Need opinion on a Koi move

[koikeeper123]

I have a guy who is permanently shutting down his pond who I don't know but he has heard about my ponds and is wanting to give me his Koi (free... he just wants them to have a good home)... he has six of them that are all over 24". It is very tempting but I am currently using an in-line heater to keep my pond warm all winter and subsequently my pond is almost 70 degrees today and his pond is 45 degrees and the big guys have already started to rest for the winter. Would it be to dangerous to move them and what thoughts do you have for what will be a long acclimation process to my heated pond. Thanks for your thoughts....

 

[koikeeper123]

I have one thought on the acclimation...I have a 100 gallon round bin that if I fill that with the cold pond water they are coming from and over the period of a day or two did multiple 10% water changes using my pond water to slowly acclimate them (keeping the bin in the garage to help keep it warm as I add the water)... any thoughts out there... I am just trying to brainstorm an idea that won't be to stressful to the fish... has anyone ever done anything similar?

 

[stroppy]

i guess the first thought do you have room for 6 more large fish in your pond ? also you will need to quarantine the fish for a while before you put them into your pond, so if you could put them in your stock tank first with some kind of filter and as you say gradually warm it up ...

 

[RSFish1]

Mutliple thoughts come to mind.
1. How well do you know him and his fish? Any new fish should always be quarantined from your herd until you make sure they are disease free. It always comes down to one simple question. Are you willing to lose all of your current fish for some new fish if you don't quarantine. And none of his water should enter your pond.
2. If your answer is yes I am will to take the chance, then the acclimation part. The 100 gallon tank and 6-24" Koi to me would not work. Even for a 24 hour period that is a lot of big Koi for a small area. I could see 2-100 gallon tanks or 3 at a time. But I would not be comfortable with all 6 at once for that time period. And make sure they are netted so the fish do not jump out.
I hope someone comes along with some suggestions. I have never tried to warm a Koi up that much. I am in Indiana and the Koi are still active even though the water has dropped below 50. So it may not take more than a few hours to warm them up to the water. But I have never tried that.

 

[koikeeper123]

RSFish1... I was definitely going to quarantine them and I do have another 70 gallon bin that I could use for my fry that I could move and use as well... but I am starting to think that acclimating them up to the right temperature will definitely be stressful on these fish and I think I will pass on adding them to my heated tank for the winter.

However, I do have my other large pond that has two smaller ponds connected by a creek that I could add them to and let them go dormant through the winter (my fish all wintered in this pond last year and did well)... I am about to cover that pond with a poly wintering cover and the top part has no fish in it currently and the bottom only has four shubunkins in it. If I do take them I think that would be my only option to limit the risk to my Koi that I am very attached to.

Thanks for the input... it helped me realize what I already knew but sometimes you get so excited to get some more big beauties that you forget the most important thing and that is the safety of your own Koi.

 

[RSFish1]

I agree. I do not have the luxory you do of having 2 ponds, yet. LOL That is a near future project. But I do keep 2-600 gallon show pools and multiple 110 gallon water troughs around. Bigger quarantined Koi go in the show pools. It is easier to adjust the water temps in them and keep them filtered. And I know the exact gallons of water in them so I can treat appropriately if needed.
It sounds like you are getting some big Koi. When you get a chance, post some pictures of the new herd. Good luck!

 

[DrDave]

Going from cold to warm is not as bad as going the other way. You could bring them inside and let the water come up to room temperature or just start replacing the cold water with the warmer. You might want to circulate the 70 degree water into whatever temp you transport them in. That way, both waters will eventually reach equilibrium.
I don't worry too much about going from a cold water to warmer if it is only a few degrees difference, it is the other way that presents a shock to the fish.

If it is a trusted source, they have not had any problems and the fish look ok, then you might want to skip the quarantine.

 

[koikeeper123]

Thanks Dr. Dave... I may have a couple options now. I think I will be moving them this weekend... should be fun.