koi breeding questions

[mouseams]

Looks like a couple of the koi we picked up last week may be roe as well as a couple of the comets. I will get a mophead this week. Do I need to have more than one mophead?
Also, when koi reproduce, do they usually look very similar to their parents or is it possible for ugly ducklings to have more color? I ask because the two that I think are fooling around are dark. One looks like a large mouth bass- she has lines down her side. I have named these two Porgy and Bass- yes, bass... Mainly I am curious, I know that the comets we had were all orange, yet I have red and white offspring.

Thanks!

 

[koiguy1969]

colors are not neccessarily restricted to that of their parentage..i get some that look like the adults and some that have little or no resemblance....you may end up with a larger number of dark ones but it wont limited to just them. the more mops you have the more eggs you can save..pull them and replace with a new one as theyre loaded up. before the others in the pond have koiviar for lunch.
as you know a kois colors can change and arent set in stone....untill about 12" you can kind of expect change. myself i give away baggies full of fry before theyre even 1" so i never even get to see what alot of mine 'might' grow up to look.

 

[fishin4cars]

Koi breed pretty much just like goldfish, water temps are usually a little warmer when they start then Goldfish, the males will chase the female relentlessly, Not a bad idea to have a tub or kiddy pool on standby if possible as the males will actually hurt the female if she can't rest for a while. Koi are also like goldfish, a ugly white one and a ugly back one can produce oranges, yellows, metallic, etc. the chances are lower of getting high quality but you can still get interesting fry my all means. It will more be the genetics of the fish that had the ones you have rather than the actual fish you are using. You may have the culls of someones VERY nice fish and have good lines in the fish just that particular one is ugly.
You can use the same spawning mops for the goldfish as the koi, Here they breed about a month apart so I'm done and ready for the Koi when the goldies were done. This year I'm not going to assist the goldies, I'm going to be watching to see if anything happens with the Koi, I lost my three best breeders from last year so i don't know now if I even have females or males and most are only two years old at most which is young for koi to breed but I have heard of it happening.

 

[mouseams]

Thanks guys, looking forward to seeing what happens when you let nature take its course. That is why I love this hobby!

 

[jenn.]

We ended up with 4 baby koi (3 still living) one spring unexpectedly. That was after we had drained the pond out because it was becoming a cesspool. We could barely believe that the koi survived in those conditions let alone reproduced! The oldest was only about 3 years old then and the other much smaller. Life will find a way!

 

[DrCase]

I just toss in branches off plants when they look like they are ready to breed
once the eggs hatch i toss them .

 

[DrDave]

I just toss in branches off plants when they look like they are ready to breed
once the eggs hatch i toss them .

Mine usually spawn in May or early June. Have you kept track of when yours do?

 

[DrCase]

Last year i had eggs the first of May ..

 

[koiguy1969]

I'm about a month behind you two....mid/late June... 6 weeks behind you last year DrCase

 

[DrCase]

Its that warm southern sun

 

[fishin4cars]

Late April first of May last year the first time, mid may the second time, I'm still not sure which batch my babies came from.

 

[RSFish1]

I had 4 spawnings last year here in Indiana. One spawning was from Koi I had pulled to be sold in April. Had them in a 18' Intech pool and had no clue they had spawned. Found the babies in early to mid-May when I was cutting apart the pool to trash it and noticed Baby Koi in the water on the ground. It was fun scooping them up with a tablespoon and putting them in a drinking glass as we found them.

Second spawning was another 2 groups of Koi I was selling right before Memorial day weekend. Moved them in to 2-110 gallon tanks. All were sold and being picked up the next day. I got up in the morning to 2 tanks full of eggs and really dirty water.

The last spawn was in the main pond on the day after Memorial Day.

I have found just like indoor tropical fish, Koi moved to different water, including shows, the females will spawn if their eggs are ready. The new stimulus of some kind of change will move up there timeline.

Looking back on weather conditions here in Indianapolis versus past years, we are at least a week behind last year on warming up and about a week to 2 weeks ahead of the previous year.