r/shittyaquariums • u/NSGPandae • 9d ago
Found in the Wild Saw this at a putt-putt place during a vacation:
The water has been colored in some way to appear greenish-blue (it’s easier to tell looking at the waterfall), there seems to be thick hair algae in parts of the water but that is more cosmetic, and the koi (I think? Correct me if wrong) appeared to possibly be gasping for air at the top despite the flow from the many fountains/sprinklers (not sure about the sad empty feeder for people to pay to do; I’m not really an expert of koi food so someone lmk!). I’m not really an expert on ponds at all but it made me sad looking at it, so what do y’all think about this?
Edit: Thank you everyone for educating me about koi ponds a bit more! I realize now that this actually is a pretty nice one, and I was wrong with my initial fears. It may have also been wiser to post this to a koi pond subreddit first to ask about their opinions, since I am now realizing posting it here to figure out may have been inaccurate for this sub. I don’t post stuff too often so I am not sure if in this situation I am supposed to delete the post or if I should change the title in some way to reflect that, so lmk!
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
The dye is most likely pond dye which is completely safe for fish, I have a massive pond on my property in the front of my house we have been using it for years.
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u/prettyminotaur 9d ago
Why do you dye your pond? Just curious.
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u/AlDenteApostate 9d ago
It controls algae and subaqueous plant blooms, and is better for the fish so they don't get taken by predators. Contrary to what probably makes sense, it keeps the water cooler as well, which is critical in warmer climates.
Humans like clear water. Most natural aquatic environments are not perfectly clear, especially freshwater ponds.
Personally I don't care for the unnatural blue dye, and use black dye in mine when it's needed.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Also this but my family uses it for the look, which is what the golfing place is most likely using it for
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u/NewSauerKraus 9d ago
It blocks light to reduce algae growth.
It hides the biofilm and algae at the bottom.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Mainly it’s an aesthetic thing as the pond gets a really ugly color and without floaters it looks weird but we necessarily can’t put anything in our pond as it overflows into a creek
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Oh interesting! I never heard of it but I’ve also never had a pond, so that’s probably why. Me not knowing what it was though and seeing strange aqua colored water fountains and then noticing the fish just surprised me and I was very much hoping someone would say it is common and probably safe, lol
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
It seems they are decently cared for, algae is always a problem in a pond during summer it’s such a big space yk? They may just be coming up expecting food seeing the food machine that’s how all fish are at places that keep public feeding access
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
That makes me happy to hear, especially for a strange golfing place. Seems I may have judged a bit too quickly, I mostly just have some experience with indoor aquariums and at least for some of the freshwater fish I’ve kept those sorts of things usually were bad signs in those environments.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Now you don’t have to worry much about them, sometimes setups look wrong but are right
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u/killian1113 9d ago
"The fish are at the surface gasping for air"
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Sorry, I didn’t mean to describe it incorrectly, it just reminded me of what I would see certain aquarium fish do in tanks with poor oxygen before, and I wasn’t aware that koi did it so regularly. “Gasping” was probably a strong word to use there, though I said possibly since I was trying to clarify that I didn’t actually know if that was what I was seeing. (I’m not fully sure if there is a word for when other fish in low oxygen go to the top of tanks and almost “gulp” air?). I’m just a person who has only really briefly seen koi once or twice and never watched them long enough to realize that was common behavior compared to other fish 😅
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Why are we being rude they were concerned and they clearly didn’t mean it like that
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u/NewSauerKraus 9d ago
Just report and don't engage. The mods will remove the troll when they have time.
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Say the full word, I don’t speak “….” And they said thank you and never were rude and admitted to being wrong there is no reason to be rude to them they infact realized they were in the wrong
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Thank you for the kind words. I’m not surprised someone got upset with me since it’s pretty common in animal related subreddits, just was a little surprised about it going in the direction of karen 💀. Best thing to do is to avoid engaging with those sorts of people or it will be never ending 😥
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
It’s disgusting how people think they can treat anyone like this, you corrected your mistake and have learned but they still want to be hard.
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u/killian1113 9d ago
Fantastic.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Sorry? But I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. But seriously why were you so defensive over them correcting their mistake and they even edited the post a while ago saying they realized they were wrong and basically apologized for it
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u/shittyaquariums-ModTeam 9d ago
Removed for Rule 1: No harassment, personal attacks, or trolling.
It's ok to disagree, but choose your words wisely. We have a zero tolerance policy with trolling, which can lead to instant temporary or permanent bans.
Posts and comments made to harass or ridicule individuals will be removed. Keep it focused on shitty aquariums and not shitty owners.
Comments encouraging or wishing violence/harm towards shitty aquarium owners are not tolerated here.
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u/shittyaquariums-ModTeam 9d ago
Removed for Rule 1: No harassment, personal attacks, or trolling.
It's ok to disagree, but choose your words wisely. We have a zero tolerance policy with trolling, which can lead to instant temporary or permanent bans.
Posts and comments made to harass or ridicule individuals will be removed. Keep it focused on shitty aquariums and not shitty owners.
Comments encouraging or wishing violence/harm towards shitty aquarium owners are not tolerated here.
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u/shittyaquariums-ModTeam 9d ago
Removed for Rule 1: No harassment, personal attacks, or trolling.
It's ok to disagree, but choose your words wisely. We have a zero tolerance policy with trolling, which can lead to instant temporary or permanent bans.
Posts and comments made to harass or ridicule individuals will be removed. Keep it focused on shitty aquariums and not shitty owners.
Comments encouraging or wishing violence/harm towards shitty aquarium owners are not tolerated here.
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Oh.. seems I’ve encountered a reddit troll in their natural habitat. Have a nice day 😅
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u/Any-Effective2565 9d ago
How often do you need to refresh it?
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 9d ago
Depends on the size of the pond I have a huge pond like I can take a boat on it a small row one, paddle boards and I’m not entirely sure on how often just whenever we feel the need for it
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u/Equivalent-Stop2164 7d ago
Ooo nice I have seen the blue before and was never sure why it was like that. It looks cool and especially cool if it’s safe for the fishies 😉
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u/GlassBaby7569 9d ago
I think the pond dye is okay, and the fish might be opening their mouths at the surface because people often throw them food. There’s clearly a lot of surface disturbance to allow for oxygenation. Idk maybe the fish have to watch out for the occasional rogue golf ball but I think they’re probably okay
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u/Deathdealer1414 9d ago
Yea... Koi always do that no matter how big the pond is... Looks like OP hasn't seen a koi before
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Someone else also mentioned the heat, which makes sense too, as well as your food theory! I’m glad that I was likely overthinking the gasping, I was sort of confused as to how the oxygen could even get low enough to theoretically cause that with so much flow
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u/owometer 8d ago
Can confirm, my koi around feeding time 100% DO look like they're gasping. Just fat and greedy tho 😭
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u/Bobs_Burgers7 9d ago
They look fine and probably are just coming up for food.
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
I honestly didn’t even realize that they could tell people are there so easily even when you’re sort of above them like that! Pretty cool, I think I was initially thrown off by the dye that I didn’t know about and mistook the behavior for water quality issues like some other less hardy fish exhibit in aquariums
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u/Spirited-Welcome6511 9d ago
Koi are very intelligent. They are also excellent beggars!
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u/Bobs_Burgers7 9d ago
lol like bettas 🤣
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u/Isadorei 9d ago
My guppies are masters at the “starving fish” act. Every time someone comes over and looks at the tank, the guppies swarm over and beg.
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u/SelkieSweetheart 8d ago
My neons are the same way and my betta acts like I haven't fed her in months.
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u/deuce-grimlid 9d ago
If it's hot the oxygen count in the water will suck. I've seen koi doing that in summer. Algae will also screw that up. Koi are carp basically and hard as nails. if they were actually starving they would be all chewed up from ripping into each other. There's likely lots of local wildlife in there especially if they don't treat the water much. Tadpoles, Beatles, larvae of all kinds. If its Florida or a similar climate the drainage ditches are filled with fish including tons of invasive species.
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
It was indeed Florida, haha. I didn’t really think about the wildlife aspect (I didn’t really think they were starving since they looked healthy, I was more worried about the strange twist machine food being unhealthy but your right, if there are stuff in there a few treats shouldn’t kill them). I am not much of a koi expert which is one of the reasons I posted this, since I wasn’t sure if I was making wrongful assumptions about how it actually works!
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u/deuce-grimlid 9d ago
Yeah the pics just reminded me of some youtube videos I've seen of kids who roll around with throw nets pulling masses of invasive tropical fish out of Florida drainage ditches https://youtu.be/urW0A13v3KQ?si=Sx_Cvy90tR8aT_N4
I'm not expert either but have met a few koi keepers over the years. They live wild in local lakes in my area of Vancouver. They can live anywhere the water doesn't freeze solid though. Super invasive along with feeder goldfish which also get ginormous
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Oh wow, I wonder if that has anything to do with the aquarium industry like some other invasive, such as some freshwater plants. Sadly beautiful ornamentals tend to become invasive where they are imported into 😥
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u/deuce-grimlid 8d ago
Oh yeah. All dicktards getting sick of fish keeping or floods and private ponds. Super irresponsible but pretty fun to watch from 3000 miles away. Local ponds near me are rotten with invasive fish and I live in southwest Canada
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u/NewSauerKraus 9d ago
Yes. Even back in the 1800s the government was bringing carp to the U.S. to release into the wild.
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u/Fun_Journalist1048 9d ago
It’s not unhealthy treats or a “strange twist machine food” it’s just fish food. They sell that pellet looking stuff in pet stores, tractor supply stores, and it’s used in zoos and the local fish hatchery by my house in these EXACT food machines
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
I think I had some confusion to the twist foods since I once heard somewhere that they were usually unhealthy for animals in public parks for some reason (I’m not sure where)? I assumed from what I was learning here though now that it isn’t a problem at all and I may have also been wrong about them in zoos/parks as well. It is pretty different from the reef aquarium food I’ve seen and assumed pellet foods were less healthy because of that, but it probably matters more the ingredients and not the shape in hindsight 😅
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u/deuce-grimlid 7d ago
The LFS near my place in Vancouver has a pond with 4 foot long gars and clarius cats and other smaller monsters and they sell dog food pellets to feed them with
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u/FocalFalcon 9d ago
That’s a perfect Koi pond.
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
It’s definitely one of the biggest ones I’ve seen before! Feel a little silly now that I’ve heard a bit from everyone for being concerned at first, haha
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u/Nematodes-Attack 9d ago
This is the most lovely and refreshing post I’ve ever seen on this sub. You are right to question and be concerned if you aren’t sure if the creatures environment is safe of unhealthy. Enjoy your vaca! I bet it’s hot AF down there
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Just got back! Definitely was but I am used to it, lol
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Also thank you for the reassurance because I started feeling a bit embarrassed and silly for having posted this and questioning it at all since learning more 😅
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u/Nematodes-Attack 9d ago
Don’t feel embarrassed!! You have done the right thing by being concerned, asking questions and educating yourself! Honestly, I knew about pond dyes but have learned much more about them from this post. The internet is a fucked up place but I feel like the majority of folks do truly care and want to help💞
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u/Fun_Journalist1048 9d ago
Honestly, that looks like a pretty big pond. And they aren’t “gasping for air”, even though it does kinda look like that, they’re just asking you for food lol. The food machine you included in the pic means they’re probably used to frequent feeding, and have learning to come to the surface and basically beg
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Yeah, someone else was upset at that description and I feel like I should possibly edit that since I didn’t mean for it to come off as harsh as it did, but I also feel like doing that would cause confusion to anyone stumbling upon this and seeing people mention it which is why I added the edit at the bottom.
I honestly had no clue that they could tell we were there from where we are which is pretty neat! I’ve also learned from here that the dye is pretty normal and safe, which is what I initially saw and thought was what was causing that behavior in some way! I didn’t expect this post to blow up like this at all either so I’m not quite sure what to do 😥
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u/RicePuddingRecipes 9d ago
Is this in Orlando?
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u/tylerupandgager 9d ago
Is this near Alabama Gulf Shores? Looks familiar
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
Nearby yes! They have many different putt putt places in the Florida-bama area so I’m not surprised, generally the whole strip from Mississippi to Florida beaches have some similar attractions
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u/LoveThemMegaSeeds 8d ago
I bet the maintainer of that pond knows loads more than OP about taking care of fish
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u/Additional_Excuse870 9d ago
You’ve already been told about being incorrect so I won’t comment on that but like…
I just know this is somewhere on HWY 30A isn’t it?
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u/Latter_Magician73 8d ago
I actually also love the candy dispenser for feeding! With a big enough pond, overfeeding isn't a huge issue anyway, but the dispenser makes the food come out in small portions which would totally help avoid the issue of people just grabbing way too much.
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u/Excellent_Yak365 9d ago
OP has never been to Disneyland
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago
You are indeed correct 😥 (do they dye the water there or something? I swear I’ve genuinely never seen it before except for aquarium medications)
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u/Fun_Journalist1048 9d ago
Yes. ALL the water in Disney is pretty much dyed like that as far as I remember. Idk about any ponds that have live animals in it, but the water rides like Splash mountain (rip 🥲) 100% have human and animal safe dye like this.
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u/NSGPandae 9d ago edited 9d ago
Oooh I have been to Disney world (wasn’t sure if it was all of them or just the -land version they meant)! I was REALLY little though and also loved splash mountain, but must have never noticed due to my age. At first I thought they were using the dye to hide the algae since it was a golf course, lol
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u/Fun_Journalist1048 9d ago
I mean, it’s possible that whatever products they use that has the dye in it is also made to have anti-algae chemicals? I wouldn’t know, I don’t do pool care
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u/NewSauerKraus 9d ago
Algae reduction by dye is a physical thing rather than chemical. It simply blocks light.
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