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Thread: Roll on spring!

  1. #1

    Roll on spring!

    Thankfully January is over and it was actually light until 4.30 here in Cheshire today.
    I’m not giving in but keeping Koi is much harder than we thought.
    The Saragoi that recovered from her ulcers and was doing great in the heated tank died suddenly last Friday and the little Koi that we raised from last years random spawning died yesterday. This on top of the possible pH crash that caused the loss of 8 fish before Christmas was very upsetting.
    Today we started the installation of the Red label Smile combi drum which will run alongside the Oase filter until it’s cycled.
    Definitely building a Pergola this year that we can enclose with polycarbonate for the winter.
    I don’t want “show stopping” Koi I just want them to be healthy, happy fish.
    Tips for the pond as we edge towards spring would be much appreciated e.g. keeping parasites down particularly flukes.



  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai hippo's Avatar
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    Sounds like you`ve had a hard time , Denise . I dont want to make things worse , but sorry to say - we`ve still got another week of January to go !

    You`re putting in plenty of work to keep the fish happy , though . Hope you have better luck , this year . As far as parasites go - keep vigilant . Hopefully , they wont be active at these low temperatures . (or are you heated?) . Once the water gets above 10 degrees , they`ll be on the move . Make sure you`re fish and water are in the best condition so they can cope with any attacks more easily . Good luck .
    Colin

    2500 Gallon Fibreglass Pond
    Draco Solum 16 , 400l Bio Chamber

  3. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai KiOgon's Avatar
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    Number one priority I would say is make yourself a quarantine facility / hospital tank. Keep all new fish in QT at least 4 - 6 weeks before introducing them to the main pond and any medications required for new or old fish will be more economic in the smaller environment.

    Best of luck.
    Latest: Sansai Budo Goromo Yamabuki, Nisai; ShiroUtsuri OchibaShigure,Tosai; Beni Kikokryu,KinMuji

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  5. #4
    Thank you. No heat but covered. Lowest water temp. 3.6 and they were so unhappy. Thinking of heating this next winter but I am really worried about bad bacteria and parasites thriving. Perhaps there is a midway temperature we could stick with? Still doing water changes although only 10% and checking each week parameters including kh.
    I’m sure someone keeps adding an extra week into January ��

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by KiOgon View Post
    Number one priority I would say is make yourself a quarantine facility / hospital tank. Keep all new fish in QT at least 4 - 6 weeks before introducing them to the main pond and any medications required for new or old fish will be more economic in the smaller environment.

    Best of luck.
    Thank you.
    We have a rigid Vat with heater and a collapsible pond as well. The collapsible one is preferred but can’t be used with a heater.
    Good idea about treatment costs. Currently costs around £100 a time for fluke treatment each time.

  7. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai hippo's Avatar
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    I'd say the first priority would be to get on top of any bacterial issues that might be present. Heating would make the fish happier but won't get rid of the problem. If you're struggling with it , give Paula Reynolds at Lincolnshire fish health a call .
    Good luck

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  9. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Alburglar's Avatar
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    You'll be fine. Sounds like you have everything in hand. Decent filter to go on.
    Covers for next winter
    All seems like a natural progression.
    Just make sure you keep monitoring your pH when the new moving bed goes on and you'll eventually learn how much bicarb to add per week and that smooth out most of your hiccups I think.
    Scraping fish coming into spring will give you a heads start with parsasites and once you have that part of the season cracked, the rest is easy and you'll enjoy it.

    You had problems at precisely the wrong time. IIRC. Overwintering healthy fish is easy. I should think that your lot had a rough patch so getting them all through winter would be tricky. Not necessarily indicative of more issues.
    However, lowering the bacterial load, before starting a fresh in spring cannot hurt, as suggested.
    Something like virkon would be ideal. Change some water. A double dose then a single dose and then some more water.
    Last edited by Alburglar; 26-01-2025 at 03:54 PM.
    2660 Gallons. 4" Bottom Drain and Skimmer. Draco Solum 16 Drum. Anoxic Filtration. Air lift returns.

  10. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Alburglar View Post
    You'll be fine. Sounds like you have everything in hand. Decent filter to go on.
    Covers for next winter
    All seems like a natural progression.
    Just make sure you keep monitoring your pH when the new moving bed goes on and you'll eventually learn how much bicarb to add per week and that smooth out most of your hiccups I think.
    Scraping fish coming into spring will give you a heads start with parsasites and once you have that part of the season cracked, the rest is easy and you'll enjoy it.

    You had problems at precisely the wrong time. IIRC. Overwintering healthy fish is easy. I should think that your lot had a rough patch so getting them all through winter would be tricky. Not necessarily indicative of more issues.
    However, lowering the bacterial load, before starting a fresh in spring cannot hurt, as suggested.
    Something like virkon would be ideal. Change some water. A double dose then a single dose and then some more water.
    Thank you. I'm sure that all new pond owners have some problems. I wish I had listened to advice when we bought the Oase filter last spring. The new combi drum unit (40,000 litres) will be up and running this weekend.and I am using Envirex to assist with bacteria issues. I do use Virkon aquatic too.
    I'm crossing everything that getting everything right at the start of the year will result in happier Koi and owners.

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  12. #9
    Just to let you know that the combi drum filter has been running for a week now and after its initial pond cleaning the drum is hardly coming on at all. The water is much cleaner and at night when I view the underwater camera with its light on there is nowhere near as much debris floating around.I’m sure this will change once we start feeding again and the polycarbonate sheets come off but so far we are really pleased. Once the other filter is disconnected there will be no more sponge cleaning ��.

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  14. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai rolo's Avatar
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    although your not feeding id test water every other day till the drum gets some maturity . and be ready for a possible ammonia spike start of NPS new pond syndrome.

    keith

 

 

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