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So far a good year--lost some fish early on due to stupid error of leaving a gallon of muraitic acid next to the pond within reach of neighborhood kids, learned to keep such chemicals up high and out of sight--
really good growth rates, best I have ever seen in almost ten years of keeping koi, had a set of three go from 6"-14" and still growing, one unplanned spawning from a 12" sanke, no fry kept as I didnt want any from that group of koi
built a nice waterfall and learned alot about the newer methods of filtration
cleared a site to build mud ponds, as many as I want for the future
started today on a larger pond with mud bottom, won't be done for a couple months, but felt good to get the blocks and start laying out the lines for the borders
one other thing--I found out about alot of things this year in depth, much more than in previous years, ran some very successful experiments on improving coloration and growth rates
had lots of parties this year with pond right there drawing lots of attention and compliments, the time with friends talking to them about koi and answering their questions was really enjoyable, so the plan is even more parties and more and bigger koi for next year, and two more ponds!!!
We are going to make a kind of walk around theme with patios on two sides of the house and different ponds with private viewing areas and patios, so folks who visit can gather in smaller private groups can chat and enjoy the view from different angles---
we have a huge front porch that gets loaded at each party, and we have noticed folks having more 'private' conversations and time needing a nice but intimate and semiprivate place to go and talk
so this year was a good pond year and also gave us alot of info needed to make next year an even better one
oh yeah! I almost forgot the highlight, I stepped in the pond to clean some stuff out of the drain, when walking back into the shallow end I slipped and went feet up in the air, butt in the water, and wound up looking at my shocked koi face to face, they seemed to be smiling and sort of snickering at me.........my son stood on the the side of the pond and hooted and laughed at me, he thought it was hilarious and reminds me about it every day now (he is four)
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