Checkout my new pond

[Akai-San]

As promised, here are some pics of my potential (grow-out/discard) pond for 5 years. I have absolutely no idea if this pond is habitable. I'm sure the water is far from ideal, but I will test the water anyway. Although pond appears to have pumps, fountains and overflows...right now it looks like a big scary nightmare. There are too many things I cannot control with a pond this size. I'm still working on getting more approvals for the use of this pond on base, but I'm thinking, it would just be more of a humane dumping ground for the koi that I circulate through my small home pond. The only drawback I see thus far is that every October, the base puts on a trout derby at this pond. They actually take local farmed trout and through them in the pond so that theycan have a fishing tournament. I can just see people fishing for the koi. Not good.

Anyway, let me know if you think this thing is salvageable. The pond is actually deep in the middle 5-6 and only 2 feet at the perimeters, still tons of room. Once I let fish go in the pond, it will be almost impossible to be able to track or watch the koi in such a pond. True guess work. How do you train koi to feed at a designated place in the pond? Even if they recognize koi food in the water, how will they know where to go to eat?

Hmmmm. If I train the koi in the small pond to react to a bell, clanging or some sound, do you think they will put one plus one when they get released in the huge pond. I would be willing to feed them daily, except probably not during the winter...Well, I'll have to see how this winter goes before I can start anything with this pond anyway...lots and lots of thinking to do...

Any words of wisdom will be much appreciated. I'll go take pictures of another really nice and manicured base pond I had my eye on. the size (sf) is adequate but I think much too shallow, 2 ft deep and it actually tapers to 4 inches at both ends. The water is crystal clear, but I'm sure with the addition of koi, it will not be the case. And in winter, the pond must freeze over or the water may get too extreme.

Aloha!

[luke frisbee]

THAT is THE pond...you could grow out some champs....first thing do not let a male in there....
Seconfdthing surely there are some leftover monster trout in there....DINNER for you or.....the koi under 10 inches will be dinner for them...

The potential for that pond to be one awesome MUD pond should not be put to the side...i'd drop a few medium sized koi in there and leave em for a season...
And when you want em out it'll be easier than you think...if you can put a belt feeder on the pond...and a seine that you can pull across the crner where the fish will hang to eat the hgh quality food.

I'd not let that pond be dismissed as just a pond for the crapagoi

[Lee B]

What is the water source? Is it a natural pond, or is it a retention pond (water source mainly run-off from other areas of the base)?

If it gets run-off water, you'll never be able to keep it clean enough not to kill the fish. Short term addititives (like trout for a tournament) might make it, but the stuff from run-off will kill them rather quickly.

They seem to care enough about it to aerate it, which is good -- but why did they have to in the first place? Simple astetics to look good, or because the water sours if left to its own devices?

I'd really have to investigate the water a lot more before I'd consider anything other than my culls - and even at that, it may be more humane to dispatch them directly rather than poison them with bad water.

But that sure is a mighty fine lookin' pond!

Lee

[Mike T]

Carl:

Not sure where Zama is or what the weather is like during the winter... We lived in a little town on the Tama River just outside of Tokyo next to Kawasaki.... It had a pond similar in size but not as good looking, no water fountains but a small water fall fed by a pump in the pond...

Although we had snow three times while we lived there, it usually melted off in a day, never lasted more that two days on the ground, and the pond never froze over, not even a little ice on the surface... There were scrub koi in the pond which we never saw until the residents would feed them bread, rolls etc. from a platform at the edge of the pond...

Seems to me that your only problem would be the trout tournament...would think that if you feed floating pellets, the koi would be the first to take an anglers line...especially if they use corn and/or peas like I've seen at some trout fishing ponds...

Looks like you're on your way to a very pleasent stay...

Aloha! Mike T

[Akai-San]

There is a large pump house adjacent the pond but even without knowing, there is no filtration. If anything the pump is used for the water sprays and probably minimally for circulating the water. My guess is the water in the pond is rainwater and possible run-off water. Although the pond does have a concrete and stone header that is higher than the grade around the pond, there is a mountain side on the left side of the pond (looking at the overall pic) and water could flow down, build up behind the header and then into the pond. My guess is that during typhoon season (summer) big storms provide water. During the rest of the year, I have yet to experience the conditions. I'm also guessing the bottom of the pond is littered with leaves, mud, litter...can't be good either way. But I guess rivers are similar just less litter.

I'm just thinking that it would be neat to learn growing a lot of small mutts in a small home pond, and then be able to release them for others to enjoy....maybe.

[sharpey999]

Firstly your koi will get caught in the tournament!!!

Secondly the kids in the local area will see the fish and try to catch them, if not steal them for their ponds or tanks (We did a little poaching as children and stocked our neighbours pond)

Some trout farms in the UK are now being changed to carp fisheries and some of the traditional fisherman catch carp on the fly (both floating and sinking). Koi are no different to wild carp other than being a little more visible and a little more suseptable to disease. In fact we have a Koi in our specimen club carp water that is now well over 28lb in weight.

They will live in the muddiest, murkiest of sewage like water and can cope with extreme water parameters if the body of water is large enough and has adequate vegetable filtration which it lookis like it does.

I know a fishery owner that feeds his wild carp in a comercial fishery at the same time every day in the summer, and at the same place. The fish know and congregate there so could be trained which is an out of bound area to the fisherman. But this will make things like poachers and guest fishing easier.

Putting a few fish in the lake might seem a good Idea but the local wildlife will get the better of them as they will be very visible! Only the strongest will survive and they are usually the ugliest dark coloured fish that would normally be culled

[mynamy1]

A sample report of pH, KH, GH, T, O2 & chlorine at various pond's locations would be the first step. MALe

[koikiller]

are u actually planning to "buy" this pond?

[jnorth]

You know guys, this thread is over a year old.

[koifishgirl]

Yep, I remember this thread