Newbie pond creator

[gardengal]

Hi,
I'm new to the pond arena. After wanting one for many years, my son helped me with our own DIY project and created one this summer. It's a small/med approx 400 gallons 9' x 7' pond with a submersible pump and fountain. Our family has really enjoyed it, but especially me. I added two koi fish about 3 -4 weeks ago and they seem to be doing well; however, are still very skittish and scamper everytime we come to the ponds edge...Probably the dog has something to do with that too. I don't feed daily because they don't seem interested in the food if the fountain is on. I'm learning as I go with this project and want to be sure I'm doing the right things for the environment for the fish and other wildlife. This forum has been great to read and some of my learning has been by trial and error too! Thanks for all the great information. I do have a strange question about a green frog that has taken residence and now sadly passed away.....

 

[dieselplower]

Welcome and congrats on your pond. Seems small and underfiltered for Koi. How big are they now? If you have city water, did you dechlorinate it? Can you test for ammonia? Koi not begging for food after 4 weeks seems odd.

 

[Fishylove]

Welcome to our forum! Be patient as far as the fish hiding from you, it takes time.
Give your fish lots of things to hide behind so they feel safer ( plants, lilies etc.) and feed then in the same place and way everytime. Sit down next to the pond when you feed them so you do not look so big Spend alot of time in and around your pond, they will get used to you and be begging for food before you know it.

As diesel said you need filtration with koi and or gold fish, and even with filtration your koi will need a bigger home as they get bigger they will need a bigger home. Gold fish, ie... Shubunkins, commons, rosey red minnows etc... Still need filtration, but not as much room as a koi will. Koi produce ALOT of waste, and if they are small your 400 gall pond will do for this year. Next year ( depending on how much you feed them) they will have doubled in size. Depending on the type of koi, they can reach up to 3 FEET, which in comparison, it would be like putting one of your koi in a fish bowl and trying to keep it clean Would be very hard, and could/ most likely will, end in deaths.

Again welcome, and these are suggestions from experience, and keep the questions coming

 

[j.w]

gardengal

 

[gardengal]

Hi, thanks so much for your response. The koi are small (about 3-4 inches) and believe it or not they never ate the fish food from day one. I've had them in the pond for almost a month and they seem to be lively and doing well. They must be eating from the aquatic plants or bottom of pond. They just don't seem to care when we feed them (bought the same food they had been fed at the garden nursery). I do give them fish food every other day , but I don't want the food to collect and cause problems. I've not tested the pond and yes I have water from the garden hose that comes from our town. I have been reading about test strips, so I 'll get some of them and see what's going on with the pond.

I feel badly because this adorable green frog was seeming very content in our pond for several weeks and she must have laid thousands of eggs (which I mistook for algae and took the net and in one fell swoop killed her offspring). It wasn't until days later when I educated myself about frogs that I realized I had killed the frog eggs...and I feel badly about it. Then I thought I should put these tablets in that are supposed to be safe for aquatic life and koi fish called sludge reducer... that day I found.the frog was found floating vertically in the pond basically immobilized. I fished her out and gently misted her off with clean water and placed her under the ferns and she revived herself and hopped off a few hours later. I didn't see her for a few days and thought maybe she left the pond after that ordeal. Then a few days ago, I found her in the pond in that same strange position. Fished her out and she was again paralyzed . I tried to mist her and put her back in the moist area under the ferns. After two days, she died. I really feel badly because I probably caused the death with that sludge reducer tablet. I am not doing anything until I test the water and see what's going on. The pond is about 18" deep in the center and the fountain is pretty vigorous and acts more like an aerator as is generates lots of splash and bubbles . Although strangely, the duck weed just multiplied by a lot in the past three days. As you can tell, I'm new to all of this and trying to get my bearings. I do have duckweed and water hyacinth in the pond. I've just read that water hyacinth is considered an invasive plant and can deplete the water of oxygen. The koi seem to love them as they hide under the root system (and probably nibble on them as well). I'll keep trying to get the koi to trust me and not scamper away. I've heard it can take 5-6 weeks before they get used to people. I didn't realize my pond will be too small for them. I can give them to my neighbor who has a huge pond if they get too large. Right now, they look tiny in the pond. I'm not sure if I calculated the volume correctly for the pond. It's 9 feet by 7 feet and oval shaped. I think the average depth is over 1 foot. According to one of the calcs, it should be around 568 gallons. Thanks for your help.

 

[sissy]

The fish will eat those frog eggs plus to many of them can cause problems with your pump .Get a liquid test kit it is much more accurate ,I bought API

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group! When your koi get to big, try some shubunkins, very pretty, nice coloring and they stay small.

 

[Aaron S]

Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of helpful information and helpful people here.
You should get your water tested just to be on the safe side.
A pond is a wonderful addition to the family. I can't tell you the number of hours we have spent hanging around the pond. It is so much more fun than sitting like zombies in front of the T.V.

 

[Becky]

A belated welcome from me too!