The 10th of April and the Koi are now in their pond
Enough of the Kois’ winter home
Here we are the 10th of April and the Koi are out of the horse tank where they have been since late October of 2013. This is later in the spring than usual for them to be released. The Koi go dormant when it is 40 degrees or less and they need no nourishment. All winter their time is spent in the bottom of a 100-gallon horse tank in our garage with just a water pump putting oxygen into the water. Dennis may have put in a few food pellets from time to time as this was the first time Megan and Nicholas’ Beta fish spent the winter here on Stauffer Ave. Who knew when Dorothy the fish won the heart of Megan and Nicholas five years earlier she would now be swimming with the big guys in our pond. Dorothy had been living in a gold fish bowl on the kid’s dresser enjoying temperatures that were most likely about 70 degrees year round. We had no idea if Dorothy would make it in the pond during the summer of 2013 and the odds of her surviving the winter was slime to none. What a strong little bugger.
They began as two inch Koi and now the comparison of the size of the brick tells me that they like their home.
After Dennis had netted all the fish out of the horse tank we could not believe that we had lost only two fish during the cold winter. Dorothy plus the Koi make eleven. When we have been to nurseries that sell Koi and we tell them that we have Koi that are over 10 years old they begin asking us questions about how we keep the PH level in the water at the correct level and whether or not we use additives. Dennis fills the horse tank and the pond with city water and lets it sit for 24 hours and in go the fish. The fish are fed twice a day with as much food that the group can eat in five to ten minutes. No fuss and no instructions manuals – we just enjoy having them in our back patio area. It may be the luck of the draw or perhaps people think having a fish pond is harder than it really is.
In time to come when the threat of freezing night temps are over we will have plants around the pond that will cast a shadow for the fish to swim through. Dennis uses bricks and rocks to make areas in the pond for the fish to hide or to swim through. No one likes to be exposed 24/7.
At any time sitting on the back patio the sound of the water in the pond can take one into a short time out or even find the head dropping as a nap is creeping in. Total relaxation here on Stauffer Avenue.