I'm also not sure im comfortable leaving them in the same water for several more weeks (totaling around 19 weeks!). The water quality has definately been deteriorating.

The pond that the ranchu have been moved into, has been aged for a couple of weeks, and i plan to hold off feeding the ranchu until i feel more confident temps and water changes can be carried out again regularly and relatively trouble free.