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  1. We have a 10x8 2.5 foot deep koi pond with 10 to 12 inch koi in it. Last year we took them in to a 55 gallon tank for the winter. This year we purchased a stock heater (used for water source for cattle) which will keep the water above 40. I was planning on covering the water with mylar to insulate a little better. Do you think they will survive? (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.


  2. ...Today, I was very surprised to see that one of the larger frogs had swallowed about half of one the goldfish. We quickly scooped up the frog with a net, and the goldfish popped out its mouth. We put them both back in the pond, and they both are swimming around with no ill effects that we can see. We are concerned about leaving this large frog in the pond because we don't know if this was a freak occurrence; or if this frog will try to eat the fish again. (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.


  3. We just had a 4500 gallon pond put in our back yard this summer, with waterfalls, a spitter and submersible pump. We are so very new to this wonderful koi hobby. We live in Illinois.

    We noticed the algae problem on the very warm days and I was instructed to use Pond Clear. There were no koi in the pond at this time (I'd already lost them).

    How can we properly operate our pond to insure that we can have healthy/happy koi? What equipment is needed, etc. (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.


  4. I am completing a modest sized pond, with a 40ml rubber liner. I have also lined the inside of the pond (to hide the liner) with these blocks I got from Home Depot, called rumble wall...a nice, large heavy rustic concrete block that looks great as I'm needing more of a formal look than a natural pond scheme.

    I was told that since these blocks are formed from concrete that I would have trouble keeping the PH balance because of the limestone in the concrete, and should have used some type of natural rock instead. I won't be putting any fish in there til next spring, but am wondering if it's gonna be a chore to keep this water balanced because of it. (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.



  5. My pond is 12 feet deep center and about 80 by 110 feet. Can I put either a Catfish or some other fish that will not harm my Koi in the pond?

    (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  6. I am a first year Koi owner having inherited a large Koi, about nine inches, and five smaller ones. I built a 6' by 9' pond, about 21/2 feet deep and now it is September here in Minnesota. I don't want to try to heat the pond but when do I transfer them indoors and what size tank do I get? It is getting down to a high of 50 here some days this week. (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.


  7. is it safe to put catfish into a rubber lined pond? is it advisable? what would be the advantages and disadvantages of having catfish in the pond? (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  8. ...There are many trees in the area and a weeping pine tree all of which, in the fall, causes major work on a daily basis to keep the pond clean. I would like to place pond netting, but it would be very difficult to remove and replace on a regular basis to remove the leaves. I assume that using a power blower to blow the leaves off the netting is probably not a good idea... (Added 9-25-07) —See reply.


  9. The plumbers connected a water source to our new pond. We have our own well, not city water, but the auto fill will be connected to our house soft water.

    Is this soft water a problem for the fish? We would have to drill an additional water line to connect direct to the well but would if the soft water is harmful to them. I thought since adding salt is good for fish and soft water has salt in it that would be alright but I want to make sure.

    Also if you know of any members with large show quality Koi that are needing to find a home for them we would be interested in looking at them for this pond. It will be at least 35,000 gal. (Added 9-1-07) —See reply.


  10. I built a pond outside and for the past two years when we clean the filters there are little red worms. Should I be concerned or is it normal. Also someone told me the frogs would eat baby fish. Is that true? (Added 9-1-07) —See reply.

  11. Since we are new to the fish, koi and ponds can you tell me how to be sure the fish we have are Koi or something else. We have been told that the Koi have the long whiskers and if they don't have that they are not Koi. Is this true? Where can we look to determine how to distinguish between a Koi and a Gold Fish? We currently have 3 Shubunkin, 14 feeder fish and 2 Koi. Our outside pond is about 1200 gallons of water with a waterfall. Is that a good number of fish or too many for the size? (Added 9-1-07) —See reply.

  12. We have a 2200 gallon pond, 6 feet deep with 10 Koi of various sizes but none more than 3 yrs. old. We live by a lake and some of the algae from the lake got into the pond via the irrigation system. we have since resolved that issue.

    3 months ago I emptied the pond completely, high pressure cleaned, added new media and filter, uv tube and the algae came back with in 1 month and is now quite abundant. we live in Florida and the pool is in direct sunlight 8 hours a day.

    i have used a limited amount of algaefix not wanting to harm Koi. Any ideas? (Added 9-1-07) —See reply.


  13. I have a very large indoor tank with very passive and friendly fish. I want to add Koi to the family can they adapt to water temps between 80 to 82 degrees. (Added 9-1-07) —See reply.


  14. We put in a new pond last summer. We had it cleaned out for the winter. Is it necessary to do a total spring cleanout. ( taking the fish out, draining and cleaning the rocks)? Our fish seem to be doing fine and I tested the water and it was fine.
    (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  15. I have a outside yard pond with 30 koi in it and only one 3-year-old goldfish. Last spring I was watching the fish and noticed the gold fish spawning and the same day I saw a koi fish spawning. We ended up with around 40 surviving fish. I now would like to only have a koi pond. Since there were no other gold fish to fertilize the gold fish eggs I know they were fertilized by a koi fish so are the fish goldfish or koi?
    (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  16. I left the water in my pond through the winter. What is a good time to start cleaning the debris out of the bottom of the pond and re-open it. (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  17. ...inherited a pond pre-form ...approx 8 x 4 about 22 in deep the max....Had 2 test koi which did really well up until the week we froze solid.(15 DEGREES FOR A WEEK)..I had a deicer.. it was dubious to say the least ..it pretty well froze or maybe they freaked when I tried to break the ice with a rock...I knew about the 3 ft deep rule and now I know why.,,because I lost my fish..do I scrap this pond ...which I would like to keep..or try a pond heater or what. (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  18. ...Our Koi this spring are flashing. They began flashing in the fall. We treated with Proform C for 3 days in the fall. We treated again just this past week on the 2 warmer days, when, the water temp. was in the 50's. They still are flashing, and, we noticed some have bloody streaking in the tails. How can we get rid of the parasites, and, clear up the tails?... (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  19. I live just north of Grand Rapids Michigan & would like to build a large koi pond & waterfall. I want to landscape around it w/ plants trees & bushes. I've looked into pond liners but worry the tree roots will puncture it. Can I build a pond with concrete or mortar? I would appreciate your advice on the pros & cons on this project. (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  20. We live in Colorado and put a 1000 gallon lined pond in last spring. We have 4 koi, and were told by the garden shop that we needed to put in a de-icer that floats at the top and keeps a hole in the ice. No one of course mentioned turning our waterfall off, and we woke up yesterday to the exact scene you described in another post - an empty pond and sad fish in the bottom.

    We didn't know what to do, so we filled a 55 gallon tank, stress-coated the water and transferred the fish (not big - 4 inches each maybe) and some pond plants. They seem to be doing ok, but we don't know what to do next; do we keep them indoors (how best to care for them?), or, as we have refilled the pond, do we treat the pond water, cool the fishes back down to pretty chilly, and put them back outside with a tarp and heater? We want to stress them the least, given the circumstances. (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


  21. 1) Have you ever experienced a sudden pond collapse/loss of water? If so, please tell us your tale, and how you coped with it.

    2) What causes ponds to suddenly collapse and/or lose water (i.e. washouts, leaks, and seam failures)?

    3) What can be done when building ponds to minimize the chance for collapse?

    4) What can be done to reinforce existing ponds?

    5) What 'clues' does a pond provide prior to failing?

    6) What facilities should you have on hand for rescuing your fish, before a collapse occurs?

    7) What are the major mistakes people make in transferring their rescued koi to a new holding tank? How should such a tank be prepared? (Added 6-15-07) —See reply.


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