My goldfish pond

[CountryEscape]

Yep, the ponds covered in snow look pretty safe to animals!

 

[CometKeith]

I haven't checked in for a while. It's been so cold here for this time of the year! There is no snow on the pond now and just a tiny bit of ice. I started up my pump today so now I have the breather, aerator, and pump all working. I can see most of my fish but they aren't moving around much. I guess I'm getting the bug again... I'm starting to look at Koi for sale on the internet. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to buy a fish and have it shipped here when it's so cold. I did lose my Hariwake over the winter and that was my favorite fish so I may need to replace him....

 

[callingcolleen1]

Wait till spring before you add a new koi to the pond. It will be better if the water is warmer and all the ice is gone. Introducing a new fish is a stressful event for the fish so it would be best if water was warm and weather was nice too.
Hopefully all goes well for you Keith. Stay warm and spring should soon be here.

 

[Tula]

I agree, wait a bit. I've had good luck in early summer.

 

[Gemma]

I haven't checked in for a while. It's been so cold here for this time of the year! There is no snow on the pond now and just a tiny bit of ice. I started up my pump today so now I have the breather, aerator, and pump all working. I can see most of my fish but they aren't moving around much. I guess I'm getting the bug again... I'm starting to look at Koi for sale on the internet. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to buy a fish and have it shipped here when it's so cold. I did lose my Hariwake over the winter and that was my favorite fish so I may need to replace him....

I meant to ask you: Do you still have the Kujaku you got from E-Bay last year? If so, is it a metallic fish?
I'm working on a list of fish to put in my next pond, I really like some kujaku I"ve seen, but after dealing with different kinds of koi and their loss of color, I'm now only interested in metallic ones (Kin Kikokuryu, Ogon, Matsuba etc..)

 

[CometKeith]

I meant to ask you: Do you still have the Kujaku you got from E-Bay last year? If so, is it a metallic fish?
I'm working on a list of fish to put in my next pond, I really like some kujaku I"ve seen, but after dealing with different kinds of koi and their loss of color, I'm now only interested in metallic ones (Kin Kikokuryu, Ogon, Matsuba etc..)

Hi Gemma. Yes I still have him and he appears alive and well. I actually got him from Lurveys Garden Supply in DesPlaines.

 

[Gemma]

Oh I'm so glad he's still doing fine, I can't wait to see pics when the weather permits

 

[CometKeith]

It finally hit 50 degrees here on Sunday and the fish we're moving around a little. I got a glimpse of the Koi I got just before winter that I was worried about and he looked okay. We went to the Chicago Garden and Flower show over the weekend. There were a few very nice pond exhibits with waterfalls, but overall there were fewer exhibitors than in the past.

 

[callingcolleen1]

The koi can be very timid in early spring, its like they slowly wake up and look around like everything is new and strange. You might find they sneak out and about in evening to re-explore their suroundings. Mine are timid still and sit on bottom but at night they come out. Once water warms more they will be back up to speed.

 

[CometKeith]

The koi can be very timid in early spring, its like they slowly wake up and look around like everything is new and strange. You might find they sneak out and about in evening to re-explore their suroundings. Mine are timid still and sit on bottom but at night they come out. Once water warms more they will be back up to speed.

Thanks Colleen. I never really had Koi before and have been seeing all the goldfish moving around somewhat, but the two Koi I have have barely moved. I wonder if the cold affects Koi more than goldfish? Hopefully they will all be okay once things warm up. Thanks for your advice!

 

[callingcolleen1]

Keith its not the cold, but they like goldfish will move slow, and koi are just more aware and suspicious of their suroundings than goldfish in early spring. Goldfish are also the first to get "picked off" by bad blue herons as they are "easy prey", but koi are just smarter and hide lots in spring and as they grow and as they get bigger they can even "make strange" towards others. I have underwater pond lights and at night you see them out and about looking everwhere, uncover of "dark".

 

[CometKeith]

Here is a picture I took yesterday with some of the goldfish moving around. The Koi are still hiding. I noticed there are also a few by the pond breather probably because it's warmer. Also I spent a little time rebuilding my waterfall last Sunday. As you can see in the second picture it's lower now than before, but there is a lot more water splashing around now. I'm thinking of removing some of the shelves under the liner when things warm up. It seems like the shelves are almost half of the pond. I think if I decide to have more Koi it will be nice to have more room for them to swim around. I'm also going to pull out a lot of the anachoris. I'm using an aerator and don't really need all the oxygenating plants. They do provide some good hiding places for babies so I won't take it all out.

 

[j.w]

Looking like the fish are coming alive now and wish I had to say I needed to pull out a lot of Anacharis! My fish eat it too fast!

 

[addy1]

Mine eat it up also, constantly tossing more in from the ponds that I grow it in.

 

[CometKeith]

JW/Addy thanks for the input. I guess i could just get a few more Koi and that would get rid of the problem! I still want to at least replace the Hariwake I lost over the winter. So I'm getting at least one more.