Can my koi die during spawning?

[smithliz]

My koi are spawning and it looks like I only have one female with eggs and all the other koi are after her chasing her around the pond and pushing her into the rocks a plants.
How much of this can she take? And how can we save the eggs from being eaten?

 

[mrsclem]

Hi Smithliz, spawning can be very rough. Mine spawned a couple of weeks ago and I was sure the one female was going to die. It went on for over 6 hours. The next day, the female was fine, missing some scales but otherwise ok. Koi lay a lot of eggs but they will eat them if they can. Can we get some info about your pond? Size, how many koi, filtration? I am trying to get my fish load down so was hoping all the eggs would be eaten but Ive got at least10 that survived in one pond and not sure if any made it in the other. If there are plants in the pond, chances are some will make it. Do you have a quarantine tank or large container that you could put the female in to recouperate?
BTW- Welcome to GPF!

 

[Mmathis]

I’ve heard of it happening, but not often. Mostly they get pretty beat up which can be a set-up for illness. Sometimes people will remove the female (or keep her confined inside the pond) for a few days, just to give her time to recover her strength.

 

[smithliz]

Hi Smithliz, spawning can be very rough. Mine spawned a couple of weeks ago and I was sure the one female was going to die. It went on for over 6 hours. The next day, the female was fine, missing some scales but otherwise ok. Koi lay a lot of eggs but they will eat them if they can. Can we get some info about your pond? Size, how many koi, filtration? I am trying to get my fish load down so was hoping all the eggs would be eaten but Ive got at least10 that survived in one pond and not sure if any made it in the other. If there are plants in the pond, chances are some will make it. Do you have a quarantine tank or large container that you could put the female in to recouperate?
BTW- Welcome to GPF!

Well not to sure on the specs. of my pond just that it is 5,000 gallons with four small waterfalls, it is bio filtration with 8 koi.

 

[smithliz]

Well not to sure on the specs. of my pond just that it is 5,000 gallons with four small waterfalls, it is bio filtration with 8 koi.

I just put up a smooth fence to separate my female and she is resting now.
How long should I keep her seperate?

 

[Mmathis]

I just put up a smooth fence to separate my female and she is resting now.
How long should I keep her seperate?

Good question. Not sure if there is a definitive answer. I guess, a few days, or until she seems to be perking up.

 

[smithliz]

Thanks I'll keep her separate for a few days...