Fish have appeared in our empty pond!

[emily8itall]

This has baffled us. We thought they must be newts but after looking at pictures of the lifecycle it is clearly not. There are 13 fish all under 50mm and they are grey. The pond is very small and hidden in a large border. The only possibility is maybe they travelled, as eggs on a piece of pondweed we took from my mums pond and carried in a plastic bag. This seems very unlikely to me but do you think this is the explination?

[Hedge Witch]

Some species of fish do deposit eggs on plants.

If the fish are the same (smaller versions) of the ones in your Mum's pond, it does seem the most likely route.

[emily8itall]

mums fish are goldfish but i think the neighbour gave her a carp. Her pond you can't see much in at the moment.
Do you think the fish eggs would survive a 30min car journey in a bag with no water?

its a miracle!

[Dogghound]

As hedge witch says it is a very common mode of transport for fish travelling around. Fish usually lay their eggs on weed, including pond fish such as goldfish.

[Hedge Witch]

Originally Posted by emily8itall

mums fish are goldfish but i think the neighbour gave her a carp. Her pond you can't see much in at the moment.
Do you think the fish eggs would survive a 30min car journey in a bag with no water?

its a miracle!

I think they would. If the pond weed didn't dry out then I'm guessing the fish eggs would stand a good chance.

[Dogghound]

Yes without a doubt as long as they were moist they would last several hours out of water. Both goldfish and carp (close relatives) lay eggs on weed.

[diggleken]

fish eggs laid on weed, like carp and other cyprinids do, are quite glutinous to keep them there and will happily survive a journey attached to pondweed. Most garden ponds can be populated by fish, newts and snails too by this method when pondweed is taken and introduced - so you never know what you might get! Also, birds are notorious for passing eggs on, attached to their legs when they bathe. Are you near any wildlife corridors too, cos they might have played a part to help species to move about?

[Paul mabbott]

Flying fish?

There is an alternative - eggs and small fish are sometimes transported by birds - just get stuck onto the birds' feet and then washed off at the next pond stop!

[Dutchess]

Any eggs would have survived on the weed, I'm positive about that. Fry of goldfish are greyish brown in colour to begin with. I'll bet that's what they are

D.

[bob.phillips]

The theory of transport on the weed is very likely. Also as goldfish are a member of the carp family, when they breed, most of the offsprings are 'throwbacks' to the native carp. So you probably have a few carp babies

Regards,

Bob P.