Gemma's babies

[mrsclem]

So you have 15 koi in one pond and 9 in the other. Go for it but keep an eye on water quality. I hated rehoming but found someone with 5 large farm ponds, 10,000 and up. Was happy to see them go to that large of a pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

15 - 20 to 30 inch fish is a good fish load how big are your ponds gemma? gallons pics i know i have seen one of them before it appeared to be about 5000?

 

[Gemma]

15 - 20 to 30 inch fish is a good fish load how big are your ponds gemma? gallons pics i know i have seen one of them before it appeared to be about 5000?

Yes the one pond is 5400gls and the bog should add at least another 1000gls, (or so I was told) the 15 koi that are in there are most in the 20-30" but some are butterfly so the actual fish is smaller, not that it matters cause eventually they will grow.
So that's all a 5400gl pond can hold?

 

[GBBUDD]

I know they are family to you but may be time to rehome them People are absolutely crazy right now with free money . my local koi company just sold similar koi and they were not highend just large and they got 1500 a pop for them

 

[Gemma]

I know they are family to you but may be time to rehome them People are absolutely crazy right now with free money . my local koi company just sold similar koi and they were not highend just large and they got 1500 a pop for them

I would give some up for free if I knew they were going to a good place, but I would still have too many cause I can't part with most of my koi, so I guess I will have to keep both ponds

 

[GBBUDD]

WHERE ARE YOU OHIO ?

 

[brokensword]

I would give some up for free if I knew they were going to a good place, but I would still have too many cause I can't part with most of my koi, so I guess I will have to keep both ponds

Gemma; just for reference, and I'm not telling you what to do, but I now have 29 koi, 3 are at approx 16-18" at 4 years old, the rest vary from 4" to 10". In addition, I have about 100 goldfish, most are over 8". My pond is about 7k gallons and I only filter with a bog. I have no intention of rehoming (despite what many out there are eventually going to tell me). I don't feed for growth, typically one feeding a day in the summer and since koi typically reach full adulthood by year 3, I figure I'm not going to have any 30" fish, no matter the statistics. And since mine are not of high genetic stock, I'm not looking to see overly large fish, imo.

I figure, if you keep up the filtration and water quality, along with plenty of aeration and plants, you can keep more. Or, that's what I'm going to prove over time!

 

[Gemma]

WHERE ARE YOU OHIO ?

I'm in Michigan

Gemma; just for reference, and I'm not telling you what to do, but I now have 29 koi, 3 are at approx 16-18" at 4 years old, the rest vary from 4" to 10". In addition, I have about 100 goldfish, most are over 8". My pond is about 7k gallons and I only filter with a bog. I have no intention of rehoming (despite what many out there are eventually going to tell me). I don't feed for growth, typically one feeding a day in the summer and since koi typically reach full adulthood by year 3, I figure I'm not going to have any 30" fish, no matter the statistics. And since mine are not of high genetic stock, I'm not looking to see overly large fish, imo.

I figure, if you keep up the filtration and water quality, along with plenty of aeration and plants, you can keep more. Or, that's what I'm going to prove over time!

How many more do you think?

In my 3800 gls pond, I have 3 Matsuba that I've had for 12yrs, they were purchased at the same time, probably from the same batch... one of them (doitsu butterfly) is the same size as the 2 shubunkins (my oldest fish in the pond) and the other 2 are still growing a little each year, even though they didn't get growth food.
Several of my koi in the larger pond are imported, and most showed tendency to growing at a faster speed, even before last year when I started feeding growth food to try and save the babies from getting eaten by the bullfrogs. I have 5yr olds that have caught up with the 12yr old
I feed them according to the recommendations on the food package: small amounts of food once in cold weather, and 2-3 times in warm weather and I check the skimmers a few minutes after each feeding to make sure no food got caught in there

Maybe 20 koi in my 6,400gls pond would do fine after the bog is up and running, it would be no different than the recommended 10 koi in a 3000gls, time two....but it would still be a risky move, and I would still have to part with some of my koi and it's not an easy thing to do,

 

[GBBUDD]

Gemma if your pond has bio film on the rocks or sides and bottom of the pond then i would drop the 3 feeding and even limit the two feeding to every other day. those recommendations to feed that much are by those whose make the food the more you feed the more they sell. There is no diner bell breakfast or lunch whistle in nature. Wild life more so then not have to go for days and even weeks without food. Now koi and fish that graze like dear do so constantly as there main source of food/ grass types have very little nutrients. this is why they constantly are grazing. Cut way back on the food and with the new bog i believe your pond will improve ten fold.

 

[Gemma]

Gemma if your pond has bio film on the rocks or sides and bottom of the pond then i would drop the 3 feeding and even limit the two feeding to every other day. those recommendations to feed that much are by those whose make the food the more you feed the more they sell. There is no diner bell breakfast or lunch whistle in nature. Wild life more so then not have to go for days and even weeks without food. Now koi and fish that graze like dear do so constantly as there main source of food/ grass types have very little nutrients. this is why they constantly are grazing. Cut way back on the food and with the new bog i believe your pond will improve ten fold.

I get what you're saying but I don't feed them too much, I just do smaller amounts, more often...that is my bonding and enjoying of the fish. My ponds don't have issue of algae or overwhelmed filters, the questions above were in the event that I decide to combine all the fish in one place

 

[GBBUDD]

Watch your fish there actions Willett you know if there's not enough 02 or test the ammonia after a couple days.
I hear you as to the bonding hard not to feed them

 

[Gemma]

The bog is up and running!
I want to take a moment to thank all the members of this Forum, for not only convincing me that a bog is the best filter there is, but also for standing by hubby and I, and help us build it step by step.
I didn't think I had room for a bog, until @Tula posted about hers
The water started noticeably improving after only a couple of hours after we turned it on , and now it is crystal clear as you guys promised it would be, so thank you everyone, I couldn't be happier!

Here some pics to show what we did
Dimensions: 54"x108"x48"deep

 

[mrsclem]

More plants!!!!

 

[addy1]

Yours is too pretty and organized! Great job!

 

[Jhn]

What @mrsclem said..., looks great, a trick to hide your spillway from the bog ( if you wanted to hide it) is get some non woven cloth to put over the rubber liner and scatter some rocks on top of it to hold it in place then add moss to the edges and upon the rocks and let it s spread hiding the liner, or just plant some forgetmenots or something right at the spill way and let it grow down it and cover it all. Either way it come out nice even like it is.