I just need to find out what other ponders give their kois for snacks. I have a lot of kois in my big pond and I had been treating them with bait earthworms which are not bad as far as price but I have to drive far to buy them. i was with GW before I joined DG and a lot of ponders give their kois different stuff like watermelon, frozen peas, cantaloupe slices,cheerios, kitty food, cereals, wheat bread etc etc. The last 2 days I had been giving them cantaloupes and peas and they love it. I also noticed that they eat from my hand now. I like to tame them where I can touch them. What do you give your kois for snacks?? Happy ponding!!! If you had not seen my pond it is the thread New Members pond, Bellie
Snacks for kois!!!
Gulf frittillary cats :-) broccoli, earthworms are awesome!
Bellieg.....I too do watermelon, cheerios, peas, and fresh worms I soak for a half hour or so to de-poop them :)
I was told by a local commercial ponder to not use cat-food or dog-food, as they have oils in them that can slime over the surface of your water and filter....and not to use white bread, as it's too over-processed.
One fish supply store around here uses chunks of zucchini and orange wedges (they removed the rind when the pulp has been picked over)
Pixydish,
I gave them slugs ,only 2 because I do not have slugs this year. I found the slugs on a hosta that i ordered and loved it!! Fought over it!! LOL!!! I gave them ripe bananas yesterday and they finished it.I know that they love watercress!! Happy ponding!! Bellie
How big are your kois? let me know how they like it!! Happy ponding!!! Bellie
If you are going out of town for a couple of days -you can put a head of Lettuce in the area where you usually feed them. For every day or for variety you can keep a wide shallow black container of (Lemna minor)"Duck weed" in full sun to grow- and hand feed it to your koi or goldfish-THEY LOVE IT! Grows fast and very good for them.
I am still waiting for pixydish if her kois likes slugs!! I had not tried lettuce, thnak you for the idea. Happy ponding!! Bellie
Throw in chunks of cabbage, they will tug and bounce it around for hours.
Snapple,
Do you givre them cabbage often?How many kois do you have? This is the first time I heard of giving them cabbage and I will try. Thank you, Bellie
Actually, I only do it about once or twice a month. I have 10 koi. These are fairly large koi, 6 of them are about 22 to 24 inches. Nothing is under a foot. Cabbage seems to hold up a little longer before they totally trash/consume it. Koi aerobics! The pond store where I got some of these guys suggested it. The biggest koi can grab a waterllily and as long as the stems hold together drag the plant pot and all around the pond. Everything this year had to repotted in large pots with lots of rocks for weight.
Wow your kois are huge!! Did you grow them yourself? Mine are small maybe 5-6 inches. I lost all my kois last year due to O2 deprivation.We had a storm and the elctricity outside tripped and when I went to feed them they were floating. I did not go to work that day.It was awful!! I did not replace them untill May ths year. Happy ponding!! Bellie
Oh bellieg, I am SO sorry. Gosh, that's awful. I think that is every ponders' worst nightmare - losing your fish. They are like old friends. Yeah, I grew em myself. Some were only about four inches long when I got them. They spent their first winter inside in an aquarium. They would usually double in size by spring and I couldn't wait to get them outside. I do feed a quality food, usually Hikari or Azoo. The pond is well oxygenated and maintained without chemicals of any kind. I also use koi clay. I have had some of them six years. The bigger they get the more attention I have to pay to water quality. Also I don't let the pond temp drop below 45F to 47F in the winter. I think it reduces stress from the long cold winters here. I use a 1500 watt deicer that really keeps the temp up - and the electric bill. I keep an extra one as a backup ready to go in in case of failure and that has happened. I have a remote pond temperature monitoring system that sounds an alarm. It was a surprise present from my DH. Frankly, I think luck plays a roll here too. I used to quarantine new fish before introducing them to the pond, but since I converted my only tank to a tropical aquarium I can't do that. Now I give them a 10 second dip in potassium permanganate (1/8 tsp in ten gal.) It instantly kills any fungus or external bad bacteria they could be carrying. Won't work on diseases though and there is always that risk. So far I have been just plain lucky I guess.
Snapple45,
Did you post your pond somewhere?You sound so organized with your pond. Right now I have too many kois, I bought 130 kois in the internet and I was told that I can only have 40 max in my bigger pond. I sold some but but he only wanted 6. I guess I will end up giving it away next year.It does not get too cold here to require a heater. Happy ponding!!! Bellie
belleig, here is the pond post. Organized? Maybe, more like I just keep doing it until I quit screwing it up. Often I learned the hard way first. And, most important of all, I still have a lot to learn.
www.davesgarden.com/forums/t/612716/
Snapple,
Your pond is gorgeous!!The walkway too!! You did a good job and saved a fortune. We did not have the know how 4 years ago when we had our bigger pond constructed. Your statuories are also stunning. I like the tall pagoda, it must have costs you some $$$$!!! I decided to give some kois to the Cultural Center.I want to buy a 12 inch one, there is a guy from PA. that sells them on Ebay and he is very reasonable. The shipping to Va. is only $12.00. Happy ponding!!! Bellie
The pagoda was $800.00. It was a huuuuuuuuuge surprise Christmas present from DH. I kept drooling over it at one of the places where I got the flagstone. DH waited until December when they had a 15% off sale and then bought it. Two days before last Christmas he set it up in the garage when I wasn't home then pratically had a heart attack every time I headed out there. He had managed to disguise it well enough with boxes and junk that I actually didn't see it. He told me that with the money I saved with the do-it-yourself he thought he would splurge. Amen to that!
I think I saw another post about an Ebay koi seller and it was a favorable experience. Hope you get the same seller. My first koi, which is now six years old, started out here as a 4-5 inch, kind of ugly, (PetSmart) Mother's Day present from my daughter. It spent the first winter in a smaller goldfish pond. It was ten inches the following spring and the first inhabitant of the bigger back pond. The growth rate was phenominal the first four years but has since slowed, although definitely not stopped. He is the very largest of all at two feet. As for number of fish in the pond, I really don't know a cut and dried formula. My big (to me) pond is 2000 gal. I believe that I have reached my maximum by the efforts at keeping the water clear, clean and comfy for the fish. The filtration and areation are agressive which allows for more koi. If however, I lost one I probably wouldn't get a replacement. :>( Right now I have to get out all the *@#$ gold fish. Boy was I EVER stupid. They are the gift that keeps on giving. Please post about your new koi and what your experience was with the Ebay seller.
Mary
Mary,
your husband is very generous, my pond was a gift too when I was on sick leave for 2.5 years. I was just miserable and he asked me what he can do to keep me comportable and I told him a pond. We contacteda pond maker and showed us the different designs and prices. I saw one for $40.00 with a pagoda, decks and boulders but that was out of budget range. It was in a very rich neigborhood. It got me drooling and dreaming!!! LOL!!
I can not imagine a 24 inches kois, I don't think I had even seen one in Hawaii. It must be gorgeous!1Do you have a picture?
My kois was from a gur from NC, no DOA, arrived at my door in matter of hours. I had been trying to bid for the last 4 days now but I got outbidded all the time. I think some bidders bring their lap tops anywhere they go so they can bid. They sure wait till the last second and there is a price war!! LOL!! A14 inch went for $210.00 yesterday. It is out of my price range. Some how the prices are a lot cheaper now than early spring.Happy ponding!!! Bellie
Bellie, So glad you are feeling better now. Some people ask me 'aren't the ponds a lot of work?' and I say, Oh No! They are therapy. Working out there takes me completely away mentally and physically from the daily hassles and grind. I had two naturalists from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources here about ten days ago. They were surveying this entire county for gypsy moth and emerald ash borer infestation. ( I have both, lucky me.) They stopped in their tracks at the koi pond. According to the ODNR people apparently those good ole boys crusing around in the water are on the large side. I honestly don't know why they have grown as large as they have. I just do what the books recommend for koi keeping. I think it part of it might be not letting the water temp drop below 45 to 47 in the winter. The 1500 watt deicer, although expensive to run, seems to reduce stress on the fish. It goes in the water the first day night temperatures are forcasted to drop below forty and stays in until the temps are forecasted to remain above forty. I am going to try to get some shots and post them when we come back from vacation (leaving tomorrow morning for 5 days). Incidentally 12 inch Isreali bred koi with good show color patterns sell here locally for about $149.00. The local pond store will order "show" koi from Japan or Isreal if you've got the wallet. I don't! LOL But, my kids did go together for Christmas three years ago and got me a gift certificate for one koi from Israel. I could haredly wait until spring when the fish came in to choose. It is a black and red called an Aka Bekka. Most of my koi were September "On Sale" pet shop or pond store purchases when they were 4 to 6 inches and spent their first winter in the house in an aquarium. Cheaper and kind of fun. But they are huge poop machines in an aquarium (75 gal). Its clean the filter and change the water, clean the filter change the water clean the filter change the water........................until you are gonna scream and finally May comes and outside they go!
Take care Belli, and good luck on ebay. Pics coming after the mini vacation. (Daughter takes care of the ponds.)
Mary
Mary,
Where are you headed to? I am leaving for Nags head NC this Sat. One of my close friends daughter rented a 6 BR ocean front home and I got lucky to be invited. It will be fun but my DH is not coming, not enough vacation hours since we are going to Bangkok, shanghai and Philippines next year for 30 days. I can not wait. I want to buy linens, bonsai pots and raw silk!! LOL!!!
Israel kois!!! Never heard of them!! I heard of JApanese and they are lots of $$. Mine are all domestics!! The Jap are too much $$ here and I am afraid to invest ,they might go to heaven and can not take it. Might end up in therapy for the loss!!! LOL!!!
My kois should be much bigger next spring. I worry about them when we go on vacation, but children does a good job and gets a big compensation after wards. LOL!! I might invest on a heater just to make sure.
Do you have your pond netted? The herons feasted on my kois 2 years ago and so the net stays.
Have fun on your vacation!!! Bellie
We are heading to Bristol TN for a NASCAR weekend. I am green with envy over your upcoming trip. Went to China few yrs ago. A trip I would love to repeat. No netting on the pond until mid Sept. then removed by end of November. We havn't figured out a way to grow the tall Lotus and rushes I like with netting. They get five ft tall. Herons not a problem. Raccoons are regular visitors as well as possums.
Be back in 5 days
Happy ponding
Mary
I finally did two things for snacks...first cantaloupe so so reaction from the Koi, the the peas, now they LOVED them...a worm in my hand and this time all but mighty joe all 11/2" inches came up to my hand for a taste. Now will do one worm a day for them as I want them trained to eat out of my hand.
Sunday will clean the pond since all around me tilled, burned and made a big mess in the pond.
D
Yes they love worms!! I want to try yto give them maggots!! yuck!! I compost and there are loads of maggots in the composter and I am very tempted to give some. I have to see if I can handle to look for them though. I know that they love crickets but they are $1.00 a dozen!!! Do you have a picture of your pond?? Happy ponding!!! Bellie
Not yet, been too busy with the commerical end of my live to really enjoy the pond except last thing at night...
I will take one but it is new and not much growth, will take a super one next year with it grows up....
D