Do Comets stop growing?

[Mibby]

Hi

We've got three red comets in a small pond outside. When I bought them they were really small but they're growing nicely and look really healthy but does anyone know if they stop growing? Are they limited by the size of the pond or will they just keep going? We're going to be digging a bigger pond this summer if not :)

Also they eat all year. The aquatic place I bought them from said they wouldnt eat if it got below 10'C but I think he forgot to tell them that, they come to the surface regardless of the weather and only stop for a couple of days if the water gets iced over. We tried them on a winter wheatgerm food but they prefer their usual one all year. Is this ok?

They do have an upper limit but it's determined by genetics and health, not the size of the pond. Sometimes they can have their growth stunted if they don't have enough space but this is a very bad thing, causing all kinds of health problems and a shorter life span.

I wouldn't feed them all year, their metabolism will drop in the winter and if you feed them it will just pollute the pond. Goldfish are very good at pretending to be hungry , you just have to learn to ignore them!

How big is the pond you have now? Did the fish spawn last year?

Forgot to say, comets normally get to around 8-10 inches.

8 inches?!! Pond is pretty small, I'll start dropping hints to DH about digging a bigger one fairly soon then :)
I didnt see any sign of eggs last year but we had a few the year before, sadly the fish ate them before I could get them out to hatch

That's probably for the best, they can breed like crazy once they start going! A fish pond needs to have one area that is at least a metre deep so that the fish can shelter from cold weather (assuming you're in the UK and not somewhere more exotic!) and I think you need to allow about 100 gallons per 10" of fish if I'm remembering rightly. This sounds like a lot but it's not huge, in fact you might want to make it bigger in case you do end up with lots of babies

Thats useful to know, thanks :) (sadly we're in the uk, not somewhere warm)