Koi and water lilies

[Meinnit]

Hi all. New to this forum.
I have kept koi for over 30 years. I've had 2 ponds, both informal with lilies and marginals.
I'm now on my 3rd house move and third pond. I built it winter 2019/20.
The problem I have is the koi will not leave the lilies alone. All summer not one pad reached the surface. The koi pull them all to pieces before they make the surface. I've never had this problem before. In my other two ponds the lilies did exceptionally well. The koi never touched them. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Lisak1]

I think what I've seen from the experience of others is once they start messing with your lilies, it's almost impossible to get them to stop. You could try putting some kind of barrier over the pot - like a screen that allows the pads to grow through but the fish can't get to the pot. But if they are actually destroying the pads as they are trying to hit the surface, it's kind of a mote point!

I wonder if you put a mature, already at the surface plant in the pond. Is it the young, tender pads they love so much, or just the activity of destroying them? Who knows what goes on in their tiny brains!

 

[Meinnit]

Thanks for the response. They dont eat the pads, they just seem to pull them to pieces!
Early last summer I put a fairly mature plant in. It had dozens of pads. There was about 5 pads on the surface and a dozen or more just inches below. Within a week all the pads had been torn off and were just floating. I netted them out.
I left that and another lilie in the pond to see if they came to anything. But as I said, not one pad reached the surface.
I have a friend who has koi in a similar informal pond and his lilies are untouched and masses of growth on the surface.
Maybe I just have koi with ADHD.....

 

[mrsclem]

Are you feeding your fish? Mine go after the lilies if they don't feel they have enough food. Any other plants in your pond? Maybe give them other plants to mess with.

 

[Meinnit]

There are a few marginal plants. Water mint and watercress, both of which I keep in check. But the koi dont touch them.
Yes they are fed loads, I'm not shy when it comes to feeding them. But as i say, they're not eating the lilies, they're just ripping them to pieces and leaving them floating.
I'm wondering if there is a variety of tougher koi proof lilie??

 

[Jhn]

IME it is just hit and miss with koi leaving plants alone, but agree with others once they start tearing up plants they don’t stop.

In my first pondthe koi destroyed any plant they could get at from day one for 15 years. Then I moved and built another pond,it is 11 years old now, and the koi ignore the lilies and most of the other plants in the pond.

The only difference in the set up of the two ponds besides size is the second build didn’t have any large koi in it for the first Year. During this first yearI planted the pond and let the plants just go crazy growing, currently the only thing the koi really eat is the water celery and parrots feather, which doesn’t bother me since these plants-can get out of control quickly.

 

[brokensword]

There are a few marginal plants. Water mint and watercress, both of which I keep in check. But the koi dont touch them.
Yes they are fed loads, I'm not shy when it comes to feeding them. But as i say, they're not eating the lilies, they're just ripping them to pieces and leaving them floating.
I'm wondering if there is a variety of tougher koi proof lilie??

if you want lilies and your fish are bothering them, you only have the choice of protection. You can build yourself a net around the lily where the netting reaches the surface and that'll give the lilies a chance. I build a triangular version that houses 6 lilies and other than the small fish getting in, the lilies did just fine. I used 3/4" plastic chicken wire and build a frame using 3/4 pvc with a couple of holes drilled (so water would help sink the structure). Since my pond is about 5' deep, I also build a platform from 1" pvc to support the net structure and keep the lilies within 2' of the surface.

You can do this on an individual basis too, as in one plant at a time re the netting.

 

[j.w]

@Meinnit Not much you can do except somehow segregate the koi from the lilies after they have gotten a taste of messing them up.

 

[Tula]

I've had luck zip tying deer fencing to my lily pots

 

[JamieB]

Maybe they are board. Add some floating toys, see if they’ll play with them. Add chunks of fish safe fruits and veggies, see if they will give them their craving to chew things up.

 

[GBBUDD]

My vote is they are going after the roots . several lilies i have had seemed to grow slowwww if at all until i saw them go after the roots they were definitely eating the roots but were just kicking and destroying the stems Try burying the roots under some clay covered by larger rocks that they can not move