BRAND NEW POND/EGGS EGGS EGGS

GreatDanesDad

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Ok so I have been working on my pond for about 4 months. Posted pics in my last post. I have been really happy with it. About a 2 weeks ago, I was finally happy with the waterfall and everything. With the filter finally working great, I added beni-bacteria. After a week, the mosquitoes had found the pond and it was full of larva. Couldnt hardly see the lights at night due to so many swimming around.

So a week ago I added a few 1-2 inch butterfly koi. They were like little pin balls. They attacked those mosquitoes and had them ate within 24 hours. YAY.

Yesterday I took the plunge and bought two very large butterfly koi. The big one was very fat. 26 inches long. And the little one was a sleek 22 inches long. Pictures attached. They settled right into the pond. With in 8 hours they were swimming through the waterfall and very responsive to feeding. The previous owner said they would occasionally eat out of his hand. They would come with in a foot of my hand if I moved very slow. I was very happy.

This morning I go out to the check on the pond and feed the fish, and my heart sinks. The water is very cloudy and has like a film on the top, and there are a few scales in the bottom that I can see. Im watching the fish, and the smaller fish is following the bigger very similar to how a dog would follow and sniff another dogs butt. The Big fish is almost irritated. But the smaller fish is rubbing and mouthing the big fish constantly. The scales appear to be from the smaller fish. looks like three or four have fallen off. My first fear is that the fish has something on its scales that it is trying to rub off, but everything I read says that they would rub on the sides bottom or splash in the pond, not rub and nuzzle the the other fish.

I get out my pond tester. PH Wide range PH is 8. Ammonia is 0.25ppm. Nitrite is 0.25ppm. Phosphate is 0.25ppm. For a new pond I felt these were good numbers. I look more closely at my water fall and the water coming out of my filter is crystal clear. It is a double waterfall with a 50gallon pool after the first falls that, that overflows into the pond. It is just clear as day. So the filter in my mind is working properly.

Then I notice the orange "alge blooms" everywhere in the bottom of the pond.. I reach in to see what they are, and they are hard little "eggs" or they look almost exactly like eggs. They are everywhere. Fish in the pond for 24 hours and I have eggs!

NOW WHAT DO I DO? I dont know if the other fish is a male? I would love to see if they will fertilize and hatch. How awesome would that be. But my pond isnt mature. First, could this be the cause of the little one rubbing on the big one? Second what to koi eggs look like? Third, is it possible to check the sex of a large koi? Fourth do I worry that the little guys will eat the eggs? Fifth, is this going to really mess up my water chemistry? Sixth, could the film and cloudy water be because of the "not mother" trying to fertilize the eggs? I am new to this game, and I am very excited, but I need help!
 

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GreatDanesDad

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Pics of the pond and yard
 

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fishin4cars

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First two pics are eggs that were harvested about 1 hour after spawning started, second two pics are new born fry aprox. 36 hours old, last two pics are fry from the bucket at 3 weeks old. this is just a small sample of the fry so I could kind of see what was developing from the spawn, the other 2000-3000 fry were released straight to a small mud pond to grow on their own. I removed just enough to see what I got this year and experiment with raising fry and developing some insight for future year breedings. Hope this helps, BTW, some will probably survive in the pond if left alone, I try and wait until fry are at least 1-2" before releasing with adults. feeding the babies during the first week or two is the hardest part of raising fry. IMO, I have better luck raising fry with green water and well established water. be sure and check your primary pond water parameters regularly, even the smallest amount of ammonia can be dangerous for fry and .25 is a pretty high reading even for an adult. I wouldn't let it go any higher.
 

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GreatDanesDad

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Thank you all. I am very proud of my fish and pond. I love the long fins of the Butterflies. After a day of the water filtering I have a crystal clear pond again. Based on the thickness of the milt and the sure number of eggs, I am hoping that the eggs will take to being fertilized and will hatch. I have decided not to really try to seperate my parents and baby koi from the eggs. I am more excited about my 8 baby Koi having a great food source to jump start their groth. And to be honest Two 24"+ inch Butterfly Koi, Eight 2" Butterfly Koi Babies, and Two 6" white Sturgeon are enough of a load on my filter.

I am however hoping that some of the eggs will hatch and survive. I guess it is a watch and see game now. Anyone in the Phoenix area want some fertilized butterfly eggs?
 

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