[Ponds-Koi] hi! new member here, my friends call me fester
In a message dated 1/11/2009 11:25:56 A.M. Central Standard Time, festerscustoms@hotmail.com writes:
My name is Adam, I live in Menifee Ca. and I look like Uncle Fester. I am a Barbershop singer and I also perform with the community theater. I’m new to the pond deal and have lots of questions, I finally put fish in my pond last October and now we have 7 koi (from 8″ to 10″) and about 6 goldfish (6″ to 10″) and 10 goldfish (1″ to 2.5″) the pond size is about 400 gals. Soon after putting the fish in they disappeared in green water (algae) so I installed a UV filter in 2 weeks the water was clear. I have a question about feeding! I’ve read that after the water temp go’s below 46 to stop feeding until spring, I live in California and one week the outside temp is 60’s and the next week it’s 90. The week before Christmas the water temp in my pond was at 42 and by new years eve it went back up to 50; Should I feed them when the water temp go up?
Hi Adam!! Welcome to the list!!! Most folks don’t feed unless the WATER temp is consistently above 50 degrees. I would stick with that rule most of the time. The fact that this is a new pond and so small I wonder if there is enough natural foods for the fish to nibble on during times when you are not feeding. I have not dealt with a pond this size in so many years that I simply cannot remember what I did back then. What are you feeding the fish now? What you feed also plays a role in when you decide to feed based upon water temps. I do have concerns about the size of your pond with that many fish. I hope you hang around here so you can learn much more about keeping koi especially. Koi get quite large and really require a pond that gives them lots of room and good water quality. Without that present there are always health issues that follow. So while you are waiting for spring, I would put pen to paper and start planning your next pond. One deeper and much much larger…..somewhere around at least 6,000 gallons to house 7-8 koi. Study filtration systems, learn about bottom drains and why they are so important. Also this time of year when the air temps are bouncing all over the map, so is the pond water especially in a very small shallow pond. Water temp fluctuations are very stressful for koi so keep a close eye on those babies to make sure they come through this in good shape. I assume you are doing water changes weekly using a good dechlorinator????? Sue **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075×1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De cemailfooterNO62)
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
