Keeping Shubunkin in the garden pond – care and reproduction

In order for a Shubunkin to feel comfortable in the garden pond, different framework conditions are important. So it has to be taken into account that it is a schooling fish that perishes in solitude. In addition, the pond should have a minimum size and be filled with unpolluted water. We have compiled all the relevant criteria for you below:

• Minimum size: 500 liters
• Minimum depth: 80-100 centimeters
• Minimum number: 5 copies
• At least 30 liters of pond water per Shubunkin

An adequate number of pond plants is important for the biological balance. These remove excess nutrients from the water and thus prevent unwanted algae bloom. You can choose from a wide range of flowering, deciduous and evergreen species. Used in a special plant basket, you keep the spread under control, benefit from the practical benefits and aesthetic value of duckweed, frog bites, water lilies and Co.

Water quality

Although the Shubunkin is a robust ornamental fish as a goldfish species, the importance of adequate water quality should not be underestimated. In order to offer your swimming garden dwellers an optimal home, you cannot avoid regular checks of the water values. Various test sets are available in specialist shops that provide you with all the relevant data. The ornamental fish feel in good hands with the following values:

• PH value: 6.5-8.3
• Nitrit: 0 mg /l
• Ammoniak: 0 mg/l
• Nitrat: 0-25 mg/l

The total hardness of the water should never exceed a value of 10-12 dH. The uncomplicated test strips, which provide at least a rough overview at a glance, provide quick results. If you want to know exactly, you can use a separate droplet test for each value. Although this approach is more costly and time-consuming, it does present specific results.

Air pumps

The air pump is an indispensable accessory for keeping the Shubunkin in the garden pond properly. Even with low power consumption, modern pumps provide full performance for the benefit of your ornamental fish. Set up in a dry location, lead the hose to the pond to fix it to an air stone. During the summer the pump hose is on the pond floor. In winter it then hangs about 30 cm below the ice preventer. In this way, the water is enriched with oxygen in summer and digestion gases escape quickly from the pond floor. During the winter, the air pump keeps a hole in the ice sheet free for a long time.

Tip: If the air pump in the pond should fail in summer heat, compensate for an impending lack of oxygen with the help of Oxygetten, the practical pond oxygen tablets. These are available from specialist aquarists at affordable prices.

Pond filter

Since goldfish and their breeding species dig with enthusiasm in the pond floor, the water is often cloudy. A pond filter effectively counteracts this shortcoming. The pump is constantly pumping fish droppings, algae and other waste into the pond filter. Special filter mats first catch the rubbish. In the further course of the process, bacteria in the biological filter convert the harmful ammonia into nitrite, which is converted into nitrate by adding oxygen. Nitrate, in turn, is a valuable nutrient for the plants in your garden pond. The cleaned water flows back into the pond and the cycle starts all over again. Select the pond filter so large that the water volume is completely cleaned every 2 hours.

Care through the seasons

In Shubunkin’s skillful attitude, fish care and pond care go hand in hand. The following instructions for proper care will guide you through the seasons:

spring

If the thermometer of the water temperature climbs above freezing point, the pond comes to life. Now your Shubunkin will be active. The ideal time to start supplementary feeding so that your swimming darlings can quickly regain their strength after hibernation. You also pay special attention to the pond. How to do it right:

• Feed the fish once a day with a feed for cold water fish
• Only give as much food as is consumed within 5-10 minutes
• As a spring cure, add natural preparations to the water to build up the mucous membrane and to prevent parasites
• Cut back the pond plants now at the latest and remove all leaves and dead leaves
• Check the water quality with a test set in order to apply water conditioners if necessary
• At the end of the day, put the pump and filter system back into operation – and summer can come.

summer

During the summer time, you will continue to feed your Shubunkin only once a day. Do not put more food in the water than can be eaten within a few minutes. Goldfish in particular have no measure and could eat all day. However, that would lead to obesity, with fatal consequences for health. Incidentally, one diet day per week is extremely good for your pupils. As omnivores, the fish are not dependent on specially prepared food. They like to feed on water fleas, mosquito larvae or worms. Some aquatic plants are also on the menu. To give your Asian friends a little variety, surprise them every now and then with oatmeal, corn or boiled eggs.

Check the water quality at regular intervals, whereby the quick test using chopsticks is meaningful enough in between. You should also keep an eye on the plants in order to cut off anything that has withered or withered.

Herbst

When the leaves fall in autumn, protect the pond and fish with a cover net. Now is the right time to put special
microorganisms in the pond that break down the sludge. In particular, if the pond pump does not keep up with its work, this measure counteracts the build-up of fermentation gases. Clear pumps and filter systems that are not frost-proof in good time after they have been thoroughly cleaned.

Tip: If the temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius, pamper your Shubunkin with a special wheat germ food. This product is easier to digest and can be given as long as the fish are active.

Winter

As soon as it freezes, your ornamental fish fall into an almost motionless hibernation. Now the animals do not accept any more food. In order for the journeymen to get through the cold season safe and sound, the following measures should be taken:

• Keep the pond free of ice at one point so that digestion gases can escape
• To do this, attach the hose of the air pump to the air stone 30 cm below the ice preventer
• Set up the air pump yourself without contact with the water

Do not forget to put all frost-sensitive pond plants in frost-free winter quarters. In the next year they will again be urgently needed in order to maintain the ecological balance in the garden pond.

Algae control

The fight against algae is a common theme across all seasons. Algae growth is considered to be the greatest enemy of your Shubunkin, as the tiny, green creatures deprive the fish of oxygen and thus threaten their lives. To prevent algae bloom in the first place, we recommend installing a garden pond UV clarifier in combination with the pond pump.

This is a device that uses the ultraviolet components within the light spectrum to naturally destroy algae spores. The water is led past the device’s UV lamp in a closed circuit. If the UV clarifier runs continuously, you and your Shubunkin can look forward to an algae-free summer.

Tip: Modern combination filters are available from specialist retailers that already contain all the components for clean pond water, including the UV lamp for combating algae.

Multiplication

If all the basic conditions explained here are met, your Shubunkin will feel right at home and multiply in number. After a healthy winter, the mating season begins in April. The males repeatedly nudge the females to make them lay the spawn. The males then fertilize the eggs. As a rule, the silvery, shiny brood sticks to the pond liner just below the surface of the water. In the course of 8-10 days, 1-2 mm small, shiny black fry hatch. The offspring take on their color within a year. Here you can be surprised how the drawing turns out. There will always be a few specimens among them that do not change color. In view of the large number of offspring, this shortcoming can usually be overcome.

Since goldfish and thus also Shubunkin operate as cannibals, you bring the young fish to safety in good time. An aquarium or a separate tank are well suited. Alternatively, set up a shallow area as a kindergarten in the garden pond, equipped with dense plants with safe places of retreat. From a size of 4-5 cm, the offspring can be relocated to the adult fish.

Conclusion

Colorful shubunkins are an asset to the garden pond. Various framework conditions must be created so that the noble relatives of the goldfish feel comfortable. At least 5 specimens should be in a 500 liter, 80-100 cm deep body of water. We recommend investing in a pond pump, filter system and UV clarifier as well as adequate planting so that the water quality is maintained at a healthy level. The ornamental fish are fed once a day at temperatures above freezing, regardless of the constant begging of the insatiable omnivores. If the Asian ornamental fish feel good, you can look forward to plenty of offspring in spring. So that the young fish are not eaten by the adult fish, they spend the first few weeks in a separate tank.