New Fish

[fatboy8]

Picking some common and mirror carp up in early May to place in a pond and I have a few questions about them. I am an avid carp fisherman and this question had never crossed my mind until no0w. I was fishing a week ago on the Susquehanna River and there were common carp jumping all over the place and it made me think will they do this in my pond? Also I am thinking about maybe some live freshwater clams or shirmp as food as a treat is that a good idea or not? I am first putting the fish in a 55 until I finish the pond. I am filtering that with a AQ110 and a CF 400 UV canister filter. If anyone has any tips or has kept any in the past it would be greatly apperciated. I've kept koi before but I have a feeling they will be a lot different.

 

[Chub_by]

They don't jump in ponds, if they do they have some kind of parasite.
Live crustaceans are a very good treat for them, but as a main food I recommend a good koi pellet.
I have both Koi and a mirror carp ( getting a common in may,just like you) and they don't behave differently.
If you have further questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

 

[fatboy8]

haha thats ironic where are you getting your common from? I am hoping to net or trap my own but I'll see what happens. I am hoping to load up the tank with shrimp,clam and maybe small crayfish when I get back from college. I really want to plant the tank for the time they are in there good or bad idea?

 

[Chub_by]

haha thats ironic where are you getting your common from? I am hoping to net or trap my own but I'll see what happens. I am hoping to load up the tank with shrimp,clam and maybe small crayfish when I get back from college. I really want to plant the tank for the time they are in there good or bad idea?

Local breeder I suppose or I'll catch my own
Plants are always good, just make sure they are hard(y) enough, soft or hard to care for plants won't last long in a carp tank

 

[fatboy8]

Yeah I am trying my best to replicate a carps natural environment. I am thinking about doing a half and half bottom with half gravel and sand do you think that will work? I know they love picking the rocks up looking for food but a lot of places I fish for them at have a sandy bottom.

 

[Chub_by]

Sandy bottom works well but you would need to do lots of vaccuming to keep it looking good
Gravel is always ok.
By the way, are they going to be in the tank in the winter? They need a cooler phase.

 

[fatboy8]

Not 100% sure yet. This winter was extremely mild around me and I am hoping next year it will actually be cold. I am thinking about keeping them outside for the winter but if not put them into a larger kiddie pool or something in my basement.

 

[Chub_by]

Not 100% sure yet. This winter was extremely mild around me and I am hoping next year it will actually be cold. I am thinking about keeping them outside for the winter but if not put them into a larger kiddie pool or something in my basement.

Basement is perfectly fine. It's not like they need to have freezing temperatures in the winter; most important is that it 's a few degrees colder than in summer.

 

[fatboy8]

Oh yeah it will be. Average winter day this year was roughly around 45 degrees F. How often do they feed in the winter because I know they basically shut down when the water drops below 55 degrees.

 

[Chub_by]

I never feed mine in the winter because my fish stay outside in the winter and it gets very, very cold where I live. Last time I feed is end of november and I start feeding small amounts again in the beginning of march, or earlier depending on temperature. How often you'd have to feed in your cellar depends on the temperature there. If its unter 50°f you don't have to, if over 50°f once a week small amounts.