# Should I tell them?



## amelia (Aug 11, 2005)

Well, I got this koi out of a bait shop's goldfish tub. I'm sure they think all that's in there is goldfish, and I've seen quite a few of those koi (that I didn't get because I thought they were goldfish and there would be time for them later.. They're small, so their whiskers are not very evident and I never really studied their mouths, just the way their patterns were..) every here and there. If you were me, what would you do?


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2005)

build a pond and buy them! lol


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## flynngriff (Jan 19, 2005)

Eh, the bait shop isn't going to care... A goldfish is a goldfish to them, and a Koi is a goldfish. Buy them and raise them if you want to, guilt free!

-Flynn


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## Ethos (Sep 11, 2005)

Dont raise them tyo get big, and try to sell them to a pet store. A pet store most likely wont want a fully grown koi. Most poeple buy younger koi so that they can up grade their ponds later- I know If I had the choice between a smaller, younger fish, and a older, larger fish, I'd chose the young ones. You pay the smae amount for something that'll live much longer...


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## mr.dark-saint (Aug 16, 2005)

During the late summer/ early fall the koi farms do a cull (removal of undesireables) and some of the baby koi end up in Feeder goldfish tank. I also look for the Shabukin looking feeders (why pay more for the same fish in a different tank). I figure if they get the price on the tank they don't care.

I thought using goldfish as bait was illegal? (or is it a regional thing?)


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## lagorda (Sep 9, 2005)

This is the time of year when what I call the koi-rejects are sold off as feeders. That's what happened when I used to work at a fish store, I thought it was weird having those fish as feeders, so I would save some of them and put them in a different and sell them as pets.


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## Chazwick (Aug 24, 2005)

I voted !


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## amelia (Aug 11, 2005)

Ethos said:


> Dont raise them tyo get big, and try to sell them to a pet store. A pet store most likely wont want a fully grown koi. Most poeple buy younger koi so that they can up grade their ponds later- I know If I had the choice between a smaller, younger fish, and a older, larger fish, I'd chose the young ones. You pay the smae amount for something that'll live much longer...


Actually, If you go to pet stores and look at koi, you DON'T pay the same amount for a smaller fish as you pay for a larger fish. Larger fish sell for much more. A baby koi (2-3 inches) may sell for $4, where a year old koi (8-12 inches) may sell for as much as $35-50. It's not really very smart to put a tiny little koi in a great big pond, from my opinion. There are many reasons for this, but all point toward a lower survival rate of smaller fish starting out in ponds. 

Mr.dark saint;; I would guess it's just a regional thing. A LOT of bait shops around here sell goldfish, and really goldfish sell better than minnows do. Around here, though, the survivalof a pretty, shiney, colorful goldfish is probably VERY unlikely due to the mass amounts of gar, large catfish, and turtle.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

mr.dark-saint said:


> I thought using goldfish as bait was illegal? (or is it a regional thing?)


I don't think it's legal here either, although I know people do it. In northern california, there are some carp in the lakes, so I always have to wonder if they're natural or introduced by being feeder fish.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Dang... I hope its illegal... in missouri they could do some damage in those habitats. Especially with those tolerable winters. I'd put money on it that it is illegal, its illegal here too... Its an invassive species... sigh


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