C3D, Let me ask you a question who is more likely to get sick a baby or a teenager? Small fish are babies and being babies they are more likely to die if they get sick where a bigger fish is more likely to be able to survive. Sometimes with big fish they will mope around when going into a new enviorment for a while. This could be a long while. I have seen big fish sometimes that up to a year before they start acting normal.
Mike

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Something to ponder, ehh?

Thanks as always!

Chick-a DDD

Congrats on building a new Koi pond! My older Koi (8 years come April) survived 6 weeks in a pop up pond before going back in to the big pond. They seemed to do very well.

Sadly two of them look like they have tumors- so I don't know what the future will bring. But after reintroducing them to the new and improved pond- they were eating the next day.

What type of Koi are you planning on getting? I am excited for you!

Lisa

Hi Lisa.

Thanks! We too are looking forward to this new project although I see very sore elbows in my future because I will be the primary digger. LOL!

We have a total population of two (2) Koi right now. The
Platinum Ogon and a Shiro Utsuri are in a 250 gallon temporary tank over winter.

Who will we get next? No doubt it will be one of those:
"Hey, that one looks cool!" type of purchases. Very scientific to say the least. :-)

Any recommendations?

Chick in 3D

Chick in 3D,

You will have 3 ponds, with 9000 gallons and good filtration so you are going to be able to really have a nice collection. You might want to consider having a female Koi pond, and a male Koi pond to prevent spawning injuries and to control the population.

If I was to start from scratch I would suggest that imagine what you want the Koi to look like as a group. What colors and patterns do you find most attractive, and what other Koi would bring out the beauty of your favorites, and balance them out. To provide personality and friendliness you might want to add a Chagoi as they are said to be very friendly, and the other Koi will follow their lead.

Keep us posted. I bet your ponds and streams will be beautiful.

Lisa

Goodkarma, Your koi may not have tumors. It could be that they have carp pox. If they have carp pox it will go away when the water warms. Carp pox is much more common in cold water climates than is usually reported.

Thanks for the response mymimi34- but Carp pox would look like waxy type blisters on the skin. A tumor will make the fish look egg laden, or obese, or there will be a raised area of the body- with no evidence of ulcer, or pineconing. It is just a wait and see situation, as they may live for years until the growth of the tumors crowd out their swim bladders or other organs. Early last spring I had a gentlemen who owned a pond store look at my fish. He diagnosed them with obesity- but I now know that is not the case. I hope they live for a long time.

Lisa

Hi Lisa, If you are thinking tumor (reported in many reference books as the cause of enlarged abdomen) and a shop owner suggested obesity, may I offer a different possible diagnosis. If these fish are American, they may have butterfly koi in their lineage. Many butterfly koi have the appearance of enlarged obese abdomens. The current butterflies being bred have traditional body type, but previous butterfly stock had the chubby body type. Just a possiblility. I have seen a lot of sick koi over the years, but have yet to see one with tumors. Hopefully your fish have butterfly somewhere in their lineage and they will live long happy lives. Pam

Goodkarma,

Maybe you could call around and find a veterinarian willing to look at your fish. You can even call your local zoo vet if no one else is willing to help. He or she may not be able to look at your fish and diagnose the problem but certainly a fine needle aspirate and an impression smear of the lesions could be sent to a pathologist and they will give a diagnosis and potential treatments.

C3D

Wow I can't believe that I haven't visited this forum in almost a week! lol

Pam- your idea is a possibility that I was not aware of. They are mutts, so it is possible that they may have butterfly in their lineage. Thank you for the information.

C3D- Yes I will have someone come look at them now that it is getting warmer. Those buggers looked pretty good today and were already begging for food when I was at the pond.
I can't wait for pics when you start the ponds. It is going to be amazing from what you described.

Lisa

Hi, Last fall I dug out and constucted a 15 by 15 foot pond with a waterfall on one end. The deep end is about three foot but then it tapers to about 6 inches. I have kept goldfish out there this winter by leaving a hole in the ice and a pump running. Of course over the winter I have been bitten by the Koi bug and have been given a beautiful platinum one and also purchased 3 others. Just mutts. But from what I am reading should I be concerned about them jumping out in the shallow end. If this will be a problem should I use netting at water level or higher and also what kind? Seems kind of annoying to have it showing. I think I can anchor my water lilies with alot of rocks but then if I need to use a net how will they come up? Any help for a newbie would be much appreciated. I live in southern Minnesota. At what temapture does the water have to be to put the Koi out and will they fight with the goldfish? They are all about the same size. Happy gardening! :) gardin angel

gardin angel, The koi will be fine in your pond without a net. I assume that these are small koi and being babies I would not put them outside until the weather stabilizes which in your area is probably the early to middle of June. They will get along just fine with goldfish.
Mike