New pond construction. The Water Garden Pond

[j.w]

What a wildlife habitat you have there Larkin. That would be so fun living there and yep sissy they love fish!

 

[fishin4cars]

Yes Sissy they do eat fish and are very good at it, Thankfully they are very shy and usually will stay away from nearby homes if they have a good food supply and safe place to stay secluded. Where they are they have plenty of food and they can have all they want. The levee is broken out in that pond and it's just a slough in the woods now. It has a lot of fish in there but most are just perch and maybe a few mud cats. The raccoons live back in that area too, along with a few deer, and a family of beavers that we have never seen but see their wood cutting and dam work all the time. They are in a good safe place to raise a family. Hopefully they will just stay down there and not come visit the Koi pond.

 

[CountryEscape]

I saw an otter while white water rafting in UT this summer, and it was so special! I love their antics, they are so adorable to watch. I bet that was a riot watching them, and then them warning you away from their spot! And, the ducks are pretty, too. Where I used to live, we had wood ducks that nested in the nesting box we built for them, and only one year did we see the babies coming out and head to the other end of the pond with mom. Only way you knew they were swimming with her was with binoculars. They stayed so close to her, they blended into her body! There were I think 7 of them! Never saw them after that, or any other year, but they always came and laid eggs and hatched them. Very shy ducks, and very beautiful! That would be so neat to have ducks coming and going, try to figure them all out. Have to be very quiet and patient, glad you're spotting several on your pond!

 

[sissy]

geeze hope they know to be good and stay close to where they are now .I have seen lots of rabbits here and had one skunk and of course the deer but no other animals in awhile .I have yet to see a groundhog here but see there all around the side of the road when I go to town .We get lots of turkey come springtime .

 

[minnowman]

The black and white duck is a Scaup (lesser? or greater?) They are often called Dos Gris in S. La. and Bluebills up North. I can't tell what the other one is, but it may not even be a duck.

 

[fishin4cars]

Gary, I had someone else tell me that they thought it was either a Scaup or a Ringbill. The two seemed to be trying to mate for a while late in the evening, then the next morning the male stuck around for a bit and left. the female appears to be a diving duck, past that I have no clue.

 

[fishin4cars]

Got the area by the Koi pond Water fall finally dressed out, Got the new picnic table stained, and even picked up a new female to add to the group this spring. 18.1" of Dianchi Female Showa. Haven't given her a name yet, still trying to come up with something special for her. She arrived this morning and was up feeding out of my hands by late evening.

 

[addy1]

Your patio stone turned out looking good Larkin. That is a nice looking fish too.

 

[j.w]

It all looks so nice now w/ your finishing touches. Bet you are nice and relaxed now after the fiasco you went through and you have a wonderful place to do it in. Looks like the pups are enjoying it too.
Another lovely fish to add to your collection!

 

[Jason]

Got the area by the Koi pond Water fall finally dressed out, Got the new picnic table stained, and even picked up a new female to add to the group this spring. 18.1" of Dianchi Female Showa. Haven't given her a name yet, still trying to come up with something special for her. She arrived this morning and was up feeding out of my hands by late evening.

Did you get this Koi off Ebay? I have found a seller on Ebay that looks the same type of pictures he takes (nextdaykoi) on the far left pic, just wondering if it's ok to order from them? lol

 

[fishin4cars]

Jason, I have bought several fish from NextDayKoi, Never had a problem with them but usually they sell small fish. I like their Butterfly koi. This one I bought through Kodoma Koi but it came in through Dianchi Koi farm from Japan. I ordered this particular fish over a month ago and it just made it through all the Paper work and certifications to come into the states. First one I have ever bought directly from Japan.

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, impressive, Larkin, buying a fish you picked out from Japanese breeder! That's awesome. I have also bought fish from Next Day Koi, and all did great! They sell a LOT of koi, so check out their feedback. They work well with the buyers, and get back to you really fast with any questions, providing you're not asking 2 minutes before the fish is sold! LOL I'm very well satisfied with the koi I got from them. I also used FishOnlineRUs, and was happy with those fish as well. I think NDK has the better quality fish and better color selection, though. FORU seemed to have better prices when I purchased this time last year, though. Unless you can find a local breeder, this is going to be the way to go to buy koi, if you are picky on color. If you're not picky, go to pet stores, but be sure to quarantine the fish. I've never had any problem with goldfish from Wal-Mart, (my local Wal-Mart has excellent quality fish, they must have someone that knows about fish taking care of them ...) but I have more money in my koi pond, so would never put a pet store koi in there without quarantining it first.

 

[sissy]

mine are all mutts from the koi farm ,cheap mutts .Less than 5 dollars a piece and a few were only a dollar .

 

[CountryEscape]

Nothing wrong with cheap fish, Sissy. I didn't pay much for my first 7. Then I wanted certain colors, watched all last year summer, and never saw any close to what I wanted. So, I took the jump and bought off of E-Bay. I'm really happy, as now I have almost every color in my pond, few are the same. I think I have two that are similar, one more orange, one more yellow in the markings, and another set of black with orange or red bellys. But, best part is I can tell each and every one of them apart. Just can't remember that many names, so only a few have names .... so far. LOL

 

[sissy]

Thing is you will have tons of either pretty mutts or ugly mutts ,lets hope for pretty . :razz: I did not want to spend a lot just in case they died .My original fish were 7 and then the rest are just some of the babies I kept .So I have 13 and not sure but yesterday I did see 4 babies about 2 inches long