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Koi question

I have surfed the web to try to find an answer to this question and had no luck. So, I hope someone here has the answer. I have recently noticed that the koi in my pond have been hanging out at the surface of the water. They seem to do it mostly during the time that the sun is on the pond (the pond only gets about 4 hours of direct sunlight/day. So, at first, I thought they were sunbathing. :-) But, I have never heard of a fish sunbathing before! My pond is equipped with a biological filter that I run 24/7. I also have a waterfall which, I'm sure, delivers oxygen to the water constantly. They don't seem to be gulping for air, so I don't think lack of oxygen is the problem. And, they otherwise, appear to be very healthy. I test the water on a regular basis, and all of the levels are within normal range. What's odd is that another pond enthusiast whom I work with asked me the other day if my fish were hanging out at the surface of the water. !!! He, too, had never noticed this behavior before. I want to add that last spring my pond was "blessed" with lots of baby koi! I lost a lot of them, but still have quite a few. So, I know right now I have too many koi for the size of my pond. (which brings me to another question of how to find homes for all of my babies!?!?) My co-worker has the same situation. Could this be the reason for the behavior? Again...they don't seem to be stressed or unhealthy or gulping for air. Anyone have any clues? Thanks!

Beth

posted by LivinLovinCA

I'm stumped on this one-- my koi don't much do that, except when they're looking for food (whenever people get close to the pond). They'll hang around at the top edges when I've just run in more water so the level is all the way up to the rocks, but they're obviously sucking on algae around there. You can hear the sucking sounds from 30' away!

You're lucky to have lots of babies. My pond is almost never clear enough to see if there's any in there, and certainly not eggs! Had a couple of babies over the years, but I only discovered them when they grew to a couple of inches.

posted by bluebarn
3 months ago

Thanks for the reply, Bluebarn! After reading about how difficult it is to breed koi, I was shocked and very excited when I noticed I had koi fry in my pond last Spring! I love going out and seeing all of my "babies." But, having 4 large koi (over a foot long) and about 50 babies (some are already 4 inches long!) in my 1000 gallon pond is just too much!

If you want crystal clear water in your pond, a biological filter is the way to go. :-)

posted by LivinLovinCA
3 months ago

Beth,

I have been hearing about a koi disease that's wiped out 1/3 of the koi in Japan. Been looking around and found this article that you might want to read. If you've had your fish for several years, this may not be it, but it sort of scared me about introducing any new ones into my pond this year. If none of your koi are getting any other symtoms, or dying (!), you probably don't have to worry. Just thought it was worth passing on.

view link

posted by bluebarn
3 months ago

Oh, my gosh! this disease sounds awful! I'm so sad to hear that it's wiped out so many koi in Japan. they are such beautiful fish, and I know that some koi in Japan are ancient!! I thought it was odd how the disease doesn't affect the common carp and goldfish. luckily, I don't believe my fish have this disease. I don't see how they could have caught it since I haven't introduced any new fish into my pond since the babies were born last spring. they also aren't exhibiting any of the other symptoms....which is quite a relief! phew! :-) thanks, again, for researching this phenomenon. next time I go to my koi/pond supply I'll ask them about the behavior and see what they say.

have a safe and happy fourth of July everyone!

posted by LivinLovinCA
3 months ago

I raised Koi mind stayed on top a lot...not sure if they were eating insects.
had a couple of the few fan tails that would like to hide.
I always kept my pond cystal clear with baby algie eaters each
spring or summer when temps went up..
also barley rolled up and tied is good.
but my pond keeps lots of plants get direct sublight during day.however at night they would go deeper..