How much room do koi need?

[dieselplower]

Dave54 how big are your biggest Koi? I imagine a 27 year old Koi kept in good conditions should be 3 feet easy?

 

[Cdsdave]

I don't want to start another thread so I will just ask it here. What is the best and safest method for removing and transporting fish from the pond to a tank?

 

[capewind]

capewind you said it rule of thumb who's thumb was it and who's rule you see my point no-one will own up to who said it but its often quoated yourside of the pond and everytime it comes out it causes a discussion as we are having now.

Personally, my first view is they need a reasonable amount of room to move around. For simplicity, I would only address foot print of water containment, and not depth as much ...

Next, I think we all need to define a BASIC set of guideline ANY NOVICE can follow WHILE they learn. With the variance in qualities in filtration, it is impossible to have a baseline of how much load a pond can handle. and few want to calculate x amount of food = X amount of waste, requires X about of nitrifying bacterias ...

Most NOVICES are going to start with a boxed filtration system, rated for X size pond .. now we know how useless those ratings really are, but trying to keep this SIMPLE ...

When one adds more fish, if one keeps adding and adding, OR THE FISH GROWS, we can reach a tipping point of what the pond can handle ... All ponds have a tipping point, it's just a matter of knowing where it is,

So the question becomes, on the average. what size pond is generally needed to support how much, without needing lots of experience before placing a person into a position where if they make a basic mistake, or miss a water change, things wont turn upside down in a hurry???

 

[capewind]

I don't want to start another thread so I will just ask it here. What is the best and safest method for removing and transporting fish from the pond to a tank?

We;ve move 14-16" with a net, but coral them with a large 2 person net first, so we can guide them into a traditional net. Bigger fish, we've caught by hand, and carefully placed into a tote (2 people holding the fish) ...

 

[Dave 54]

I don't want to start another thread so I will just ask it here. What is the best and safest method for removing and transporting fish from the pond to a tank?

Buy some large industrial strength clear plastic bags double them up i;e place one inside another,
add enough water to just cover the fish use a pond airpump to add the air to the bag (take the maifold off first).
Seal first the inner then the outer bags with large industrial strength elastic bands, then place these inside a black bin liner, your fish are ready for transport.
Place everything in your holding pond (the black bag helps keep your fish calm) until the temperature has matched then reverse everything once they have equalized simply pour the fish and the contents of the bag into the holding tank ,
All finished hang the bags out to dry ready for the next time you need them.

rgrds

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

How far are you moving the fish?

 

[Cdsdave]

I'm moving them about fifty feet from outside to the basement.

 

[koiguy1969]

Its not a good idea to lift fish out of the pond in a net.they can damage fins and / or even injure their spinal column. bring them 'to the surface' and lift by hand to a moving container, or for your purposes guide them into a nice dark pillow case. and just carry them the 50' from pond to pond. i catch, sort and move 100s of fish every year. by these methods. if you fill your basement setup with water from the outdoor pond, your moving them to the same water, so theres no major water chemistry or temp change so the stress of the move is minimized.
THE ANAL FIN IS MOST VULNERABLE TO INJURY..it has a hard barb on its first ray, its slightly hooked and can get caught on nets. it gets harder with age.

 

[capewind]

Koiguy, we have never had an injury using a net, but you are right about that barb getting hooked so want to make two clarifications ... First of all, we corale them into an area with a seine net and carefully GUIDE them into the net, as I wrote above, but I do want to stress to not treat the net like a sports fishermen ... the other issue is the net itself. I do NOT like the loose web nets sold for pond ... those are the nets we have had issues with the barb getting caught in ... we are using a POOL net, meant for cleaning the bottom of the pond ... nice soft, but tight weave fabric ... the weave is tight enough to catch 1/4-1/2" fry with no problems, and havent had a stuck barb yet ...

 

[Cdsdave]

Is there a point when it's not safe to move fish? I am referring to temperature. It's getting cooler by the day and it looks like it will be a few more days until I can move them inside.

 

[capewind]

I would think so, but dont know what it is LOL ... I wouldnt think you would want to do it with the air temp colder than the water, but I dont know ... sorry, no help there ... I have that same question ... have a bunch of babies I am on the fence about bringing back in ...

 

[dieselplower]

Match the inside water temp with the outside water temp, make it a quick move, and you'll be fine.

 

[Cdsdave]

This has been one of the worst days I've had. First my Rubbermaid tub was leaking at the bulkhead. Not the threads the part the screw threads into. Okay so I return it to a different tractor supply since they had one checked out the bulkhead with the employee and brought it home. Got home went to put some water in it to test for leaks and noticed a piece missing off the top. Then looking closer i find a foot long crack down the side!! This just hasn't been my day.

Maybe I should make my own like Dieselplower said....

 

[HARO]

. it gets harder with age.

Yours or the fish's? :dunno:
John

 

[shakaho]

i built my 800 gal basement wintering pond, and filter for less than the cost of a 300 gal stocktank.

Seriously? Look at this. http://www.zorotools.com/g/00058140/k-G1373872?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google_Shopping_Feed&kw={keyword}&gclid=CJyc09iisroCFUhk7AodVjkAVA

Building an indoor pond can be cheap, but it's not always the best choice for a beginner.