[Worldwide Koi Club] Koi not eating and hiding

July 8, 2008 @ 12:19 am · Filed under Philippines Internet Koi Society

Hi Brenda,
It sounds like you do a pretty good job taking care of your koi and pond, so I don’t think you need to worry too much about any big problems arising from the rocks in your pond. It’s best to have no rocks in a koi pond, …. BUT, they sure can make a pond look a heck of a lot more beautiful, and natural. SHHHH!!! …. I have a couple large rocks on my own pond just for that reason. (I know, …. I don’t necessarily follow my own guidelines to a T) Frankly, I think a rock or two in all koi ponds would really add a lot to their overall beauty, even though it’s not the best policy to follow.
Doing your major dunging out of the pond is actually best done in the early spring and late fall if your ponds fish load is right and your biofilter is adequate. With the fish load and biofilter right, you should only need to do a few minor cleanings during the summer months. If, however, the fish load is too high, or the biofilter system is not adequate enough, it might require major cleanings on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
I’m surprised you have the problem of the pond liner bubbling up with a sandy soil base. Usually with sandy soil, the weight of the water in the liner is enough to disseminate/displace the water coming up under the liner. Guess I’ve been believing wrongly. I know with a clay soil where water seeps under the liner, it gets trapped there, so starts pushing the liner up as more water gets trapped. Like I always say, …. you learn something new every day. Even as a cranky old Norwegian, I can still learn more about ponds and these darned old koi (course, I can forget an awful lot at my age too) Best wishes, Don