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I need some help identifying this fish- I have a photo album at http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos. The album is entitled Comet or koi?-Rudy.

I bought this fish thinking it was a goldfish (comet?) because it's got a kind of long tail for a koi, and I mentioned to the clerk that I did not want koi, and was charged the price for a goldfish ($8.99 instead of a koi, being $7.99).
But, I'm begining to think it's a koi, especially because of its' coloring. S/he does not have barbels, however. S/he's about 7" long currently. I caught him/her spawning with one of my shubunkins a couple of weeks ago, but I don't know which one laid the eggs. Can koi and fancy goldfish inter-breed?
Also, will she/he be okay in my hot tub-turned pond? It's approximately 800-900g, about 8' x 7' square with an outer depth of about 18" and center depth of about 3'. I have water hyacinths growing in it. I currently have a medium-sized pond pump (about 350gph) and box pond filter, bought from Home Depot. I can eventually get a larger, more powerful pump and filter, if necessary. For stock, I have 3 livebearers (2 platies, 1 swordtail) who are there for the summer, the possible koi ( we've named him/her Rudolph or Rudy), another smaller koi (Roy, about 5", and two shubinkins (about 8-9" each) living in the pond.

Please let me know what you all think (and be nice, even if you think I'm an idiot for turning my hot tub into a pond!)
Thanks!

That link isn't an external one, so it doesn't work (for example, it takes me to my own photos), but here's how you tell: Koi have barbels. Very very simple, so you don't need our help! Also, color is really never a determining factor. With a bit of practice, you can learn to tell them apart from across the room just by body shape, but ATM, barbels are the way to go.

-Molly
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Can koi and fancy goldfish inter-breed?

Absolutely.

Also, will she/he be okay in my hot tub-turned pond?

perfectly fine with those dimensions as long as your winters are not absolutely fridgid becasue above ground freezes faster without geothermal heat. Most hot-tubs have built in heaters though.

You say your main thought for it being a koi is the coloring but didn't tell us the color

There is no goldfish that has barbels; and since yours is barbel-less it is a goldfish. Koi all have barbels, however small they might be, and they are definately there at 1 inch for the viewing.

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Bummer- I was hoping to be able to share my photos. Oh, well, I'll definitely become a premium member sometime soon!
I don't know where I thought I heard it or read it, but I thought that not all koi have barbels.
Rudy's coloration is unique from what I've seen of comets and shubunkins, and quite striking, which is another reason I thought 'koi'. He/she's all white, with just a few red markings on one gill, the nose/mouth, and a few spots on the dorsal/tail areas, and a few black (blueish) blotches on the dorsal area.
Oh, well, at least if Rudy's a goldfish (comet or shubunkin), I won't have to worry about him/her outgrowing my pond.
Thanks!