# There's a sushi bar in our backyard! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 24, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032 "2005-03-24T13:44:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/1 "2005-03-24T13:44:35Z")
We’re closing on our house on Tuesday morning. Last night, we went in to do the final walk-through and to get some measurements. Well, strolling through the backyard with my MIL, she said “Is that a little pond?”. Well, slap my ass and call me Billy. We have a little running rock garden pond in our backyard. I knew the rock garden was there, but not the pond. Then she looked in the pond and said “Are there goldfish in there?”. Yep! We have goldfish! Or, as my husband says “It’s a sushi bar for Oscar!” (one of our cats). Of course, I start flipping through the contract panicked “They didn’t say anything about goldfish!”. I’m hoping they’re taking them with them, but I have a feeling the goldfish are ours. This could be bad. The best experience I had with goldfish was keeping my two college goldies, Sam and Gus, alive for nine months. All of my other fish have bitten it pretty quickly. And goldfish in winter? There’s a pump in there, so I’m guessing that’s either heating the pond or keeping the water running. Oh, man, I hope they take these fish. I don’t know nothin’ bout carin’ for no big-ass goldfish! (And no, they aren’t koi - they’re just big-ass goldfish…). E. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/2 "2005-03-24T13:55:38Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > And goldfish in winter? It depends upon where you are and how deep the pool is. They sort of chill out and just hang around in the Winter. Unlike Koi, they can live under ice. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/3 "2005-03-24T14:09:44Z")
I managed to kill our goldfish in the course of less than two hours. Don’t ask me how, 'cause I’m not real sure how I did it. The longest amount of time I’ve ever had a fish alive was 6 days. On the seventh, Vinnie bit the dust. Good luck with your fishies though. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/4 "2005-03-24T14:29:58Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > I managed to kill our goldfish in the course of less than two hours. Don’t ask me how, 'cause I’m not real sure how I did it. The longest amount of time I’ve ever had a fish alive was 6 days. On the seventh, Vinnie bit the dust. > > Good luck with your fishies though. You’re not helping. :smack: 😃 I’m trying to do some research and figure out exactly how to take care of these suckers. I’m going to have to name them - I can’t have pets without names. Of course, none of this will be a problem if they’ll just TAKE the fishies with them. E. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/5 "2005-03-24T14:51:38Z")
My aunt built house out in the country on a lake. Then she put a koi pond in her front yard, complete with burbling stream and rock garden. She stocked the pond with 10 BIG koi. Well, she counts them a few days later and there are 8 koi. Next day, 7. Then 6. So she forces her husband to stay up all night and see who is stealing her expensive fish. Nothing happens. But 2 days later she’s down to 5 koi. So she gets her son to set up a motion activated camera. A koi thief? Kinda. The local raccoon population were quite happy she had put in a fresh fish drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/6 "2005-03-24T15:21:50Z")
Raccoons will wade but not swim. They will use pots in the pool as stepping stones to get in the pool and catch fish. If you move any pots away from the side, the coons won’t get in the pool. Worked for me. I mostly leave goldfish alone. They eat insects, mosquito larvae and stuff. I have a small population in the pool. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/7 "2005-03-24T18:15:40Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > I managed to kill our goldfish in the course of less than two hours. Don’t ask me how, 'cause I’m not real sure how I did it. The longest amount of time I’ve ever had a fish alive was 6 days. On the seventh, Vinnie bit the dust. > > Good luck with your fishies though. If they only last a day, are they carp diem? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/8 "2005-03-24T18:16:26Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > If they only last a day, are they carp diem? Ow! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/9 "2005-03-24T19:02:48Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Ow! 😃 Tell us how you really feel: don’t be koi! ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/10 "2005-03-24T20:51:16Z")
Goldfish, the snack that smiles back. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/11 "2005-03-24T22:20:44Z")
This jokes are a little fishy. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/12 "2005-03-25T01:28:23Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > Goldfish, the snack that smiles back. Until you bite their heads off. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/13 "2005-03-25T01:36:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Raccoons will wade but not swim. I don’t know about swimming for hunting/fish-catching purposes, but they _can_ swim. We used to take ours to the local pond to go swimming with us all the time. She had as much fun as we did (nothing like treading water with a wet 'coon on your head). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/14 "2005-03-25T02:21:18Z")
[Frankenfish](http://www.livejournal.com/users/otakuloki/6266.html)! You’ve got a home for Frankenfish!!! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/15 "2005-03-25T02:30:01Z")
Wild coons will swim to escape a dog, for instance. When I moved pots to the middle of the pool rather than the edges, they quit taking fish. Must be nice to have one as a pet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/16 "2005-03-26T06:52:31Z")
“Nice” doesn’t begin to describe it. “Privileged” is more like it. Raccoons are one of the most fascinatingly intelligent animals that I’ve ever had a chance to get acquainted with. I grew up on a farm, so upon occasion we would find a young one (or two, or three) by the side of the road (when MamaCoon got hit by a car), and take them home and raise them until they could fend for themselves. Mostly, they would go off on their own when they were of age (especially the males), but once in a while, they would stay around (we had a female that not only stayed tame and around the house for several years, but raised two litters of li’lcoons in a tree in our back yard). The nemesis turned out to be the local kids who trapped 'coons for their pelts. Bastards. Raccoons are, hands down, one of the most interesting, FUN animals on the planet…and it’s always baffled me why they aren’t raised and domesticated for pets like other “non-traditional” animals (like ferrets, for example). Cool as hell. I miss them terribly. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/17 "2005-03-26T07:36:39Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > **We’re closing on our house on Tuesday morning**. Last night, we went in to do the final walk-through and to get some measurements. Well, strolling through the backyard with my MIL, she said “Is that a little pond?”. > > Well, slap my ass and call me Billy. We have a little running rock garden pond in our backyard. **I knew the rock garden was there, but not the pond**. I’m not being sarcastic here, and I hope I don’t have to ask. But being such a huge investment… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/18 "2005-03-26T17:28:19Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Tell us how you really feel: don’t be koi! The puns… they burn… _curls up in a little ball and whimpers_ ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/19 "2005-03-26T17:47:06Z")
Objection: Koi can, indeed, live under ice. Or, the fish in the pond at school are actually robo-koi who shut shut down for the winter. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-sushi-bar-in-our-backyard/296032/20 "2005-03-26T19:25:12Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Objection: Koi can, indeed, live under ice. I stand corrected. I got the information from Stephen Meyer who writes the \* Ponds and Pond Fish \* column for \* Aquarium Fish Magazine. \*. He lives in Maine and brings his Koi inside for the Winter.