Hi

I'm new to fish keeping. We have a nice outside pond with plenty of space for the 4 goldfish we got in May last year. I didn't know what sex they all were. It's now clear that we have one female (usually the most aggressive of the 4) and 3 males. They are just chasing her round and round constantly and she's getting no respite from it. I was wondering whether we should try and remove her periods of time so she gets a break. If so for how long? or is this ok? Have to say I was hoping for 3 females and one male - that was what it looked liked when I read about how to sex them.

Any advice welcome please. She's a very beautiful fish and I don't want to die from exhaustion.

Thanks in advance.

Kind regards
Kez

Giving her a break from the relentless chasing would be helpful for her for the very reasons you suggest, perhaps for several days at a time. Have you a large container such as a Really Useful Box 145 litre or a tank? Another possibility is to add a female or two (if space permitted, and you were certain they were female) so that the one female isn't being relentlessly chased. It might be that the chasing ends up with additional fish being procreated - and, if so, hopefully some females among them.

There is at least one member on here these days who is experienced in ponds, so they may be able to offer additional advice or suggestions.

Thanks very much for your reply. I am able to remove her into a box and I think I will have to. She looks shattered - given that she was most the bossy and active fish of them all, it's sad to see.

Not sure I will be able to get hold of another female given we are locked down so seems the best solution to remove her. I don't think she will mind - she's always stayed away from the others more and been very independent.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.