Johnnypotseed’s 3-ring circus - with autos, photos & sex…reversals, that is! (Part 2)

@Nagel420 correct me if I’m wrong in this cuz, but I always thought the Koi didn’t get bigger than their tank, The size they grew to is determined by the size of the tank they’re in?

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That’s them stunting.

A root bound plant will still grow, but not truly be it’s best or healthy :+1:

Edit: there’s a Koi place near me that will “take-in” your too large to keep Koi and trade you for smaller fish. That way they are pushing folks to not kill or release fish they can no longer care for.

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I’m not sure about this Koi stuff lol that’s why I asked Nagel. I know he has had a lot of aquariums and fish. Plus I’m too lazy to google it this morning lol

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:rofl: :rofl:

Ok lol I went on and googled it, you’re right. They can outgrow the tank

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@Pigeonman ‘s got it. They get stunted. I used to tell folks, If I tossed you in a 6’ square cube as a baby, would you still be that size today? Most don’t know how to respond. LOL. In perfect conditions koi can live over 200 years (Hanoko, the oldest on record was like 225 IIRC and many pond-mates were 150-180 yrs old). Thats 60 degree water year round, just enough for metabolism, but the very lowest amount of metabolism, and perfectly clean water. I have seen brilliant specimens that were 36" or bigger in some VERY large ponds. Even in my 11x16 pond, ultimately I can keep only a few koi at best…

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In NY its law for pond fish retailers to take in fish. Whether they resell em, or kill em out back is a different question. The point is to reduce the amount that are let go in lakes and rivers. I’ve seen some MONSTER goldfish in Greenwood lake, plus Giant koi, and they compete with the local fishes.

My old boss made out like a bandit at times, have me go and remove 20 fish that are all 24", replace with 20 that are 6". Hmm. The 20 x 24" fish retailed for $800-$1000 (each!) and we had customers who could take em, the 20 fish that were 6" didn’t even cost us $200… TOTAL for ALL. Straight up swap for the customer, mad profit maker for us.

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The place I’m talking about are known for setting up and maintaining multi-millionaire houses from the 1%ers and foreign investors (there is A LOT of not :canada: money in and around Toronto due to lack of regulations…)

I’m sure they take your large fish in for free, sell you a smaller one discounted (profit pt 1) and then UPSELL you free-to-them fish to some asshat with a lot of money that won’t be caring for the animal themselves anyways. :man_shrugging:

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Yup! That’s a fact Jack!

I had an Albino Oscar one time that I bought at Walmart. It was about an inch long when I got it. Raised it up in a 55 gallon tank with a couple Firemouth Cichlids and a Plecostomus. I ran that tank for abot 5 years or so. The Oscar grew to about the size of my forearm, as did the Plecostomus. The Oscar ate the Firemouths. When he opened his mouth to eat it was about the size of a beer can. Incredible fish. Had to sell the whole setup to move across country.

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I miss my Plecos! He got so big and then one vacation later and I learned NEVER to trust a certain friend again.

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One I had was about a foot long.
I had a Blue-eyed Pleco that was tiger striped with Bright blue eyes. It got to about 9 inches.

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If I get another one it’ll be a Bristlenose…

I love them little Cthulhu looking buggers.

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You gotta fuck up REALLY bad to kill a pleco too! When my mom passed away, she had a 30g tank, with a single pleco in her room. Some driftwood for decoration. I had just topped off the tank for her the night she passed.

Well, we kinda forgot about the tank. And I mean forgot for about a year. We didnt really go in her room much that first year, and water just kept evaporating, and he was clearly eating the cellulose on the driftwood. Every piece was 1/4 its original diameter or less, like trunks into twigs. But 1 year later, with NO food, NO water makeup, (there was like 10g in there at the end?) this sucker was trucking along. We gave it to a friend with a FW tank, and he lived for a few more years. Bulletproof fish if I ever saw one…

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That reminded me, lol I had a small inground pool from lowes, with some water lillys and a couple small gold fish etc. There was a tiny bristlenose in there also. After a couple years of tending, all the goldfish were gone one year. Then a couple more years go by and i pull the pool to build an above ground planter, i dump the pool/sludge and what falls out? athat damn bristlenose was about 12" long lol in this tiny frigging plastic pool

the pool was one of those cheapie landscaping DIY things about 3’x5’ in a corner

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They are more predatory than people think Albino channel cats people put in ponds. We’d pull out 16-24" suckers that were eating all their fish eventually. Little 4" cat will grow A LOT… And 24" isnt even full grown for a channel, nowhere near it!

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Agreed. I have no fucking idea what happened but it was devastating because I nick-named him “tank” because it’s a good descriptor for a Plecos.

Good Morning OG!

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Morning Johnny, and everyone else too!

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Good morning ladies and gentlemen!!

I hope everyone have a great tuesday!

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