| Author |
Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills:  My Rain barrel Problem  |
|
|
jenne.f
True Blue Farmgirl
643 Posts
Jenne
Wagontown
PA
USA
643 Posts |
 Posted - May 11 2013 : 08:05:16 AM
|
I read the posts on goldfish in a rain barrel and thought it
would be fun. A large plastic tote I had on the deck filled with water during a rainstorm. I added fish and they are doing great. That tote, got full, so I started another, the water was cloudy in the first, so I moved the fish over and use the first barrel for plant watering. Last night we got a huge, thunderstorm,. Both barrels are full and overflowed a little, I think, I looked in the first barrel and it has about a dozen worms(?) in it. I thought they might be water snakes, but they look like worms. Is this normal? If not, what did I do wrong? And what do I do with them? They look quite happy swimming in the rain water. ICK!
~blessings~
Jenne
Farmgirl #4616
"Longin' to be farmin'.." |
|
|
Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 11:05:22 AM
|
Whoa...I've never heard of that before, Jenne... I'm not sure what you've got going on there. Is it possible that they are some sort of insect larvae swimming around in there? It seems way too early for mosquitoes, but maybe it's some sort of water bug. Either way, I would think the fish would eat them. I'll be interested to see what the girls have to say. The only problem we had was a cat kept moving the filter basket and digging down into the barrel to get the fish when it was full of water. We have to come up with a better solution for this year! Good luck! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
|
 |
|
|
Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 11:08:51 AM
|
You know, I was just thinking, too - is it at all possible it's baby fish???
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
|
|
|
|
oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 11:41:28 AM
|
goldfish as babies look just like adults, only way smaller, and if your goldfish are less than 6 in.s long, they are not old enough to lay eggs yet, plus they would need something to lay eggs on...as far as worms go, they may be fish parasites, which will kill your fish by eating thru them, i would put fish in a differant container, dump tubs, wash very well, re-fill with water, let stand for 48-72 hours before adding new fish, that you bought at a differant place, keep eye on old fish to see if worms apear agin and or fish die...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
|
|
|
jenne.f
True Blue Farmgirl
643 Posts
Jenne
Wagontown
PA
USA
643 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 12:06:07 PM
|
Thanks, but these are certainly worms or worm like, they are 4-8 inches long. My fish are in another container and safe. I will dump the tub of worms in a day or so, I want to wait and see what happens. We had heavy rain again today. I do hope these are not baby Loch Ness monsters! lol
~blessings~
Jenne
Farmgirl #4616
"Longin' to be farmin'.." |
|
|
|
Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 12:37:38 PM
|
LOL! I hope not, either, Jenne! 4 - 8 inches is pretty long... I hope they're NOT snakes or parasites! Eghads!!! I'm glad you took them out of the container like Tina suggested. Hopefully what you're doing will take care of everything. Good luck! Keep us posted! - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
|
|
|
|
jenne.f
True Blue Farmgirl
643 Posts
Jenne
Wagontown
PA
USA
643 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 4:44:35 PM
|
I showed my son and it is his opinion that these "worms" slithered up the sides of the plastic tote or trashcan nearby and landed in my "rainbarrel". The rain was probably several inches deep on the ground by then, so unless anyone has a better theory, we are going with that. Double Ick!
~blessings~
Jenne
Farmgirl #4616
"Longin' to be farmin'.." |
|
|
|
oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 6:57:40 PM
|
well at least you got something that is really good very your gardens, worms are the best...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
|
|
|
Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 06:36:07 AM
|
Dang it! I was hoping they were baby Nessies! :)
Emily |
|
|
|
wooliespinner
True Blue Farmgirl
1311 Posts
Linda
Manchester
Ohio
1311 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2013 : 3:05:00 PM
|
Emily I had the same thing happen. We have been getting slammed with rain and everything was flooding. The poor worms climbed up the side trying to get away from the water and ended up in our rain barrel and the goats water buckets. If you don't get them out they will drown after a time. They can only live under water for so long. I bet I pulled out hundreds of them. I just scooped them up with a colander from the rain barrel because it was too heavey to dump it since its a 50 gallon drum and dumped the goats buckets and put them in the garden.
Good luck.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats |
|
|
|
jenne.f
True Blue Farmgirl
643 Posts
Jenne
Wagontown
PA
USA
643 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2013 : 3:37:55 PM
|
Thanks For sharing your experience Linda. We did have
quite a rainstorm. I used my fish net and my worm friends
are safely in the garden now.
~blessings~
Jenne
Farmgirl #4616
"Longin' to be farmin'.." |
|
|
| |
Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills: My Rain barrel Problem |
|
My Rain barrel Problem
