What kind of goldfish? How big are they? I never have had them NOT be very eager to eat when I feed mine from the first day of putting them in the pond. Are you trying to get them to eat out of your hand? Or are you just chunking the food into the pond. Mine would eat several times a day if I tried to feed them that many times. When mine had a bacterial infection, I fed them 3 times a day with medicated food. They have all recovered and now only eat once a day. Mine follow me around the edges of the pond when I walk around it. Glenda

Glenda, there are two shubunkins and five sarasa comets, about 3-4 inches long each. I stand at the edge and throw in the small pellet ichiban food for goldfish and koi. I try to throw it near to where they are, but they swim away to hide. I stand there waiting patiently, and end up throwing pellets into the water lilies where they seem less intimidated. They don't seem hungry at all. Apparently there is plenty of stuff for them to eat in the pond. I have had them about 3 weeks. I am very patient and devote about 30 minutes each day to let them get used to me. Our pond is 36 by 42 feet, and there are plenty of places for them to hide also. Very frustrating for me!

Can you sit down beside the pond instead of standing? I did notice in the beginning that they responded better when I was sitting beside the pond better than when I was standing up hovering over them. Maybe the difference in the size of our ponds makes a difference in the responses of our fish. Do you have pictures of your pond. We all like to view others ponds. I feed mine peas and they will almost fight each other to get them. Maybe you could try some with yours. Glenda

Hi Glenda,

I have tried kneeling, but the glare is such that I can't see them at all. I need to stand to even be able to catch a glimpse. Would peas be too big for my small fish? I can certainly try them and see. Here is a photo of my pond from a month or two ago:

{{gwi:195105}}

Anna

I don't think so. You can buy the frozen baby green peas. Take just a few, maybe a Tablespoonful, put them in a microwave safe container with about a tsp. water and put them in the microwave for about 20 sec. Pour them out onto a paper towel and gently squeeze the peas between your thumb and finger and they just pop out of the peeling of the pea. I think your fish will love them once they get a taste. Beautiful pond. Glenda

Anna, my pond is MUCH smaller, and it still took my 6 goldfish/shubunkins/comets a long time to come up for food. I just sprinkled a tiny bit of flaked food (takes longer to sink) once a day in the same place and after a month or 6 weeks they would come feed as soon as the flakes hit the water. Bang, one day they figured it out and that was it! I think with plenty of cover and plenty of natural food it does take longer.

Now that they come up I only feed every other day so as not to overfeed, so I never have had them follow me around, but they do pop out to check to see if theres food before they hover a bit lower :)

Good luck!

Anna, by a cheap pair of polaroid sunglasses, it will cut all of the glare off your pond and you will be able to sit down and tempt them..

i love your pond.

sheepco, it's nice to know that it can still happen. I will keep trying then. Mybusyfamily, I think if I kneel or sit, I will be waiting hours before they come close enough to me to be able to see them. They just have too much range, and by choice, they never get that close to me. I have to toss the food out a good distance. I will keep trying, and maybe try tempting them with peas or other goodies. Thanks.

Anna

Anna
You're probably better off not training them to come to the same spot for food as predators quickly learn they will come when called.lol I've actually seen night herons use sticks to disturb the water surface which makes the fish come running.
i once trained my Koi to jump from the water like dolphins which was fun to watch . Apparently they learned that jumping meant food and eventually they all jumped out of the pool.lol
It will take longer in a large pool such as yours but eventually they will learn that you have food
My goldfish has become so tame he will let me pick him up lol Fish are always hungry lol
So be carefull what you train them to do lol
Funny story about the neighbors cat who would jump up to the edge to get a drink and my almost two foot long Koi thought whiskers looked delicious and it startled the cat so much he fell into the pool.He went elsewher to get a drink after that lol gary

Just wanted to tell you your pond is absolutely gorgeous.

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.

Gary, you have a good point. I will try to pick an area that I think is the safest. Great story about the cat. Had a chuckle over that one!

Thank-you bugsb. I've always admired your beautiful pond also.

Anna

We were gone for the winter. This pond is 5 or 6 yrs old with original goldfish and babies grown. One end of pond is 36" deep which is fine for our area for winter stay.

Our fish have slick film hanging off and dying, dormant acting. What could cause us to lose all of them. Very few are active. My ammonia level was great and ph fine.

Our water is clear (6,000 gal) although we have some sludge in bottom. Active bio filter with waterfall always running and skimmer. Lots of algae on pots and edges but looks like it's going through it's cycle fine and lifting after winter weather.

Any help or idea. Our fish wasn't a big $$ at all but just wonder why they are dying. Just want to know before we replace them.
Love reading the posts here. It has been help from the beginning.

My pond is pretty small so it didn't take long for my goldfish to learn that humans=food. For awhile I thought that the pond had low oxygen levels, since everytime I saw them they were at the surface "gasping". But when they couldn't see me everything was just fine. They're just little beggars...

Similar cat story. Ours discovered the pond after awhile as a big water bowl. Was taking a drink and the fish raced over for their meal. I missed the photo-op, but imagine a kiss between cat and fish, micro-seconds before she jumped straight up and ran for safety. Silly kitty.

What a beautiful peaceful pond you have there annafl. I can hardly wait for my liner to get here. One more week...(holding fish food in hand) lol

I store the fish feed in a can with a metal measuring spoon inside. When I remove it from the shed I shake it 3 times. The fish are waiting when I get there. I haven't tried hand feeding.

Rita I haven't a clue what could be wrong with your fish and pond. Try starting a new thread and maybe someone will help.

Still trying. Been a month now. Actually, after being very patient, they will sometimes eat a few nuggets after I've been there watching them a long time (30 minutes or so). Today, the tiny red-eared sliders came up and had quite a few nuggets when they saw me. The fish watched the whole thing. I guess I'll keep trying. Getting mad now.

Anna

My fish are very friendly, They come up and nibble my fingers when i wiggle them in the water. Today I watched 2 Shubunkins go for the same food pellet and kissed each other smack in the mouth. Glenda

My fish are the same, but I think it's because we've been catching some lately. I hope they will soon get back to their feeding frenzy. After losing some last year, I've been trying to toss the food just in the center of the pond.

Anna, your pond is gorgeous! Is it an earth-bottom?

Thank-you, Marti. It is a lined pond.

Anna

Anna maybe you fish are shy because they have seen predator's. Your pond is beautiful and looks like it would attract herons as well as coons and anyone else looking for a free meal. My koi are skiddish due to coons but they do come up to feed everyday. When are you feeding them? I found that mine were much more visible and active around 4 than they were at 5 or 6.

You have a beautiful pond. My husband taps on a rock with the can of food. He said the fish hear that and then come up to the top and wait for him to throw the food in. We have had our pond and fish for two years now so maybe with yours being only one yr in the pond it might just take awhile, or there is enough natural food that they don't need anything else.

The time it takes to train goldfish is in direct correlation to the time it takes a long-legged bird to find your pond - just as the fish are properly trained according to the wants and needs of the owner, a heron will show up and gladly take over the "fish sitting" duties.

"Heron, party of one!"

Brenda

My goldfish did not like the round pellet type food. I got them Tetra floating soft sticks and they love it! Some of the smaller fish, I will break the sticks in half and that is enjoyed by the little fellas.

I have an outside neutered male cat that loves to drink from the pond.(this is how I found this site. I Googled cat drinking goldfish pond water) I am curious if this water will give him internal parasites?

When I feed the fish he comes running up to be fed the fish food also. He will not stop bugging me until I give him several sticks. He will sit by the pond and wait for the fish to come over..."as they were trained to", and I caught him pawing at them.

I netted the pond this winter and 'Radar', my fish-food-begger, will walk on the net and REALLY enjoy the fish. I am curious what he will do when I take the net off in a couple months.

The pond pictures are beautiful!

You need to keep your camera handy, I believe that would be a Kodak Moment. When he tries to walk on the net and it isn't there. My dog likes to eat the fish food also, when I happen to spill some. Glenda