There is a lot of activity in the pond, kois chasing each other , tons of frothy bubbles and also a peculiar smell.
Last year this happened and i was very nervous, tested the water and all were normal. I added the usual stuff to prevent algae, I did not know what to do!!! I think I stayed nearby all day. I can not remember how many hours was the commotion. Anyway after it was calm I found tons of eggs and to tell you the truth that was my first time to see koi eggs. They ate it all!!!
If I find any eggs this time how can i gather them so they can hatch? I like to have some babies because right now I only have 14 kois.
Thanks... Belle
My kois are spawning!!!
Belle
Did you gather the eggs? I would put some pond water into a tub and put the koi eggs into it. I don't think it takes terribly long for the eggs to hatch. I would put the tub where it is shaded and not in any direct sun.
Let us know.
BTW - I was on Craigs' List the other day and I saw in my area where they had koi wanted and koi for sale on Craig's list. If you don't get any baby koi, then Craig's List is an option.
Let us know.
Carolyn,
You never believe what happened!!!
The excitement to see Roger from a 4 day golf outing with his guy friends, I forgot to turn off the water to add water to the pond.It run all night and flooded the whole backyard. There is water every where!!!
It wasn't meant for me to have babies this year so maybe next year. Maybe some eggs are in some of the pond plants.
The pond is calm and no more bubbles.
I will check the craig list.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Belle
Belle
Roger is more important than the koi!
Perhaps next year for the koi? Just keep on top of them and have your tubs ready for them when they do spawn.
I hear it is a bit complicated and labor intensive to try to raise the babies outside of the pond. You have to feed them egg whites, apparently. It is of course also necessary to maintain the same level of aeration and water quality that you do with your pond. It can be done but it takes work.
Honestly, I would not bother. Trust me, if your pond is well maintained, you will have more babies than you know what to do with in a quick amount of time! Remember, they will keep getting bigger and bigger and 14 koi is actually a pretty heavy fish load for most hobby ponds.
My pond is over 15 years old and had not had babies. they spawn every but I think they eat them.
Belle
Belle
Have all of your koi spawned? I know my females are not all ready at the same time. If so, then I think you are relegated to Craig's list, Petsmart or next year.....
Belle
I am pretty sure they are eating all the eggs. It is not uncommon. Do you have bullfrogs? They will eat the fry as well.
Most of my kois are over 10 inches and honestly I do not know the female from males.
I am scared to buy kois from petsmart.
No bull frogs in my pond.
Belle
it can be very difficult to tell the males from the females. The only way I know for sure is I have seen them spawn a number of times.
You could buy koi from petsmart or petco if you quarantined for 3 or 4 weeks. No different than getting them from Craigs' List as you would still have to quaratine.
I do not have a place to quarantine right now.
i promised that I will get a picture of my pond, been so engrossed with my golf game. I am trying to break 100 this year.
Belle
You can buy the tubs in any ponding store.
Looking forward to your pics. Good luck with the golf game!
Belle, you can have some of mine! lol!
Mine have been spawning like crazy and I see several babies. 4 survived from 2 years ago and at least another 3 survived from last year. I have counted at least another 3-4 brand new fry this season. At this rate, things could really get out of control!
Maybe you should try getting some spawning brushes or just more plants for the fry to hide in?
I have lots plants so maybe some of them are hiding?
Would be nice!!!
I only have 14 in my pond but would love some offspring.
How many kois do you have?
Belle
Belle
with the plants that hang into my pond, I think that is how mine were getting beyond the koi. I know they were using those bunches of plants when they spawned. So, that would work - as well as the spawning mops. Have you looked at them?
Belle, if you don't want to be bothered making some spawning things our of yarn a white string mop with handle on is handy. The kind you would mop your kitchen floor with. It is easy to see the fry in them cause there white.
DrsFosterSmith.com has a nycon fish spawning fish incubator if you want to get fancy. 18" dia. 18" deep. It's on sale now for $59.99.
Merry Mary and I made some out of cut lengths of yarn tied in the center and with same length of yarn tied them to swim noodles so they would float.
I think we had this conversation about a year ago. Seems my fish are always ready before I am to have a nursery ready for them.
Hope you get some offspring for your pond.
Bonnie
I am guessing we probably have like 26 koi in the pond right now, which really is more than I think is ideal. The problem is that most of the fry that survive are pitch black, so it is super hard to see them in the pond. lol!
I did see some orange ones recently though, so my fingers are crossed we get a little color variety this time!
I have to work harder next year if I want some offspring.
By the way how many times do they spawn a year?
Corsetiere - how big is you pond?
Belle - each female generally spawns once, however, I have heard of rare incidents of them spawning twice in certain environments.
Belle - how big is your pond?
Mine just did once so far anyway.
Carolyn,
18x8 and the deepest is 2.5 foot. I had forgotten how many gallons
Are you telling me that they only spawn once in their lifetime? or once a year?
Belle
Once per season....as a norm, but not a solid rule....
I don't think mine have spawned yet, but I found one of my male koi has a cut on the side of his head. I did not see where anybody else looked the worse for wear and it doesn't look like we were visited by Mr. Heron.
Carolyn, I calculated the gallons one time but have forgotten the exact number but I know it it is larger than 3,000 gallons. I also have a mad amount of filtration (both bio and mechanical/physical) and I tend to do small water changes on a weekly basis.
I am pretty sure a couple of my females have spawned twice this year. Their bellies have expanded and deflated more than once this year. I really do want to rehome a few of the new fry because my system is operating at a really idea level at this point - very nice clear water, etc. i don't want to let things get out of hand in th e breeding department.
Oh! And my new plant enclosures have had an unintended consequence - they have provided a new hiding place for fry!
Corsetiere -
I love your pond.
I will just bet the plant enclosures provided a good place for the fry to hide. I think the hiding places are the reason why we always ended up with so many fry even after the koi feasted on eggs. I would think if somebody wanted the fry, that the type of set up you have would be perfect!
Belle - I know you want fry - I would check out what Corsetiere has set up for her plants. I would also document when your koi spawned so you can be ready next year.
I think mine must have started to spawn, although my females seem to be in an eggy state. I noticed on the top of one of my males heads that he has a nasty cut. Spawning is the only thing that makes sense although nobody else seems worse for wear. I have started giving him antibiotic food so that we don't have any problems with infections or ulcers.
I tried to get a picture of him, but he is just too fast for me - anything other time and they would all pose! ^_^
Thanks Carolyn! We've finally got it in decent shape after 3 seasons of hard work! :D
My koi in the smaller holding pond spawned last night. Far too much for such a little pond! I probably have and inch deep of eggs all across the bottom. I've been scooping them out all day, knowing they will start to rot and pollute the water if they aren't viable. Funny how koi usually eat most of the eggs if you don't keep them separated, but this was even too many for them! I think most of the eggs came from my female matsuba who is probably 26 inches long. There were several other females in there too, so there's really no telling what will become of the eggs, but I'm sure most won't hatch, so need to scoop them out.
How exciting!!!
MM - have you had this many eggs in a spawning before?
Only one time before, when I had to inject my koi to get them to spawn, so they all spawned at the same time. It looks like gray mud on the bottom of the pond liner...all eggs. Assuming most weren't fertilized, I'm trying to get them out before they foul the water. There are more sprayed all over the potted plants along the edge and on the deck. Must have been a crazy night!
I would love to have that experience!! LOL!!!
Belle
As I was cleaning the filter of the skimmer I noticed several moving blackish tiny organisms??? At closer exam it has tiny tentacles and appears to have heads. It died after fwe seconds on my palm.
Do you think they are baby kois?
Thanks-- Belle
Hmm...I would think it was something else. Mosquito larva maybe?
They are not mosquito larvae, these are bigger.
Belle
Perhaps baby fish?
Dragonfly larvae are very large, and look like under water dragons. I'm pretty sure that's what you saw. They then develop into underwater bugs, that will eat your fish fry...then climb up a stem, split open, and let the small dragonfly emerge. We used to have the kids look at them on an opaque projector (I'm showing my age, I don't think the schools use them anymore) because they'd look like cool monsters on the wall.
They are a little hard. It would be nice if they are baby kois so I have something to look forward to.
Belle
Belle
I think we need to figure out how you are going to make spawning mops or what you are going to do in order to have some fry next year. I think the planning should give you something to look forward to, don't you?
I try something new every year....so here's what I tried this year (and it worked!)
I bought the mesh laundry bags at the dollar store.....filled them with 2 wine corks and a massive wad of anacharis plant. Floated them in the pond, the kow spawned all over them, and as usual, ate what eggs they could get ahold of. However, all the eggs that went through the mesh and into the plant, couldn't be touched. So I just pulled the bags out and floated them in a holding tubbie with an oxygen stone. After day 2, I unzipped the bag and gently pulled the anacharis out. Day 3 I could see baby koi floating with the plants.
Cheeeeeeap and easy!!!