Koi Hobby Burn Out

[RayJordan]

Hi Melanie,
Good to see you posting on this board. Mac drove over for the monthly meeting and stayed with us Sunday night. It is good to see you making the most of the oppertunity to rebuild your pond system and koi collection. Less than three months to the spring seminars and koi sale. Look forward to seeing you then if not before.

[melanie]

You mentioning pumping your pond dry reminds me that sometimes when I feel either depressed or anxious I try to understand why. Best I can figure, I think I must suffer from a nightmare of draining my pond. Back in 2000 when I was new to the hobby, I did pump a very small pond down to just a few inches of water. No real loss at the time, just some small fish jumping around nervously.

But after losing so many beautiful large fish to disease two summers ago, and then the hurricane disaster this year, I seem to worry about my new collection more than I did before these losses. Now I keep imagining that I might have left a filter tank valve open or city water running into it! So far it has just been worry, no mistakes yet. I need to relax. But I get up in the middle of the night and go out with a flashlight to assure myself that all is well.

I will get over this as the memory of fifty floating dead fish fades away. It takes time.

[melanie]

And when Mac left ya'll he went to Brett's and they picked out a beautiful Kohaku for Mac to bring back to me. The last one I bought from Brett I brought home in the dark, put in the pond and the next morning it was on dry land ten feet away and mangled.

Needless to say, Monday evening when I got this new one I was out there in the dark figuring how to drape a net over a 10X14 Q-tank. Fortunately I saved some of the long poles from the chain link fence that Hurricane Rita blew down. They made a great support frame for the netting. And my new Kohaku is still there looking pretty tonight.

So how long should I leave him covered before I can trust him to stay put. Do any of you folks have some advice for this slow learner?

[luke frisbee]

A fish farmer and retailer down here puts a big peice of styrofoam in the tanks he puts new koi. he claims he never has a single jumper and that he removes the styrofoam after tw days. he's serious about getting some styrofoam on new fish tanks. he's an old fish dealer down here.

[melanie]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee A fish farmer and retailer down here puts a big peice of styrofoam in the tanks he puts new koi. he claims he never has a single jumper and that he removes the styrofoam after tw days. he's serious about getting some styrofoam on new fish tanks. he's an old fish dealer down here.

Thats really interesting.

Do you find that koi from mud ponds jump more than those bought from venders who sell out of typical blue tanks. I have limited experience with mud pond koi purchases, but so far two have jumped. Fortunately I rescued one that was still breathing, lost another and netted this last one before I gave him a chance.

[jnorth]

I leave my q-tank netted always. I made the net frame out of 1.5" pvc and deer net so it is light enough to be easily handled but heavy enough to keep the koi in. I think new purchases tend to jump as they are irritated by the "new" water they are in. I suppose if the dealers you go to are on the same city water as you then they may not jump as much as the water parameters would be a closer match and would not bother them as much.

[luke frisbee]

Quote: Originally Posted by melanie Thats really interesting. Do you find that koi from mud ponds jump more than those bought from venders who sell out of typical blue tanks. I have limited experience with mud pond koi purchases, but so far two have jumped. Fortunately I rescued one that was still breathing, lost another and netted this last one before I gave him a chance.

This dealer gets his fish from all over....he has buddies that breed them and gets them from other states....he claims that he never looses a koi to jumping if he does this.

[JohnBender]

Burn-out is kind of the add saying of out with the old and in with the new. But on a serious note, if your feeling close to being burned-out find something new to do or take a break.

[Kohaku]

I am very new to the hobby(don't even have a pond yet).But I have been bombarded with koi sicknesses that are frustrating but never that bad.

[lildude]

Well if your koi are getting sick, there is a reason for that.

Most likely because they arent in a pond.
They are overcrowded and this is one of the first good rule to have, never over- crowd.
Where are you koi being held at the moment?