Goldfish

I've really enjoyed the goldfish in my garden pond and would like to keep them over the winter. Other than a heater, what else should I do? Someone said not to feed fish in the winter. Is this correct? Stop feeding goldfish when the water temperature drops below 55 degrees F. This usually occurs in mid- to late November. It's a good idea to install a floating stock tank heater to keep a small portion of the pond free of ice; not for keeping the fish warm — rather to expose the water to air, thus oxygenating the water.

Baltimore used to be a town of colorful public characters. One of them, my father, passed away 40 years ago today. Sam Shapiro was often described as a "perennial" candidate - for mayor in 1967 and 1971 and House of Representatives in 1968 and 1970 - and a political gadfly. His attention-getting campaign schemes included handing out bagged live goldfish tagged with "I'm Fishing For Your Vote" in 1967, holding a 50-cent-a-plate testimonial dinner at Polock Johnny's on The Block in 1971 - advertising it on a sign affixed to City Hall - and other inter-election capers and hijinks.

FOR AS LONG as sportsmen and women have been trying to gain an edge over critters, there have been companies peddling the next gimmick to give humans supremacy over members of the animal kingdom. As a member of Homo sapiens with a college degree who owns two rather large house cats with an agenda, I can only repeat the immortal words of Aerosmith: "Dream on." Yet, every season battery-powered gizmos and genetically jiggered bait flood the market. The latest must-have in our market is the "Black Salty," a live bait so powerful, we're told, that the whale would spit up Jonah to make room.

An article in the May 28, 1937 edition of The Catonsville Herald and Baltimore Countian reported on the heroic effort by an area doctor to save the life of a little boy who had fallen into a backyard goldfish pond. Charles T. Cockey , two and one-half year old son of Mr. and Ms. Charles T. Cockey , was found unconscious in a shallow goldfish pool on the grounds of his home on Thursday afternoon of this week, and was revived by a physician after he apparently had ceased to breathe.

An article in the May 28, 1937 edition of The Catonsville Herald and Baltimore Countian reported on the heroic effort by an area doctor to save the life of a little boy who had fallen into a backyard goldfish pond. Charles T. Cockey , two and one-half year old son of Mr. and Ms. Charles T. Cockey , was found unconscious in a shallow goldfish pool on the grounds of his home on Thursday afternoon of this week, and was revived by a physician after he apparently had ceased to breathe.

Jacob Cherian waded into a pond in Sewells Orchard Park in Columbia this week searching for invaders. With help from Carl Spicher, another volunteer, he pulled a net through the shallow water Tuesday, hoping to corral some of the 50 large goldfish that have taken up residence in the pond. "They were huge," said Susan Muller, a natural resources technician with the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks who spotted the fish this spring. She estimated they were 18 inches to 24 inches long.

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources offered a way yesterday to deal with an invasion of unwanted goldfish in a Columbia pond: bring in bigger fish. Three fisheries experts with a large net waded into the pond on Montgomery Run Road at the request of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, surveyed the aquatic life and suggested largemouth bass to take care of hundreds of non-native goldfish and several large koi that are disturbing the ecosystem of the pond.

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources offered a way yesterday to deal with an invasion of unwanted goldfish in a Columbia pond: bring in bigger fish. Three fisheries experts with a large net waded into the pond on Montgomery Run Road at the request of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, surveyed the aquatic life and suggested largemouth bass to take care of hundreds of non-native goldfish and several large koi that are disturbing the ecosystem of the pond.

For $1, a fair-goer received 10 chances to win a goldfish -- all thecontestant had to do was toss a pingpong ball into a pint-size fishbowl.The game was besieged by people, young and old, all trying toleave the Sykesville Fireman's Park with more than a stuffed animal and stuffed belly.About 100 were successful each night, said a game operator, who refused to give his name."The kids enjoy it," the man said, as he gathered balls for the next eager competitor. "People tell us about the fish that they have from years before -- and they're getting bigger."

At 10 a.m. on a rainy Monday, with his three rabbits in the garage fed and his mother's cereal bowl empty, Peter Severance is ready to begin his school day. He lies on his stomach on the beige living room carpet and throws the cat a toy. His mother, Ann, sits on the navy flowered couch and begins reading aloud from Arthur Ransome's Pigeon Post, Chapter 27. This is Peter's classroom, a two-story tan house at Baltimore's western edge, steps away from...

I've really enjoyed the goldfish in my garden pond and would like to keep them over the winter. Other than a heater, what else should I do? Someone said not to feed fish in the winter. Is this correct? Stop feeding goldfish when the water temperature drops below 55 degrees F. This usually occurs in mid- to late November. It's a good idea to install a floating stock tank heater to keep a small portion of the pond free of ice; not for keeping the fish warm — rather to expose the water to air, thus oxygenating the water.

The guy who supervises the crime lab for Baltimore City police is a crime novelist in his spare time. The department also has an officer who was assigned to the Western District around the time JFK took office - and is still there. Where can somebody see stories like these, the upbeat, human-interest side of Baltimore's finest? Newspapers? TV news? Fat chance, says department spokesman Matt Jablow. With the media more interested in street-crime gore and police scandals, the department has decided to take its good news straight to the people - producing its own video features and posting them on www.baltimorepolice.

FOR AS LONG as sportsmen and women have been trying to gain an edge over critters, there have been companies peddling the next gimmick to give humans supremacy over members of the animal kingdom. As a member of Homo sapiens with a college degree who owns two rather large house cats with an agenda, I can only repeat the immortal words of Aerosmith: "Dream on." Yet, every season battery-powered gizmos and genetically jiggered bait flood the market. The latest must-have in our market is the "Black Salty," a live bait so powerful, we're told, that the whale would spit up Jonah to make room.

Jacob Cherian waded into a pond in Sewells Orchard Park in Columbia this week searching for invaders. With help from Carl Spicher, another volunteer, he pulled a net through the shallow water Tuesday, hoping to corral some of the 50 large goldfish that have taken up residence in the pond. "They were huge," said Susan Muller, a natural resources technician with the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks who spotted the fish this spring. She estimated they were 18 inches to 24 inches long.

At 10 a.m. on a rainy Monday, with his three rabbits in the garage fed and his mother's cereal bowl empty, Peter Severance is ready to begin his school day. He lies on his stomach on the beige living room carpet and throws the cat a toy. His mother, Ann, sits on the navy flowered couch and begins reading aloud from Arthur Ransome's Pigeon Post, Chapter 27. This is Peter's classroom, a two-story tan house at Baltimore's western edge, steps away from...

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources offered a way yesterday to deal with an invasion of unwanted goldfish in a Columbia pond: bring in bigger fish. Three fisheries experts with a large net waded into the pond on Montgomery Run Road at the request of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, surveyed the aquatic life and suggested largemouth bass to take care of hundreds of non-native goldfish and several large koi that are disturbing the ecosystem of the pond.

City Council candidate Donna Joy Beth Shapiro was only "fishing for votes," but she touched off a controversy when she sent 50 goldfish to local media organizations, including several TV stations and The Evening Sun.The goldfish were enclosed in small plastic bags filled with water. A piece of Shapiro's campaign literature, with the line, "I'm TC fishing for your vote," was stapled to the top of each bag.Shapiro is one of 13 Democrats seeking the three 2nd District council seats in the Sept.

WE'LL be pilloried for this by the animal rightists, but after all the trouble with the student newspaper at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, there was comfort last week in a front-page Retriever story about a fraternity party at which live goldfish allegedly were devoured.We say "allegedly" because no one seems to have actually witnessed the swallowing of a fish. But carrying signs reading "Save the Fish" and "Stop Senseless Death," a small group of animal-rights protesters did attend the March 3 Alpha Tau Omega affair.

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources offered a way yesterday to deal with an invasion of unwanted goldfish in a Columbia pond: bring in bigger fish. Three fisheries experts with a large net waded into the pond on Montgomery Run Road at the request of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, surveyed the aquatic life and suggested largemouth bass to take care of hundreds of non-native goldfish and several large koi that are disturbing the ecosystem of the pond.

Biologists from the state Department of Natural Resources offered a way yesterday to deal with an invasion of unwanted goldfish in a Columbia pond: bring in bigger fish. Three fisheries experts with a large net waded into the pond on Montgomery Run Road at the request of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, surveyed the aquatic life and suggested largemouth bass to take care of hundreds of non-native goldfish and several large koi that are disturbing the ecosystem of the pond.