Spring has sprung and the sun is shining

As we enter April, the worst of the winter now looks to be behind us. Just as the pond was increasing in temperature nicely, last week we had a handful of days close to freezing. It seems the lids and heaters finally hit their limit, and the pond simply couldn't be kept at the temperature it had risen to in days previous (somewhere around 19 degrees) during sub zero nights. The pond came down to around 15C but the ranchu took it in their stride and seemed unaffected.

Since then, We have had a number of days with temperatures close to 20 degrees C and temperatures through the night around 10 degrees, which looks set to continue in the coming week.

The pond is sitting around 19C generally, brighter days seem to have more heat behind then now and the pond has warmed up to beyond 21C at times. The ranchu look well and are very active. I hope that mild evenings for the next couple of weeks will allow me to keep the ponds warmer, and may trigger some chasing.

Ive made even more changes to my spawning mops having tried various different materials i think im now settled on the style of the one above. The ranchu have seemed very cautious of anything that wasnt super soft, and havent interacted as confidently with previous mops as i would like. They seem very happy to interact with this one, which must be a good thing.

Ranchu breeding tubercles and conditioning

In the last couple if weeks we've enjoyed mild conditions and the pond now comfortably climbs well above 18 degrees C on a bright day, falling back down to a controlled 18 degrees C during the night.

Looking at the blog from last year, it appears that chasing behavior occurred when temperatures were in the 21-24C range. It would suggest we could be close to these conditions very soon. I may push the base pond temperature up a little further as i am getting itchy to see some spawning behaviour. I will just ensure the pond can drop back down a little further than i let it last year.

I have increased the number of bloodworm feeds per day where possible  and the ranchu are looking in good condition. One of the males in particular is showing very good vigour, seemingly swimming with real purpose and presence (if that's possible!). The females all appear to be filling out nicely, with breeding tubercles becoming more prominent on the males, which is good to see.

Ranchu Eggs and Hatching Fry!

Just teasing, sadly theyre not mine! Ranchu goldfish are being spawned across Japan though it appears as the breeding season gets well underway for Japanese hobbyists. 

I have been watching the weather in areas of Japan and it has been very similar to conditions here in the UK, which has been 10 degrees C above the average for the time of the year. 

Today, we have enjoyed the sunniest, warmest day of he year, with barbecues fired up all around us. The ranchu pond rose to 17 degrees C earlier, and we are set for a week of high pressure and warm(ish) weather. The ponds were cleaned up and refilled yesterday and the ranchu were moved today.

The ranchu have been enjoying good quantities of bloodworm and I am looking forward to observing the ranchus behaviour this week, if conditions continue to be bright and mild in their new pond.