Another Newbie... North Carolina

[Marietta lafrancois]

Marietta LaFrancois
I have a Koi pond, approx. 1100 gallons that I put in last November. We have lost many fish getting started, and now we have 7 good sized Koi, and 3 plecos. 2 of the plecos died yesterday (Thanksgiving). It did not seem to be that cold, but we have had some frosty mornings that they survived. They were pretty sizeable (8-10"). They were 3" when purchased, so I think that is commendable that they got this large. We probably lost 10 or more in the starting months. Many Koi were lost also during that time. Very disappointing.
The amount of algae in the pond it overwhelming right now. We clean 2 filters several times a day.
Any and all advice is welcome.

 

[tlindsey]

Marietta LaFrancois
I have a Koi pond, approx. 1100 gallons that I put in last November. We have lost many fish getting started, and now we have 7 good sized Koi, and 3 plecos. 2 of the plecos died yesterday (Thanksgiving). It did not seem to be that cold, but we have had some frosty mornings that they survived. They were pretty sizeable (8-10"). They were 3" when purchased, so I think that is commendable that they got this large. We probably lost 10 or more in the starting months. Many Koi were lost also during that time. Very disappointing.
The amount of algae in the pond it overwhelming right now. We clean 2 filters several times a day.
Any and all advice is welcome.

Welcome aboard

I don't have any pond experience but other members will chime in.

kendragon
MrsE88
Go_redfish

 

[Deadliestviper7]

1st bring the plecos inside as they aren't likely to survive the winter in a unheated pond.

Second: this time of year is a great time to remove dead leaves and such from the bottom and to do a Preminger water change.

As far as lost fish you may have some sort of disease killing your fish.

Lastly a helpful tip: add some aquatic plants in spring , keep them protected from koi as koi like to eat plants, aquatic plants help decrease free floating nutrients that feed algae.

Also can we get any pics of said pond and fish?

 

[Marietta lafrancois]

 

[Marietta lafrancois]

These fish are now about 12 inches long. And of course the pond is full of algae.
We have many pond plants also.

 

[Marietta lafrancois]

This plecos was alive yesterday, now 3 are dead.

 

[Lsey81]

Welocome! Awesome pond! Sucks that you've lost fish tho...how deep is your pond? It looks kinda shallow from the pics, my pond is about 4 1/2 ft. Deep...I don't have koi tho just survivor feeder comet goldfish and bluegill and brown catfish...the reason I ask about depth is it may be too shallow? Getting too hot and too cold with respective seasons? Maybe that can be why you're losing fish? My pond actually froze over last night but it's deep enough that the fish are still darting around under down deep....they've actually been thru 4 winters now...the only fish I've lost was a channel cat that broke through during a weird warm up last winter.

 

[Marietta lafrancois]

Thanks, It was nice when it was new, now it looks more natural. I think it is about 3 feet generally, and about 4 feet in the deepest part where the fish hang out most often. I enlarged it once already. Very hard work by hand. I may consider doing it again. I'm sure it is not deep enough for the size fish I have. It no longer makes sense. I'm an old lady though...hard to find help.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Thanks, It was nice when it was new, now it looks more natural. I think it is about 3 feet generally, and about 4 feet in the deepest part where the fish hang out most often. I enlarged it once already. Very hard work by hand. I may consider doing it again. I'm sure it is not deep enough for the size fish I have. It no longer makes sense. I'm an old lady though...hard to find help.

Put out an add on Craigslist ,(find some guys who will dig for you) you want more depth as that allows fish to find there temperature requirements (deeper tends to be colder in warmer months, and warmer in the cold months.
The shallow areas tend to be warmer in the hot months).

Also keep in mind that plecos are tropical fish and cannot survive cold temps well.

 

[Marietta lafrancois]

Put out an add on Craigslist ,(find some guys who will dig for you) you want more depth as that allows fish to find there temperature requirements (deeper tends to be colder in warmer months, and warmer in the cold months.
The shallow areas tend to be warmer in the hot months).

Also keep in mind that plecos are tropical fish and cannot survive cold temps well.

Got that! I will surely look for some guys to dig for me. Might need a new liner too..gets expensive after a while... but I love having the pond and the fish! Thanks for all of the info!