questions about koi

[flower1982]

Ok I have a few questions about koi. My aunt bought a house in the country last year that came with a large pond and 3 large koi.
First question is how can you tell how big they are? I mean I doubt they would let you measure them at all lol. When I first saw them I thought they looked to be about 16 inches, my aunt thinks they are about 18 inches and my mom thinks they are about 2 and a half feet to 3 feet.

Another question: how can you tell how many gallons a pond is? I know how to measure how many gallons a square pond is but my aunt's pond is round or oval shape. So i'm assuming the measurement would be different.

Another question is what do koi eat? My aunt doesn't live at this house. It's more of a place to go on weekends and especially in the summer. She plans to live at this house after she retires. Anyway,so the koi aren't fed regularly. In the pond there are some small fish with the koi. I'm guessing they are mosquito fish but i'm not really sure. In the summer there are tadpoles, frogs, salemanders, and some crayfish. Would koi eat the smaller fish? When my aunt feed the koi when she's there the koi don't go over to the food right away. The smaller fish go crazy over the food though lol. Next time I go up in the spring or summer I plan on trying to catch a few of hte small fish just to see what they are.

Here is a picture of part of the pond and 2 of the koi. How big do you guys think the koi are?

 

[Dr Joe]

Where abouts is this clandestine pond?

It's a nice established pond.

You catch them and measure if you want to be sure. Use a special koi net (softer than a fishing net). But in your case I'd just float a yard stick where you feed them and get a ruff visual idea of their size w/o hurting/stressing them

http://www.koi-fish.co.uk/acatalog/pond_calculator.html

If she has had the place for a year without feeding them, it's obvious there is some food source. Koi are an omnivores. Just don't add any more without an automatic feeder. Koi only go to the food source after being trained to do so. And that's why koi food floats, they naturally eat from the bottom but them you wouldn't be able to see them.

Dr Joe

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[Muske]

Ditto to Joe....
The Koi are probally eating bugs.worms,algae, etc. Whatever is falling in the water naturally. The Koi don't eat the food right away because they are not used to you yet. Once they figure out people=food, they will become conditioned to eating in front of you. I would not advise just throwing in food before you leave for a week. Once you aunt lives there and the fish get into a routine, they will be great pets. It might be save to assume that some of the smaller fish maybe fry. A pond that large can support a few more fish. To determine the gallonage, it's the same as for a tank.
Length x width x average depth x 7.5. This gives a rough estimate due to the fact depth or width may vary. It can get you a ballpark figure in the event you need to use any chemicals. However, it is better to QT a fish in a kiddie pool, than to bomb the whole pond.

 

[flower1982]

Well we believe the pond has been running for 20 years or longer. My aunt's house is in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. It's up in the mountains kind of. You don't get a cell phone signal at the house lol. I love it up there it's nice and quite. I'll have to get the measurements of the pond when I go up next. How many fish are a few more? So you don't think the smaller fish are mosquito fish? That would be cool if some of them were koi fry. Thanks for your advice and info I really appreciate it.