Koi pond water: Preventing Koi Overpopulation
Monday, April 27th, 2009In koi pool, overpopulation of the pet is one of the hardest problems that pond owners have to deal with. This can cause big problems to your koi pond, which can even cause death to your koi. To avoid these dilemmas, here are a few ways to help prevent overpopulation in your koi pond water.
Don’t Overstock: (This is the same as an aquarium DUH)
Overstocking is one of the common problems among new koi pond owners. When you first start purchasing your koi, decide between a number of koi that are equally playful and beautiful so as to save your own koi pond from overstocking. You can always talk with your pet store professional or dealer about your koi pond’s specs.
Tell them the total size of your koi pond, the type of filtration systems you use, and where you’re planning to place your koi pond. These helpful information can help them to successfully predict the right amount of koi that you can have in your koi pond. Don’t worry if the number may seem small, because keep in mind that this species grow rather fast and get large quickly!
One of the problems that people or owners run into is not able to turn down offers from others. When you are being offered with a koi by other pond owners, always look at the reasons as to why they’re giving you their koi (this might be due to overpopulation issues as well). Turning down offers such as this doesn’t mean you’re causing damage to the koi, but it’s just that the owner may have to find a different individual to take the offer.
Steps To Take Once Overpopulation Has Occurred:
If the time comes that your koi pond has reached overpopulation, here are some steps to remove the babies from it. A good way is to stop feeding your koi once you realize that spawning has actually occurred. Stop feeding your koi for no less than 3 weeks. Don’t worry about your koi starving, as they’ll focus more on the natural food that they can get if you’re not feeding them everyday. Their natural diet includes their young.
Although they aren’t one of those cannibalistic animals, it’s natural for them to eat their young when they’re still eggs or if they’re small, resembling insects. Once the babies looks like real fish, the adult ones will recognize this, and they’ll no longer see them as food.
It’s quite important to start this process as soon as you’ll observe spawning or babies in the koi pool water. Though cruel as this may seem, it’s only a natural process. Another way to do this is by giving those unwanted babies away. You can first check with your local pet store, as many of them have programs wherein they’ll accept those unwanted animals and provide shelter for them (some may also pay a certain amount of money for each koi since they sell them). You can also go to local zoos, local Koi societies and online forums.