So we were given two giant goldfish, then my stepbrother also gave us a catfish, which mom kept mistaking for dead and flipping out over. One goldfish died and we felt bad, so we bought a koi to keep the remaining goldfish company. Now keep in mind: we have an outdoor fishpond. Right.

So months later, baby fish showed up: a good 14 of them. We immediately blamed the koi and goldfish, since the catfish was about 1/8 their size and last I heard, didn't mate with koi nor goldfish.

The babies hatched in this adorable shade of black. We assumed koi/goldfish babies must look like that. But it's been a year and they're still black and for some reason they closely resemble bass.

The fish pond is not attached to any outside water source and it's a good several blocks from the lake. It's also rather well-covered. Any and all plants in the pond have been there for two years now, and the catfish was isolated in a separate fish tank for a number of months before he entered the pond.

So... Koi + goldfish = BASS??? Not last I checked. A friend joked and said bass were "naturally occurring."

Since the winter (and despite the heater) several of the babies did not survive. That's to be expected, though mom mourned each one. I think we're down to 7 babies, the koi, the goldfish, and the catfish.

______________________