AboutJonathan Cauble Expertise I can answer all questions relating to outdoor water gardens. Anything from fish & plant health, water chemistry, and pond construction to equipment recommendations.
Experience I worked in a water garden specialty store for three years as assistant manager. I am also founder and president of Aquatech, LLC Aquarium Services of Virginia. I have personally troubleshooted over 100 ponds and countless aquariums.
Question We have an concrete outdoor pond with about 1200 L of water the bottom is covered with river rocks of up to 8" diameter. There is 16 Gold fish of varying size in the pond. One of the fish (white)about 2 years old who was quite fat disappeared for 15 days we thought it was predated it turned up is thinner was extremely active being chased around the pond and getting butted by other fish it now buries itself in between the rocks for a day or so would be very interested to hear your comments on this behavior
Answer The behavior you are describing is the ritual of the mating season. Male goldfish butt the eggs out of the females. Once the eggs have landed on the bottom of the pond, the males fertilize them. She could either be tending to the eggs or perhaps hiding from the males.
