Buying koi now? I live in IL ...

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Hey, I was wondering something. Was looking at some koi on E-Bay and asked the seller if they would ship safely now with the cold weather, and he/she said sure, no problem. Then I said I would probably buy small ones, put them in inside aquarium until spring, and asked if that would work best, or if they could possibly go into my outside pond, which is at about 40-45 degrees, and the temps are predicted to be only in 40's and 20's next week or so. He said "koi are cold water fish, so they could go into your pond."

What is your opinion on this? I don't think I'll be buying any koi in the winter, unless they go really cheap, but just wondered opinions.

Thanks!

Patti
 

addy1

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In my opinion, the koi would not do well being stuck as small fish into a cold pond. I would not even put goldfish into my pond right now.
I have always read and heard from sites that koi are not as tough as goldfish as far as cold is concerned.
 
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i agree with addy, my local pond centre only sell their fish during certaun months of the year, any they have left they winter themselves and sell next year, i think this guy on ebay is just desperate to sell, and isnt concerned about the fish's welfare after the sale !
and (in my opinion) i dont like the idea of shipping live fish !!, bagged up in the dark and getting rolled about and banged about, must be very stressfull,
 
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Thanks so much for confirming what I thought as well. I did buy 4 Shubies at Wal-Mart that were gorgeous (couldn't resist) and they are wintering over in my aquarium. Also got another spotted fantail and a really uniquely marked fantail. It's pure white, top fin is red outlined in white, and fantail has a red spot on the top and each side, so from above, looks like it has 3 spots on it's tail. Should be really pretty in the pond next year. :)
 
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i would also be carefull introducing new fish to the pond at this time of year due to the increased bio load on your filter when the water temps are low, and the nessasary bacteria are not active,
 

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Patti; speaking from my own experience, I have never had a koi, placed in the pond late in the year, make it through the winter. Always thought it was my fault until I found this site; a lot of the folks on here have advised against this practice, and I agree with them. Your koi seller is out to make a quick buck!
John
 

sissy

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I know I would not even introduce my new snails straight into my pond either .These snails were in a pond out side but I am keeping them isolated ,better safe than sorry .
 
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I'd at least ask how the fish are packed and shipped. Next day shipping In a styrofoam shipping box, probably OK. I'd keep the fish inside until spring.

Kind of bummer for the fish if they are cheap and therefore considered expendable. :sad:
 

fishin4cars

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CE, as further back up advice, I agree as well, If you time shipping to your weather forecast, Similar to sending Houdini, You'll should be fine for the shipping. Question, who are you lookijng at buying from? I've used several ebay sellers and can give advise on some that are good, some that I would NOT recommend, and a couple that I have not used but have heard others used. I would also highly recommend from this point forward isolating ANY fish either in a seperate pond or aquarium for 3-4 weeks minimal before adding to your pond. (Your pond is balanced and no problems, You don't want to add a desease now if you can help it.) During the last week before you release ( Shoould be longer since you'll be waiting for spring) start swapping the water out with pond water to allow to adjust chemically the water to be near the same in the pond as well as the tank/ other QT vessel. I would not recommend adding any fish to a pond that is in winter mode or just getting ready to or have just come out. As Mogsie stated this is the time of year your counting on a balanced pond to carry you through the winter. You don't want to add to the bio-load now. I saw a beauty today I was seriously debating on and the more I thought about it the more I came to the conclusion it was best to pass it by. , And I'm not in shut down mode yet with pond temps still hanging in the mid to lower 50's
 
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Thanks for all your support everyone. The buyer I was looking at, Larkin, was NDK (Nexy Day Koi). They seem to have more variety of the butterfly koi, but I think in the past I really liked dealing with (messages, never bought any fish from Ebay yet) BKD (Best Koi Direct). I like to look at their feed back, especially the negative that they get. It's not the negative that I'm looking for (everyone finds bad people to sell to, that will never be happy), it the response from the seller. Some handle it like little kids that didn't get their way, others handle negative feedback very professionally. Anyhow, majority rules and I will not buy any koi this winter. I'll likely go back to the breeder in Indianapolis I got my first koi next spring, if I feel the need to buy something special. :)
 

koiguy1969

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first, i agree with all the above statements, but in addition i would add...the increased bio load may not even be the biggest potential problem. possible problems with parasites and/or disease. even some that may be dormant until spring and its rising water temps. all the fish will have minimal immune systems at this time.introducing the wrong "passenger" on a new fish introduced into the ponds population could prove detrimental to the whole ponds population. needless to say..quarentining fish is always a good idea, but with the diminished immune systems the outcome could be potentially far worse.
 
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I'm really glad I asked this question, and hope others get as much benefit out of all of the information I just derived from your answers. Thanks again to everyone who responded. Such detailed info that I always appreciate.
 

j.w

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Now you have something to look forward to in Spring Patti and you will be able to sit out there and chat w/ the new guys in the sunshine and not in the frozen tundra, lol! I think I might get me some more Shubbies and also some long tails if I can find any here..............in the Spring/Summer of course. No frozen fish for me!
 
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The Shubies I got a Wal-Mart are about 1.5" long including their VERY long tails! All summer, the shubies at the pet shop were always ugly in my opinion, mostly white/silver and speckled, and hardly any color. These 3 I got have lots of red and black, with a few spots on the white, VERY pretty! Same with the speckled fantail that I got at the pet shop. The white fantail I got at Wal-Mart is really neat marked, too, all white with a big red spot on each of the 3 sections of tail and also the dorsal fin.

I think I will need to expand my pond in the spring, too! LOL
 

fishin4cars

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If next day koi says they can deliver safely I feel pretty comfortable they can, I've used them a few times and although I did lose one they refunded my $ for it and the next order sent a real beauty to make up for it. (One of my favorite fish!) I have had really good luck with NDK! NDK is down to the last postings for the year as well. They will be closing shop until Febuary I think. I was looking at a copuple of his as well. I was watching a Kohaku that went for $42 A Hi shusui that went for $87, a Kikusui that went for $47.50, another hi shusui that went for $71, and still watching a Kumonryu. When I do buy from them I try to get 5-6 fish at a time to save on shipping and yet not overload the box. At the prices those were auctioning for I decided to pass and wait for spring, They posted some georgeus koi though at the end of the season!
Knowing I will be moving in the near future and having to settle in 30 koi and 6 large comets that I already have is the main reason for me not picking up anything new right now.
 

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