Anti-heron scare tactics and filters and food

June 3, 2008 @ 9:19 pm · Filed under Philippines Internet Koi Society

I live next to a lake at the edge of a wildlife and bird sanctuary, so the wildlife - gulls, herons, hawks, pelicans, owls, ravens, ducks, geese, bears,fox, raccoons and other critters are plentiful. I haven’t lost any fish to wildlife yet ( touch wood ) and my pond is fairly shallow, a little more than 3 feet. Putting little areas for the koi to hide are helpful, like little rock caves, etc. Pelicans like to ‘fly and swoop’ so if there is obstructions to them doing this they won’t bother, like barriors in their way of a clear swoop. I’ve heard that herons are solitary and territorial, so I have a lifesize plastic heron standing by the pond, and i haven’t had any problem with them for the past few years.
Since I live in the country I don’t have problems with chlorine in the water, tho I do do water changes thru my house water instead of straight from the well. The house water runs thru a softener and a de-ironizer. When I’ve used straight well water I’ve noticed an increase in algae. I also add salt to the pond water… the koi like it, it keeps parasites away and heals wounds faster and it helps with the algae, but it’s crap for plants, so I have less water plants and more land plants planted along the edge of the pond.
My aeration and filtration is all homemade… much cheaper than brand buying and it lasts longer and is more efficient. I buy plain old water pumps, like the kind to drain basements. One pump runs to a small waterfall and to two filters. One filter is a decorative rain barrel filled with lava rocks and quilt batting. It’s pretty and expresses the water like another water feature into the pond. The other filter is hidden behind a larger water fall, it’s a sump pit also filled with lava rocks and quilt batting, but it has another little pump in it which pushes the clean water thru a UV filter and then out through a little drainage area at the end of the pond. There’s another pump which sends water thru a hose in the mouth of a statue dragon, and another pump going to the larger waterfall. Everything is plugged into different outlets so that one blown fuse doesn’t stop everything. A pump or two could go and the pond will still have aeration, if not filtration. Everything runs continuously and I change half the water weekly. This wasn’t neccesary earlier, but I have 85 koi in a 4000 gal pond and those babies are getting huge. The boyfriend has ordered another dozen imported from Japan…Helllllppppp!!!! He has 3 ginrin butterfly coming ( he says they’re for me ) another sorogoi and I don’t know what else. I plan on doubling the pond but I won’t do that til this fall when I have time. He likes to buy the fish, but it seems that I am the one left to looking after them
I’ve just read about a continual water feed which I’ll try out and see if it makes water changes unneccessary. It’s basically a hose which drips water slowly into the pond at one end, and another which takes water slowly out of the pond at another and therefore keeps the water fresh. Apparantly, if it’s slow enough, even having chlorine in the water won’t matter. I’ll give that a try when I have time…
The weather here has been pretty sad. I just got the koi into the pond last weekend, a month late. They grew like beanstalks this winter. My largest is over 30 inches, the smallest about 10 inches. Within 24 hours of putting them in the pond my 3 ochibas changed colour, from white and yellow to bronze and silver, and my sorogoi went from white to deep metallic blue. Amazing! Has anyone noticed how the ochibas are the friendliest, always the first to stick their heads out of the water and eat from your hand? The chagois too.
I feed the koi as much as they will eat, even in the winter, which probably accounts for their growth and health. It’s always spectacular to walk to the bridge across the pond and watch them come roiling and jumping like a big wave of colour to be the first in line for the food. Over the winter I always fed directly into the mouths of the first ones to come eat, so they’ve learned to vie for my attention.
I’m worried about the new japanese fish coming next week. Has anyone noticed that they always seem to come with some kind of fin rot? Our last 2 or 3 batches always come with at least half suffering from this disease, and I’ve been hit and miss with treating it. I don’t know if this is from the stress of them placed in a plastic bag for a day and flown from where ever, or if it’s endemic to the breeder. Any hints or help here?
I’m koi kichi. My latest hobby has been taking arty koi pics, framing them and selling them to local shops for resale. My mother thinks I’m nuts. I have the most beautiful fish tho, and they make me very happy.
Good pond keeping everyone!
xox Kim