4 Weeks of Winter Rest, So Far

Another week has passed and there has been nothing notable to report regarding the ranchu. They all continue to rest, and look well, with water temperatures dropping to a controlled 6.8 degrees C at night and rising to about 7.5C on milder days.

Today, just out of interest, i decided to run a couple of pond water tests. Given that the ranchu are in unfiltered ponds and have now been in the same water for for a few weeks, i was keen to see if my confidence in their current condition was valid. I wasnt disappointed, nitrite and ammonia tests both returned negative readings which was reassuring.

Today i also spent time studying the development that each of my ranchu went through this year, comparing the same fish as tosai and nisai. There were obvious noticable changes in size but also interestingly real improvements and noticable changes in (what i believe to be) important areas of the ranchu's form. 

Whether the changes be genetic or through grooming it will certainly give me something to consider when selecting spawning pairings and sorting fry next year.

Wrap up Ranchu, Arctic Blast Incoming!

A day at home today gave me the opportunity to check the pond and the ranchu over in the daylight. A little wall algae waste had accumalated but this was syphoned out easily.

The activity inspired the ranchu into investigating what was occurring. Whilst not ideal, it did give me the opportunity to get a closer look at the condition of each of them. They all look well, which is reassuring, given that they have now spent a couple of full weeks below 10 degrees C, with the ranchu barely moving at all, which is still a little weird as at any other time it would signal an issue.

The pond has been sitting at around 7c, with the current outside conditions and the lid keeping temperatures just above what the thermostat is set to. We have colder conditions forecast and i may lower the thermostat a little further.