palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 I've heard of a few people doing this to keep larve and algae out of the watering tubs. Does anyone here on HC do this? Which do you use if you do? Are there any cons? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 I've heard of a few people doing this to keep larve and algae out of the watering tubs. Does anyone here on HC do this? Which do you use if you do? Are there any cons? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Cons - the ammonia from the fish poo. yuck. I use applecider vinegar in all our watering tubs. Works great and the horses love the taste. Really helps keep the algae down, repels any mosquitos and once the horses injest it, it helps them with fly control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Cons - the ammonia from the fish poo. yuck. I use applecider vinegar in all our watering tubs. Works great and the horses love the taste. Really helps keep the algae down, repels any mosquitos and once the horses injest it, it helps them with fly control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 cool... I'll have to try that! Thanks This is it! ETA how much do you use? We have the old bathtubs for our waterers. [ 06-11-2008, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: palominopaintlover ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 cool... I'll have to try that! Thanks This is it! ETA how much do you use? We have the old bathtubs for our waterers. [ 06-11-2008, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: palominopaintlover ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 In the huge tub in the field I use about a half gallon everytime I dump it and refill, in the smaller one I use about half that. This is the first year we did it with the horses in pasture up north. The first time we put it in, they gulped it down, they just loved it! He's got all his broodmares in that pasture and they all fight for the first taste when we refill the tubs. LOL I've heard of people feeding it over their horses feed as well. I think its a cup a day for that. I might try that with my stalled gelding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 In the huge tub in the field I use about a half gallon everytime I dump it and refill, in the smaller one I use about half that. This is the first year we did it with the horses in pasture up north. The first time we put it in, they gulped it down, they just loved it! He's got all his broodmares in that pasture and they all fight for the first taste when we refill the tubs. LOL I've heard of people feeding it over their horses feed as well. I think its a cup a day for that. I might try that with my stalled gelding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 11, 2008 I love my fishies.. they work wonders, actually my tanks stay cleaner with the fishies, the amonia you thin would build up doesnt cause youa dd and remove water every day, also with the wind and such it has plenty of water movement, so it aerates the water nicely.. My horses like the fish water better than the vinigar water, though I provide both in the summer as the vinigar works to help the horses keep the flies off naturaly..(goes through their sweat flies dont like it) Also the Vitimin C in vinigar works wonders as well.. however vinigar doesnt really keep the slime off the side of your tanks.. fishies on the other hand eat the algea, eat the bugs, any kind of bug lands in the water, it gets eaten.. and also with in a few hours of putting them into a larvae infected tank, there wont be any larvae.. within a week of putting them in my tanks, I see 60%less algea, as well as I have a lot less skeeters and flies born fromt he water.. Good luck! both work, and both have their good and bads.,. though neither has enough of a bad not to use them!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 11, 2008 I love my fishies.. they work wonders, actually my tanks stay cleaner with the fishies, the amonia you thin would build up doesnt cause youa dd and remove water every day, also with the wind and such it has plenty of water movement, so it aerates the water nicely.. My horses like the fish water better than the vinigar water, though I provide both in the summer as the vinigar works to help the horses keep the flies off naturaly..(goes through their sweat flies dont like it) Also the Vitimin C in vinigar works wonders as well.. however vinigar doesnt really keep the slime off the side of your tanks.. fishies on the other hand eat the algea, eat the bugs, any kind of bug lands in the water, it gets eaten.. and also with in a few hours of putting them into a larvae infected tank, there wont be any larvae.. within a week of putting them in my tanks, I see 60%less algea, as well as I have a lot less skeeters and flies born fromt he water.. Good luck! both work, and both have their good and bads.,. though neither has enough of a bad not to use them!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 What kind of fish do you use kitten-kat? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 What kind of fish do you use kitten-kat? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xcanchaserchicx Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Ooo, nice topic! I've always wondered about this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xcanchaserchicx Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Ooo, nice topic! I've always wondered about this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 11, 2008 just your 25 cent gold fishies, I start in spring with small 1 inch fishies, and by fall they are usually 3 inches, A lot of people have loved them each year I give them away in the fall.. I have fairly small tanks, 2 25 gallon half barrels, and a 50-75 gallon box tank.. I usually put 2 in the barrel ones, and 3-4 in the box ones.. an average of 1 fish for every 12.5 gallons at the most.. this way you dont get hte build up associated with fishies.. I then just either over flow the tanks every month or so, or take the fishies out for a half hour if i do a big clean.. with bigger tanks like a friend of mine has, he has a 600 gallon self watered tank, he now has a natural ecology going in there, healthy moss that provides the fishies with hiding spaces, and small breeding colonies have started.. he put 6 1 inch fishies in last year and has 4 inch fishies now.. they almost look like coy, he has 15 now, they havent over bred, and tend to eat a lot of the young so the population hasnt gotten too much.. I dont worry much about them when i change their water, they are used to a lot of changes by that time.. if they live, great if not oh well.. Oh I did put a fancy bug eyes black goldy fish and a gold and black fancy fin in as well and boy did they grow huge.. the black one had a harder time with heat, but even if the horses drank all the water down to an inch I never lost a fish.. I dont ever feed them fish food, no need to, the algea and bugs do well enough and are a blast to watch in the summer.. I really love watching them when first put in to a buggy tank... man they go on a feeding frenzy you wouldnt believe.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 11, 2008 just your 25 cent gold fishies, I start in spring with small 1 inch fishies, and by fall they are usually 3 inches, A lot of people have loved them each year I give them away in the fall.. I have fairly small tanks, 2 25 gallon half barrels, and a 50-75 gallon box tank.. I usually put 2 in the barrel ones, and 3-4 in the box ones.. an average of 1 fish for every 12.5 gallons at the most.. this way you dont get hte build up associated with fishies.. I then just either over flow the tanks every month or so, or take the fishies out for a half hour if i do a big clean.. with bigger tanks like a friend of mine has, he has a 600 gallon self watered tank, he now has a natural ecology going in there, healthy moss that provides the fishies with hiding spaces, and small breeding colonies have started.. he put 6 1 inch fishies in last year and has 4 inch fishies now.. they almost look like coy, he has 15 now, they havent over bred, and tend to eat a lot of the young so the population hasnt gotten too much.. I dont worry much about them when i change their water, they are used to a lot of changes by that time.. if they live, great if not oh well.. Oh I did put a fancy bug eyes black goldy fish and a gold and black fancy fin in as well and boy did they grow huge.. the black one had a harder time with heat, but even if the horses drank all the water down to an inch I never lost a fish.. I dont ever feed them fish food, no need to, the algea and bugs do well enough and are a blast to watch in the summer.. I really love watching them when first put in to a buggy tank... man they go on a feeding frenzy you wouldnt believe.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 k thanks!!! I'll have to stop by petsmart tomorrow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 k thanks!!! I'll have to stop by petsmart tomorrow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tiggerocks Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Most varieties of Goldfish are vegitarian and will not eat bugs or larve. Atlest that is what the books all say. There are varieties that are bug eaters and they do well in stock tanks. The larger the tank the better with fish. One of my horses eats fish if I put them in the tank and she will sit there for hours with her head in the tank until she gets them all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tiggerocks Report post Posted June 11, 2008 Most varieties of Goldfish are vegitarian and will not eat bugs or larve. Atlest that is what the books all say. There are varieties that are bug eaters and they do well in stock tanks. The larger the tank the better with fish. One of my horses eats fish if I put them in the tank and she will sit there for hours with her head in the tank until she gets them all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PacaPaca Report post Posted June 11, 2008 If you go the goldfish route, make sure you have something (like a cinder block) in the bottom of the tank to provide a hiding space. Our crows dive under water to catch the fish and can clean them out in no time. I've got a tub (used to be a fountain until the pump quit) with two goldfish that have been in there year/round for six years now. I never feed them, and they freeze solid in the winter. Those guys are tough! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PacaPaca Report post Posted June 11, 2008 If you go the goldfish route, make sure you have something (like a cinder block) in the bottom of the tank to provide a hiding space. Our crows dive under water to catch the fish and can clean them out in no time. I've got a tub (used to be a fountain until the pump quit) with two goldfish that have been in there year/round for six years now. I never feed them, and they freeze solid in the winter. Those guys are tough! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 tiggerrocks - most fish are oportunistic eaters. They'll eat pretty much anything you give them. Goldies in particular are eating machines. Goldies would probably do better than most any other fish because they are a cold water fish. They don't do well with high heat but handle low night time temps just fine. We just might have to try this. Geesh, you guys are gonna get me into trouble. hahaha First its brushing my own horse, then its doing his feet myself, then its taking away all sweet feed and now its putting goldfish in the water tubs. [ 06-11-2008, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: This Is It ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarah1214 Report post Posted June 11, 2008 tiggerrocks - most fish are oportunistic eaters. They'll eat pretty much anything you give them. Goldies in particular are eating machines. Goldies would probably do better than most any other fish because they are a cold water fish. They don't do well with high heat but handle low night time temps just fine. We just might have to try this. Geesh, you guys are gonna get me into trouble. hahaha First its brushing my own horse, then its doing his feet myself, then its taking away all sweet feed and now its putting goldfish in the water tubs. [ 06-11-2008, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: This Is It ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 ahh... come on This Is It... Be Adventurous!!! And thanks for the cinder block idea PacaPaca. I wouldn't want to walk out to find I had no more fishies one day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
palominopaintlover Report post Posted June 11, 2008 ahh... come on This Is It... Be Adventurous!!! And thanks for the cinder block idea PacaPaca. I wouldn't want to walk out to find I had no more fishies one day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 12, 2008 you can also float a small log in the water, this gives them a place to hunt the bugs and hide from the birds.. I havent had problems with crows yet.. but I do love watching them.. I have tried a few breeds of fish from Guppies, to mollies to goldies,, the guppies do great till it gets cold, then they just sort of dont do well.. the mollies do OK but not great, they also get bored with eating algea after a time.. but goldies they are big eaters.. the books may say veggie eaters, well yes they will, but they will also eat other goldies and bugs, and even crickets if they get big enough!! I had one got 5 inches and would wait for the dragon flies to land on the water.. first time I saw it I about dropped the grain can, fish broke the surface to get the dragon fly, and its wings stuck out of its mouth for a few minutes.. but fishy was good hunter.. when I got him he was half an inch long, almost white with a small green spont on his head, when I gave him away he was 5 inches long and almost all black with a high green sheen to him when he would flick up to the surface.. You can watch them grow up a lot outside that way!! My horse loves to watch them sometimes, it is wierd, you can see him tilt his head to see the fish and sometimes the fish will come up when the horses drink tog et hay pieces off their muzzles.. its kinda cute Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitten-kat Report post Posted June 12, 2008 you can also float a small log in the water, this gives them a place to hunt the bugs and hide from the birds.. I havent had problems with crows yet.. but I do love watching them.. I have tried a few breeds of fish from Guppies, to mollies to goldies,, the guppies do great till it gets cold, then they just sort of dont do well.. the mollies do OK but not great, they also get bored with eating algea after a time.. but goldies they are big eaters.. the books may say veggie eaters, well yes they will, but they will also eat other goldies and bugs, and even crickets if they get big enough!! I had one got 5 inches and would wait for the dragon flies to land on the water.. first time I saw it I about dropped the grain can, fish broke the surface to get the dragon fly, and its wings stuck out of its mouth for a few minutes.. but fishy was good hunter.. when I got him he was half an inch long, almost white with a small green spont on his head, when I gave him away he was 5 inches long and almost all black with a high green sheen to him when he would flick up to the surface.. You can watch them grow up a lot outside that way!! My horse loves to watch them sometimes, it is wierd, you can see him tilt his head to see the fish and sometimes the fish will come up when the horses drink tog et hay pieces off their muzzles.. its kinda cute Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
equi-librium Report post Posted June 12, 2008 a couple capfuls of listerine in the tanks will keep algae from growing and tkaae care of teh bugs in/around the tank.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
equi-librium Report post Posted June 12, 2008 a couple capfuls of listerine in the tanks will keep algae from growing and tkaae care of teh bugs in/around the tank.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
