Pond and tank ALGAE EATER

The Chinese Hi-finned banded sharks are now sold out until spring of 2011  To receive notice when we have them for sale in 2012 please sign up for my email newsletter here

Please note the photos and videos down below were done in March of 2010 and I did not see any reason to do new photos or videos because they look the same as they did last year.

My newest information for 2011.

My  7 that I added to my personal pond the king fisher got 2 early on.  The other 5 ranged from 10 to 16 inches this spring (2011).  I fed mine Sho Koi that I soaked in water and mashed up so it would sink to the bottom.  I could see the 3 in my lower pond going along the bottom eating algae too on my underwater live stream video camera.  Two schooled together (one male and one female) the other in the lower pond schooled with the koi.  You can photos of them near the bottom of this page taken mid summer in 2010.

FROM SOME OF THE 2010 BUYERS THAT I HAVE HEARD FROM SO FAR

*** A customer in Nebraska, zone 5 left his  2 in his pond.  When the ice thawed (he kept an open spot all winter) one was dead.  A few weeks later he emailed back to say the other one was spotted eating algae on the side of the pond.  There is no way to know why the one died and one lived.

*** I didn’t see the sharks all winter but I saw them a couple of weeks ago, both of them, and they looked just fine.  We had a particularly cold winter for West Texas but they managed to make it through.
 
M H

 Hi Bonnie

 
*** Mine did good he is growing and we had some nasty cold cold weather. I saw him a couple times in the last few weeks.
 
Cindy  Andrews Texas 
*** Hi Bonnie,

      My hi-fin sharks spent the winter in my office in a 55 gal tank. They have grown to be about 12" long and we have fed them the food I got from you along with some flakes the other fish in the tank can't get.

      I will probably return them to the pond next week! We had a cold winter here with one snow that gave us 14" and we had consistent temps in the 20's in December. I don't think the sharks would have made it although the goldfish made out great! 

     If the sharks grow as much this year I don't know what we'll do this coming winter.

Cape Charles, Virginia ( Eastern Shore)
 

I heard from one customer who not only lost all her koi but her sharks to a heron

While researching I found many other names that this fish is know by and they are,  Asian Hi-fin Banded Sucker, Chinese Hi-fin Banded Sucker, Chinese Sail fin Sucker, Freshwater Batfish, Hi-fin Banded Shark, Hi-fin Banded Sucker, Chinese Hi-fin Loach, bat fish.

Please be sure to watch the 3 live videos at the end of this page and hear my surprised voice.

Update late March I added 7 to my 15,000 gallon pond and I can see them going along the bottom eating algae. We have shipped out lots of them and the email response from those who received them has been awesome.  Every one has been as impressed as we are!

 
They are docile, non aggressive fish that get a long with other fish. 
 
You would need to bring them in the house for the winter to an aquarium if  you live where there is ice for more than a week or so during the winter.  They can take a few weeks of really cold water.  Here in NC, zone 7, they winter over just fine.
 
Chinese hi-fin banded sharks are only found in the Yangtze River in China.  They do not breed in captivity, no one knows why.  They live 15 to 20 years and will grow to 20 inches.  They only grow 1 to 2 inches a year.
 
All of my fish have been treated for parasites and bacterial infection and have been fully quarantined.
 
Your water has to be at least 60 and on the rise to add them to a pond.  While you can add one to your pond/tank it is best to have 2 because they are schooling fish and tend to get lonely by themselves

You can see mine that has been in my pond since March 19th if you go to the link below that goes to my underwater camera.  We have a temporary bottom drain cover and he sits near the 2  rocks on top of the cover.  He swims away occasionally but then returns to the same spot.  I can see him eating algae.

 
Algae around the pump and tubing in the "sharks" new temporary home in a tank in the greenhouse.
Algae around the pump and tubing See the video below to see what happened to the algae around the pump!

 
Chinese banded high fin shark
Chinese banded hi-fin shark  Chinese banded high fin shark  They had just finished floating and I placed them in a bowl for photos and videos
These are baby koi I had in a tank that I decided to add the "sharks" to because it had the most algae and the babies are not able to eat it as fast as it grows.
You can see some baby koi that are tank makes to the "sharks"    baby koi that will share their home with the sharks
Update May 28th 2010
It has been 2-1/2 months since I added 2 of the Chinese banded hi-fin sharks to my lower pond.  One would stay near the underwater camera stand and the other on or near the rock that is holding down the temporary bottom drain cover.  It is a lotus pan turned upside down.  LOL! but it works.  I had no seen either of them for a few weeks and figured the dratted kingfisher got them.

In fact a couple of weeks ago, Rich was in the pond to get out breeders for spawning.  He had drained down the pond by about 1/2.  I have no rocks in my lower pond so there is really no place for a fish to hide.  Or so I thought

I so enjoyed my morning coffee while watching them and their antics on my live streaming camera.  I had been so bummed out because they were "gone".

This afternoon while on my way down to the greenhouse, I spotted both of them sitting together near the camera stand for the underwater camera.  I dashed back up to the house to get my camera.

Two of the Chinese hi-fin banded sharks seen from above While the photo is not the best, you can see them both side by side. Now I need to figure out which is the male and which is the female.....

So for those of you who thought they were "gone" trust me, they have a way of disappearing,

 

Koi Video  In this video they sharks have been floated in the tank and transferred to a bowl so I could do photos and videos


Koi Video  In this video note all the algae near the pump (by the 2 pieces of tubing)  You will hear me talking in this video

Koi Video In this video note my surprise and excuse my language at my total surprise that all the algae has been eaten in the 10 minutes or so when I walked away. 

Update August 12, 2010
Almost 5 months have gone by since I added the "sharks" to my pond.  They no longer stay on the bottom or hide.  They now school together by themselves or with my koi.  There are actually 3 of them in my lower pond but I am not able to get a photo of all 3 together.

2 Hi-fin banded sharks schooling together in my pond

I was able to snap this photo of 2 of the 2 Hi-fin banded sharks in my koi pond

Chinese hi-fin banded shark schooling with my kio 5 months after I added them to my pond
Update September 2010

Yesterday we drained the upper pond and vacuumed the liner, dead headed the lilies and fertilized them. There were 2 small koi and one "shark" there. He/she was 7 inches back in March. He/she is now 10.5 inches

10.5  inches

Today we drained the middle pond and vacuumed the liner, dead headed the lilies and fertilized them. There were 4 small koi and one "shark" there. He/she was 7 inches back in March. He/she is now 12  inches

12 inches

He was so docile he laid in my hand under the water.  So I decided to take a picture of him/her on its side

r  You can tell his size by looking at my hand.  I tried to hold him in my hand and do the photo but I needed to also work the camera at the same time.  LOL

 
Japanese Imported And Domestic Koi fish for Sale Menu
Chinese banded high fin shark algae eaters for ponds

Algae Eaters for ponds          

 

Email me  quantity wanted and complete shipping info.  Available again in March of 2012

 
Domestic - Butterfly Fin
Cost
BFK900-BFK932          10        $35 to $85
BFK506-BFK534          11     $25 to $95 
BFK536-BFK554          12 $35 to $55  
BFK400-BFK412                        1 $35 to $85    added Sept 29, 2011
BFK413-BFK423                        2 $35 to $85    added Sept 29, 2011
BFK424-BFK439                        3 $55 to $250   added Sept 29, 2011
BFK750-BFK58                         4 $150 to $300  
BFK764-BFK784                        5 $35 to $85
BFK792-BFK811                        6
$30 to $85  
BFK813-BFK831                        7 $45 to $85
BFK832-BFK858                        8 $35 to $95
BFK923-BFK934                        9 My breeders I would like to sell Email me
Domestic - Standard Fin
Cost
ST300 - ST301 must see!  added Sept 29, 2011
ST400 - ST415 $35 to $200   
ST416 - ST429 $35 to $95   
ST430 - ST444 $55 to $85   
More information can be found below that is relevant to koi.  Please read below and watch the video of hand feeding.
Koi Video  Watch this video to see just how friendly my fish are! Except for the smallest babies, they will all hand feed. You will need to scroll way down the page to see the video

All of my fish have undergone a full quarantine with the water temperature being raised, dropped and raised again to check for  KHV/SVC  They have also been treated for parasites.  They are clean, healthy and many will hand feed.  (See the video above)  I only feed and sell Sho Koi food with an immune stimulator built into the food.  See my supplies folder in the shopping cart for Sho Koi fish food.
How the chart on the left is coded
Fish Chart Code:
JBF - Japanese imported butterfly koi
JS - Japanese imported standard fin koi
ST - Domestic bred standard fin koi by Rich and Bonnie Japanese parents
BFK - Domestic bred butterfly koi bred by Rich and Bonnie Japanese parents

How to order
On every fish for sale page at the bottom of each page, is an order inquiry form.  Please use that form to inquire about cost of fish and overnight Fed Ex delivery.  That form comes right to my email.  Be sure to allow my email addy in your email or you will not get a reply if it goes to your spam/trash folder. You can type any message of any length in that big box - the box will get bigger as you type.  You only need to send one form.  Keep a browser open to the form and go back and add more fish if you like (work with 2 browsers open)
Other helpful information
 
What do all these Japanese Names mean?
Read about the importance of Quarantine
 
Different Scale Patterns & Sexing Koi
See how much difference an inch in size makes.
Read what people are saying About fish they bought
MY FISH see photos of my fish
KOI EGGS
Koi eggs I generally have fertilized koi eggs for sale in the spring and or  early summer.  Read the link and then sign up for my email newsletter to receive notice when we are shipping eggs. I ask that  you PLEASE don't email me or call me about eggs but join my email newsletter.  All information will be in my newsletter when we are ready to spawn.  I won't have information or pricing until we are ready to spawn!  Nor will I know what breeders we will be using until just before we spawn.  I must wait for the females to be ready to spawn and it varies from year to year when they are ready. SPAWNING IS COMPLETED FOR 2011