Norway

[Vogata]

Lets start up with the autumn witch always come around. Due to normal weather we don’t look that much at the calendar at all. Sometime in the course off September – November the temperature will start to fall usually it lingers around 16-13°C for some time before plummeting down. It’s the time when the cold take hold off the high grounds and give us 7-4°C in tap water. In a mirror of 1-2 weeks we bring the Nishikigoi inside. From/to ~10°C. We start raising off temperature start immediately up to over 26°C witch is our hold temperature for 2-3 months. All in all they have 5-6 months inside with us to play with. Even if the scenery is not the best, it’s nice sitting there in warm calming water while the check us out and beg for more to snack on.



Inside we have a 13 tons winter storage including ~2.4 ton filter. The unit is automated with small and frequent fresh water fillings. It’s also on a timer with full spectre lighting. If all goes well we will start with the new 20-ton indoor pond soon. And no its not just one household but two crazy neighbours that’s behind it.



Some time in spring April –June the weather will again turn to give us green winter and we take the Nishikigoi controlled down to meet the raising pond temperature. At 13-15°C we perform the swap. Normally the temperature rises to above 18°C in just weeks by it own. They will now spend the next months outside in my green monster of 50 tons before coming inside again. It’s the same place my children learned to swim and I do as well.

Summer temperatures in outdoor pond can stay below 20°C all summer or go as high as26-28°C, but the last is not often.

Last summer we never got above 20°C and had 40 cm off snow in the middle of July (it went away in a couple off days main you). By the way snow in Mai is not unheard off just cold.



Any special parts that stand out feel free to pock (ask in Norwegian)

[Sanke56]

Your koi lead an ideal life. How do you get them out of the big summer pond? Do you have to empty it. That's how I get mine out. The last one or two are always impossible to catch unless I empty the pond. I have a very difficult time getting the spawners out of the ponds after spawning too. I just spawn them in mud ponds they are very crafty. Norway sound like a great place but if we got snow like that in summer July we would be in big trouble as a lot of the crops etc would get ruined. We got snow in June once and got quite a bit this past September which flattened a lot of crops. could you post some pictures of your set up Thanks

[B.Scott]

You know Sanke netting koi is an art. It can be make difficult by putting obstructions in the pond like plants (gag) of even something decorative like a bridge. My mate Bil has a bridge with a pergola across his pond and it can make catching his fish a very hard job indeed.
But normally a pond where you have room to work shouldn't pose a problem. A good diameter koi net (3'+) with a thick long pole is usually enough. Sometimes a helper to herd them in your direction helps.

I learned to net fish by spending an entire afternoon watching an English koi dealer I know net fish for his clients. After a while much became very clear indeed. It was one of the most fruitful 4 hours I have ever invested. With a little bit of practice I have gotten to the point where I can net any fish in my pond in under a minute. Mind you my pond is on the smaller side but I am confident I would be just as successful anywhere else.

A person who is good with a net doesn't scoop them but rather herds them toward the sides and surface so they end up on top of the net.It's all about moving the net horizontally through the water (thin edge first) and not trying to push the whole surface of the net through the water vertically.

I have a floating box that I throw in to place the fish in. Once the fish is on top of the net, I dip the short side of the box underwater with the rim of the net. The fish swims off the net and into the box. I can net a fish, look at it and release it without ever having to remove it from the water. Less stress, less injury and a more frequent ability to inspect the fish if need be.

B.Scott

[Sanke56]

B Scott yes I am sure you are right. I will have to get one of those bigger dip net my old one is getting worn out anyway. I will practise the technique you mentioned as well. thanks for the advice. Some of my ponds are mud ponds and I can't see the fish and they also have bull rushes in them. The plants are good for the fish but bad for catching also some of the edges of the ponds have undercut from the water and fish feeding on roots. I have a big drag net with floats and weights that I use but some always get by. I need to relandscape the ponds like the ones in Japan that I see in the pics. Mine look very natural but they have their drawbacks. I have one plasitic lined one and it stays clear it is about 8 feet deep and about 6000 gallons. One of my mud ponds is about 10 feet deep and maybe 50,000 gallons it is the growing pond for some of my choice fish. I just aerate the mud ponds no filtration. I top them up from a little lake whenever they need it.There is lots of natural food in the mud ponds and the big ones is quite weedy. The weeds decrease in the fall when it cools off. I put netting over the top of the mud ponds to discourage predatory birds