Hi Lily:

My guess would be that they are baby koi. I had a huge spawning last summer and ended up with about 300 fry. I still have some of them in my pond because they are so difficult to catch. Congratulations grandma. lol

Jenny

I know the five inch ones are koi and by the coloring the tiny one is too, but could he be from this year's spawning at 1/2 inch?

When I noticed my koi last spring (after my water cleared) that's how big they were. Their colors were just starting to get brighter. I know most goldfish are born black or brown and change later, but koi are born with their colors. They usually get more vivid with age. Some even change their coloring with age.

Jenny

To answer your question, at 1/2 inch, yes, the baby would be from this year's spawning. I just gave away five 1-inch babies from this year's spawn a couple of weeks ago.

Nancy..how in the world did you catch them? This tiny guy zips along so fast, he's a blur. I don't want to catch him..but am hoping his parents don't make a meal of him.

What happened was, when I noticed the fish were spawning, I removed my water lilies from the pond, because I really didn't want any eggs to hatch, and plants are where they want to deposit the eggs. So I removed them and set them on the ground for a few hours so the eggs would dry out. Then I put the pots into a large tub of water where I already was keeping a miniature lily.

Anyway, fast forward a few months. The spawning ended, and the lilies went back into the pond. But I left a miniature lily in one of the tubs that had not even been in the pond, so I was maintaining the water for it. I was adding a mosquito dunk one evening when I saw a little orange fish flitting to and fro. Parting the lily pads, I found four more of varying colors, teeny-tiny little guys.

In the tub, they were easy to catch, but it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to catch your little guy. You might try a minnow trap, but that's the only thing I know to suggest.

Spotted another little guy, not as pretty as the first one. They are so tiny but swim like a rocket.

Your little guys might surprise you! Some of the ones I thought were the ugliest as babies turned into some mighty pretty adults!