koi eating water hyacinths

I bought 12 water hyacinths because my zone is too cold for them to survive the winters and because my pond is totally enclosed and using well water. After they had been in the pond a day or two, I noticed them moving around erratically and even being jerked around a bit violently.
On closer examination the koi seemed to be doing this. They seem to be eating parts of the plant though I can't see damage above the water line. Does anyone have any idea what's going on?

The koi are eating the roots and will kill them if they aren't protected somehow.

Lana

How weird! I had water hyacinths about 3 years ago and they never touched them. How do I protect them?

But aren't water hyacinths one of those species that can be a real invasiveness problem? The right balance of koi and plants could work out great. Maybe your koi weren't big enough last time, or hadn't figured it out. I don't think koi are terribly bright sometimes. Here is our biggest one, just being returned to the pond (it's all muddy and filling now) and it spent a good few seconds trying to swim back up on shore, duh!

Yes, water hyacinths are invasive where they can survive the winter. They can't survive the winter here. Also, my pond has no way to drain into any other water resource, so they can't breed and spread seed or bulblets or anything downstream.
But I would like them to remain throughout the summer. So, again, how the heck do you protect the roots?

I suggest keeping a few in a bucket of water. They make lots of babies so you can just put more in when the koi eat the ones in the pond. Or you can put them in net rings so the koi can't get them.

Betty

Building on what Betty said, you could purchase a hula hoop from walmart, get one of those big net bags that are used for putting laundry in and make a net ring that way. I have seen on other posts where crowding them encourages more blooms. So doing it this way would be a win-win situation for you. I have not tried it but it should not be that hard to make. I get the water hyacinchs and water lettuce every year. They are not hardy here so there is no risk of them taking over anything. My goldfish spawn in the roots and the small fish use them for protection and a food source. The blooms are beautiful. It reminds me of the eye of a peacock feather.

It gets cold here too in the winter, so perhaps I should try more water plants again. I was worried about invasive ones taking over the pond and getting me in the doghouse with hubby. I wasn't thinking about your plants spreading things downstream, just about them taking over your pond. Sounds like people have a lot of fun with their fish. :-)

I doubt very seriously that you would have a problem with them there. I bought mine on eBay and the seller was adamant about NOT selling to states where it was banned.
I visited some friends in Deland Florida several years back. I was surprised at all the freshwater rivers and lakes. The husband went fishing one morning and brought back some nice small-mouth bass which we had for breakfast. But he had to look for an area where the wind had blown all the water hyacinths to one side so he had an open area to get his line in.

12 plants will give you 100's!!! My kois eat the roots sometimes.I bought 3 WH and 3 lettuce and now i have dozens. They multiply very rapidly.Happy ponding!! Bellie

Two little plants will soon become bazillions. I love them!

I recently saw a fantastic idea and have to share.

You'll need a couple of those floating tube things the kids use
in swimming pools. They come in all sorts of colors, but if you
don't want kid colors, you can always buy pipe insulating foam
sleeves at the hardware store in gray or black.

Run a piece of PVC through the sleeves and connect the corners
with PVC elbows. Then cut a large piece of screen fabric or other
mesh-like material, securing it to the foam/PVC frame. Allow it to
sag so your plants will have room to drape their roots. You can
make these floating frames big or small depending on your needs.
The frame I'm referring to was HUGE, in a great pig pool converted
to a fish pond. Very neat!

It was so simple, yet so ingenious. Helped the water but kept the
fish from having a daily buffet.

In our area we are luck, they multiply like rabbits, so we don't really
mind the fish nibbling the Hyacinth.



This message was edited May 28, 2007 8:56 PM

Forgot to mention, they don't have to be square. You can make them
round or even triangular shape.

Thanks for the tip Wuvie! Your idea was much better than mine. The way you do it, you can make it just the right size. :^)

Hi Tet, just went back and read your post, and by golly,
Hula Hoops would be perfect!

:-)