Mike’s Fish Tank – Koi & Pond Fish

A lot of people still looking for koi and pond fish. It’s getting a little harder to get them in now. Pond season starts to wind down when you hit August.

The summer heat is always tough on goldfish. They really suffer in the heat of summer. They much prefer those cooler Spring and Autumn temperatures.

During the summer, it becomes very difficult to get in the small fancy goldfish. Things such as small fantails, orandas, ryukins, telescopes, lionheads, moors and bubble eyes do not ship well in the summer heat and it becomes hard for Pet Stores to ship them in. I did get some nice fantails in this week, only $2.99 Just remember if your goldfish are doing bad in this heat, do not add ice cubes. Some people do this and it is not a good idea. The fish farms have told me the when your goldfish tank is too hot, just blow a fan onto it or wrap the tank with cool towels.

I’ve also had several phone calls from people that lost their power for 10 to 12 hours. They wanted to know if this is bad. It can be. A lot depends on how many fish and how big the tank is. The fish farms say there is normally about 8 hours of oxygen in a fish tank. If you go over that amount, you can stir the water in your aquarium with a big net every 30 minutes or so and that will incorporate oxygen into your tank. They also make battery operated air pumps. They are not that expensive and they might be a good thing to have around especially in the Summer months when there is the chance of thunder storms.

Another common question is about feeding fish when you go away on vacation. They make 3 day, 7 day, 10 day and 14 day vacation feeders. It’s a block of calcium with food in it, as the block dissolves it releases the food. Just remember it’s better to underfeed the fish when you are gone then to overfeed. Overfeeding can lead to problems as the water quality will go down and the fish could get sick from that. Decaying fish food causes ammonia and fish do not like ammonia. If you are only going to be gone 3 days, you could feed the fish just before you leave and immediately when you get back and your fish will be fine.

Pets A Plenty is located in the Blockbuster Video Plaza, Rte 281 Cortland, 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

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