Sarasa comets are the bright red and white goldfish that are the perfect alternative to koi for most average garden fishponds.

 

Sarasota comets

This batch at Swansea Enterprise Park were a first and consist entirely of fish displaying a red head spot, like the Tancho koi. Such fish are always to be found in normal batches but never in the numbers seen in this ‘specially edited highlights’ consignment. Although stunning in isolation, these fish are particularly good for bringing out the contrast in other goldfish breeds such as shubunkin or canary yellow fish.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/pond-fish/sarasa-comet-

A fish on a leaf AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Although a fish out of water is usually a phrase that denotes an awkward situation, for mudskippers it’s where they feel happiest. Having evolved to exploit a niche safely out of reach of predatory fish and other hazards, they get nervous out of their depth. A number of species find their way into the hobby, but the Indian dwarf mudskipper (Periophthalmus novemradiatus) is the best choice, staying small and not tied to marine or strongly brackish environments. This batch were at Reefkeeper Rugby.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/brackish-water-fish/mudskipper

A fish swimming in the water AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Marine fish are often gorgeously coloured but quite aggressive, with many getting a pass due to their patterns or price. One of the best choices for a reef set up is the gorgeous Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica), which is generally completely peaceful toward anything other than members of its own species. Sociable as youngsters, mature fish tend to form pairs but are pretty much impossible to sex visually. For this reason, it’s best to keep them singly, unless you come across a pair, or are able to start with a group and remove any individuals that start to get bullied. You’ll find them in all of our stores that stock marines, this one was seen at Cwmbran.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/marine/miscellaneous-fish/firefish

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Spring is here and our pond sections are now filling with pond plants. Early in the year it tends to be the more durable sedges and rushes that take an early lead and they’re always useful when planting a water garden. More showy flowering types such as Calthas, Primulas and even Orchids are now appearing and stock changes weekly. Plants such as Waterlilies are slower to come into growth and may look like a pot of dirt with nothing but promise, but this is the best time to add them to a new pond to avoid the extra work involved with the management of floating leaves.

A group of fish swimming in water AI-generated content may be incorrect.

One of a group of superficially similar fishes, the Lapis tetra (Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia) is a Brazilian beauty that shines in a planted tank or biotope setup. Like many rarer tetras, they often look underwhelming as youngsters in a stock tank but this batch were hard to miss. Like all tetras, these are best kept in large mixed-sex groups to see them at their best. These were shining at our Weybridge store.