Jim the Fishman

5 Fantastic Koi Pond Photos

2011-07-06T10:15:00.005-04:00

Thanks to a friend of the hatchery for sending some pictures of their absolutely stunning garden pond where some Hunting Creek Fisheries koi, goldfish, comets and golden orfe are lucky enough to reside.

Just so you know, this pond, in Syracuse, NY, was completely rebuilt last fall after a leak was discovered. The fish were carefully tended to by the owners during re-construction.

Have pictures of your HCF fish? Send them along, we'd love to see them!

New Post Card in the Mail - Are you on our list?

2011-06-03T16:57:00.002-04:00

Mention this blog post and receive a free gift with any aquatic plant purchase...and if you aren't receiving our direct mail give us a call or email and make sure you're on our list.

Have a safe and happy summer weekend - I'll be Jim the Fisherman catching them with a rod instead of a dip net.

Video of Koi at the Hatchery

2011-05-02T16:49:00.007-04:00

Hello fellow fish lovers!

Everyone at Hunting Creek Fisheries is busy getting your orders put together for the big Mother's Day rush. We hope all of our distributors and wholesalers have a strong start to the 2011 Season and a very Happy Mother's Day. Thanks for your business.

I took this video last week when we were getting the koi breeders ready for spawning and I thought you might enjoy seeing these handsome creatures. Be sure to subscribe to our You Tube Channel, I'll be posting more videos as the season progresses.

Spring activity at the hatchery

2011-04-14T16:52:00.005-04:00

Working hard at Hunting Creek Fisheries!

New Packaging for Hunting Creek Fish Food

2011-04-12T10:50:00.003-04:00

You might remember one of my tips in the last post was to look for garden pond fish food that is packaged in a foil bag or other packaging that blocks sunlight and other exposure to the elements. We are pleased to be able to offer our feed in new bags that do just that.

Here's a picture of our line of feed. You might notice some of the bags are blank. We allow our wholesalers to purchase packaging in blank bags and "private label" their feed.

New customers get a free gift with feed purchase on any orders placed before Mother's Day - contact the hatchery and tell them Jim The Fishman sent you.

Top Fish Food Qualities for Pond Fish

2011-03-22T12:59:00.018-04:00

Spring is here! After your goldfish, koi, and other beloved pond creatures are greeted and anxiously counted to confirm that all the favorites survived the winter, does your next thought sound something like..."now, where did I put the fish food?" Does that send you into a water garden hobbyist spiral of panic about whether you are giving your precious darlings the best possible care you can provide? It's ok. We all do.

So, you want your fish to be colorful, active, eat healthily, and poop less, right? You want your water to be sparkling and clear and not toxic to your fish and plants, yes? These are not lofty goals at all and many of the answers are in the fish food. We all live busy lives and none of us want a hobby that seems more like a chore, so I thought I would put together a few fish food realted tips to help you do more enjoying and less working around the pond.

Look for nutrients like Krill meal, spirulina, and asaxanthin all of which help to enhance and brighten colors
Avoid fillers like corn which can increase waste and cloud the water, pellets should not break apart or get soggy
Look for a high protein content, again easing digestion and minimizing waste
Feed your fish in a localized area so you can monitor intake. Try throwing a plastic ring in the water and putting the feed inside the ring. If they eat it all, give them some more, if there is some left, you know you can use less next time. That way it doesn’t all get washed down the falls or sucked into the filter.
Try to buy food that is packaged in a reseal able, foil bag or other sun blocking packaging, exposure to the elements reduces the nutritional value and integrity of the food

Look for these qualities in your fish food and you will be on your way to enjoying your water garden whether its a whiskey barrel, a simulated mountain stream, or an acre pond.

Visit the Hunting Creek Fisheries website see our selection of quality ornamental goldfish, koi, golden orfe, and the food they eat.

Pictures of Hunting Creek Fisheries Comets

2011-03-15T17:20:00.004-04:00

The 2011 season is upon us. While we get rolling, I thought I would post these pictures of comets that we caught this week for our first orders of the season.

Enjoy!

Hunting Creek Fisheries Launches Facebook Page

2010-07-20T14:26:00.003-04:00

I hope you're having a good week and staying cool. We were lucky this week to see a little bit of rain. Reports around the Frederick, MD region are that corn crops and other agricultural crops are suffering so keep your farmer friends in your thoughts and remember that Rain is a Good Thing!

If you want another great way to follow Hunting Creek Fisheries, check out our Facebook page. Like us and get timely updates and topical information about ornamental goldfish, koi, golden orfe, and our exclusive blend of feed.

I know, that sounded like a commercial. I'm practicing for my big break, in case this whole fish farming gig doesn't work out.

Don't forget to send us some pictures of your HCF fish and your ponds, we'd love to see them and share them with our subscibers.

Nice mention in the Gazette.net

2010-07-15T16:24:00.005-04:00

Family fish farm handed down to fourth generation
The article features our new President Matt Klinger, and our plans for the future. "As the business's fifth president, (Matt) Klinger represents the fourth generation of his family to manage the 125-acre property."

HCF President Matt Klinger (foreground), and your blog host and HCF Production Manager, Jim "the Fishman" Shubert (photo credit: Gazette.net)

Full Circle

2010-07-08T13:16:00.003-04:00

Can anyone say heat wave??? We've been experiencing record highs here in Frederick County, MD this week. The thermometer read 106°F yesterday at 2:00 p.m.

One good thing about working at a fish hatchery is the abundance of built-in swimming pools and a never ending supply of excuses to fall in to one of them. For the sake of fish health (and fish farmers' health) we were up at 4:00 a.m. this morning to drain a pond of this year's Golden Orfe Fry. They were out of the pond and into the building to get prepped for shipment before 10:00 a.m.!

Here's a picture of some of what we drained. Sorry for the quality of the photo, Droid didn't want to focus this morning. These are the same fry we've been following here on the blog so I thought you might enjoy seeing them all grown up. They are ~15 weeks old and measure from 3-5 inches.

For more info, check out the hatchery website at http://www.huntingcreekfisheries.com/.

I'm going swimming.

Golden Orfe Fry at Hunting Creek Fisheries

2010-06-01T10:09:00.006-04:00

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend and took some time to remember those who have fallen for their country and our freedom. The wife took some girlfriends up to Raystown for a camping trip so I took advantage of an empty house and got the vegetable garden tilled and planted. I see home made hot pepper sauce and fresh salsa in the not so distant future.

Things at the hatchery are going well, and we hope that our wholesale and retail partners are enjoying a successful season - thanks to all for your business! Send me pictures of your HCF fish or other products and I'll post them here on the blog.

Since we started the blog with the draining of the orfe ponds, and the sexing of the orfe breeders, I thought I would post some pictures of the results of that particular effort.

Look closely, we have orfe fry!

May already?

2010-05-10T15:54:00.003-04:00

Hi there, been meaning to post but things get a little busy at the hatchery this time of year. (and the Understatement of theYear Award goes to...)

So for your entertainment, here is a little snippet of me counting out some Apricot Blush straight tail comets, a new strain for us this year.

Pop some corn, its a classic.

Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl,

2010-04-02T13:10:00.005-04:00

The warm weather predicted for this weekend makes me think the Golden Orfe will be spawning soon. For those of you not familiar with the whole process, step one is to drain the breeder ponds and put the breeders in a holding pool filled with cool water, which will keep them from spawning. The picture in my last post was taken when we were draining the Orfe breeders.

The video below shows me "sexing" the orfe. This sounds kinky, but it is decidedly not. Basically, you go through each breeder in the holding pool and determine if it is a male or female and separate them so you can evenly distribute them in the pools for spawning.

Going though our orfe breeders gave me hope for this year's crop. The ladies are full of eggs and the boys seem ready to do what they do best. But when aren't we eh, girls?

So here's Jim the Fishman sexing the orfe, is it wierd that my wife was the videographer?

Have a happy Easter everyone, Jim

Signs of Spring

2010-03-19T16:45:00.006-04:00

It is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago we were under several feet of snow and wondering if we would ever see the ground again. Peepers are peeping, the geese are paired up, and we are draining the golden orfe breeders here at Hunting Creek Fisheries and those signs all point to one thing. Spring 2010 is officially here, even Vernal Equinox says so, his birthday being tomorrow and all.