Can a spring fed pond hold koi?

[DrCase]

Welcome to the forum
I wish I had a spring

 

[Veloth]

Welcome! Great looking pond.

 

[Dave 54]

Personally I would stock it with three to four males and around eight females and let them breed rather than go daft buying koi as to a spring fed pond our former club chairmans pond was fed by Part of Drakes Leat here in Plymouth welcome from the UK by the way.
Drakes Leat was built by Sir Francess Drake way back in Queen Elizabeth I time it still supplies water to this day brought in from Dartmoor


Dave

 

[Habnoji]

I should be getting a copy of all the tests the owner did in a day or so. From what I'm hearing some company came out and really looked over the ponds health full tests cost her close to 1000. They also figured out turn over in the pond. All new water comes from the bottom of the ponds natural spring and over flows out the back yard into a marsh at the back of my soon to be property. When I get the paper work. What is a good oxygen level for koi. I am looking at building a water fall with a bridge behind the house going back to the pond I may also put a fountain in to move the water more. What are your thoughts. Worth doing? Also there's a small dock going out into the water. Going to replace that with a free floating platform maybe 12x12 with a 4 foot wide 12 ft long dock connecting the two. The pond is very clean. I went over today to test the water. Took out a blowup and looked around a bit lots of life but I only say very small fish near the edges. Can you swim in a pond that contains koi. Would be the best of both worlds. If possible I may make a section with some nice soft sand so you don't have to walk threw the mud .

 

[Dave 54]

I know one of our members Jason posted a thread about a fresh water spring fed sinkhole in Florida has koi and other fish in it so I cant see you having much of a problem especially if the bottom is of sand (koi tend to grub and muddy waters).

Dave

 

[MitchM]

... As for native fish so sorry but if I own the pond there going to be getting new neibors.;-). It's easer to ask forgiveness then permission . ...

That attitude could wind up costing you a lot of money.
Your agent is nobody in the eyes of the EPA, or Fish and Wildlife, or whoever you have down there.

I also have a spring fed, 1 acre, 10 foot deep pond on my property. I've looked into adding either farmed fish or native trout.
The fine up here is 5 figures plus the cost of eradicating you pond of whatever foreign species you introduced. If there's a chance that what ever non native fish you added could get into the natural waterways, you won't be allowed to do it.
We're not allowed to transport live caught fish up here either, so I can't add native species.
I really recommend you check this out before you make a mistake that could cost you a lot of money, plus possibly introduce a non-native fish to your local waterways.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Mmathis]

Just curious, does the pond always stay the same size & depth? Or does it go through seasonal or weather-related cycles where the amt. of water fluctuates?

 

[fishin4cars]

That attitude could wind up costing you a lot of money.
Your agent is nobody in the eyes of the EPA, or Fish and Wildlife, or whoever you have down there.

I also have a spring fed, 1 acre, 10 foot deep pond on my property. I've looked into adding either farmed fish or native trout.
The fine up here is 5 figures plus the cost of eradicating you pond of whatever foreign species you introduced. If there's a chance that what ever non native fish you added could get into the natural waterways, you won't be allowed to do it.
We're not allowed to transport live caught fish up here either, so I can't add native species.
I really recommend you check this out before you make a mistake that could cost you a lot of money, plus possibly introduce a non-native fish to your local waterways.

Welcome to the forum.

Mitch, I agree, I have to get a DWLF and a EPA check done at least once a year for my LLC on the farm. . I thought I had all my bases covered. DWLF came by to check on a report of illegal trapping along the river next to our property and while talking to me noticed I had a overflow pipe that run out into the yard. After a couple of phone calls and many hours of back and forth conversations between EPA and DWLF I ended up having to put a 100 micron screen in my drain line to avoid being fined. The fine would have been between $3000 and $5000 for not complying with federal/state regulations. I almost had a mess on my hands. Thankfully the agents were nice and allowed me the chance to fix the problem and make sure that I complied with the law. It only cost me about $90 in parts to make a box with a removable screen that could be cleaned periodically and still comply. Myself, I really don't want to take a chance on releasing any exotic species. To many species of plants, fish, and reptiles have been released that are causing problems to our native wildlife as it is.

 

[Mmathis]

Mitch, I agree, I have to get a DWLF and a EPA check done at least once a year for my LLC on the farm. . I thought I had all my bases covered. DWLF came by to check on a report of illegal trapping along the river next to our property and while talking to me noticed I had a overflow pipe that run out into the yard. After a couple of phone calls and many hours of back and forth conversations between EPA and DWLF I ended up having to put a 100 micron screen in my drain line to avoid being fined. The fine would have been between $3000 and $5000 for not complying with federal/state regulations. I almost had a mess on my hands. Thankfully the agents were nice and allowed me the chance to fix the problem and make sure that I complied with the law. It only cost me about $90 in parts to make a box with a removable screen that could be cleaned periodically and still comply. Myself, I really don't want to take a chance on releasing any exotic species. To many species of plants, fish, and reptiles have been released that are causing problems to our native wildlife as it is.

And even if you weren't concerned with legalities and monetary issues [fines, permits, fees, etc.], as a responsible human being, you should at least look at it from the standpoint of [as Larkin has pointed out] any possible environmental impact! We have to learn to respect and work with our planet.

I didn't catch how much property you have to work with, but if you have the room, maybe you could/would consider alternatives.......

For the pond in question, you could turn it into a wildlife pond -- plant water lilies -- plant other native plants & flowering plants. Make a shallow "beach" area for songbirds to bathe. Attract butterflies and humming birds. Turn it into a lovely, peaceful nature spotlight. We have several members here who have wildlife ponds -- some are even certified as such.

Then, if you really wanted koi, have another pond dug, put in a liner, invest in a good filtration system, be as creative as you want -- this could be a koi pond!

I hope I'm wrong, but I get the impression that you've made up your mind to do this your way. You came to us for advice and we've freely given it to you. Please consider being part of the solution instead of part of the problem [in reference to environmental issues].

 

[Habnoji]

I am trying to find out what this town will allow in my pond. I'm waiting to hear back from the deep and I have a call into the wetlands commission. I'm trying to dot my eyes and cross my ts. Doing it the right way the first time always saves you money in the long run. I'm just crossing my fingers and thinking out loud.

 

[MitchM]

Mitch, I agree, I have to get a DWLF and a EPA check done at least once a year for my LLC on the farm. . I thought I had all my bases covered. DWLF came by to check on a report of illegal trapping along the river next to our property and while talking to me noticed I had a overflow pipe that run out into the yard. After a couple of phone calls and many hours of back and forth conversations between EPA and DWLF I ended up having to put a 100 micron screen in my drain line to avoid being fined. The fine would have been between $3000 and $5000 for not complying with federal/state regulations. I almost had a mess on my hands. Thankfully the agents were nice and allowed me the chance to fix the problem and make sure that I complied with the law. It only cost me about $90 in parts to make a box with a removable screen that could be cleaned periodically and still comply. Myself, I really don't want to take a chance on releasing any exotic species. To many species of plants, fish, and reptiles have been released that are causing problems to our native wildlife as it is.

I can't even put tilapia in my greenhouse aquaponics setup without a permit.
The government wants to be ultra sure that none will escape into our waterways.
Don't you folks in the US have an issue with some kind of chinese carp that is taking over some waterways?

 

[dieselplower]

There are fears about Asian carp in the Great Lakes. Last I heard it was overhyped a bit. Not sure what the actual facts are.

 

[fishin4cars]

I can't even put tilapia in my greenhouse aquaponics setup without a permit.
The government wants to be ultra sure that none will escape into our waterways.
Don't you folks in the US have an issue with some kind of chinese carp that is taking over some waterways?

Yes, The Asian Jumping carp are taking over many tributaries to the Mississippi River. Quite a problem in some areas. Tilapia here are more closely regulated than Koi are. Farming any fish species now in the US requires special permits. Koi I had to get a FDA permit. I was completely blown away by that. WHY do I need a food and drug administration permit to raise KOI? Well I got a lesson in that. Koi were almost NOT allowed into the US at all after the KHV scare several years ago. If KHV got into our waterways and contaminated food fish then it could me a market disaster for fish farming all across the U.S. Some of the laws that stop transportation of fish species and regulates them are the same people that stop Piranha from being sold, snakeheads from being imported at all, alos stops the spread of certain bacteria in our meat and veggies as well.

 

[tbendl]

Nicely done Larkin and everyone else. I always enjoy seeing educational responses to something that we don't agree with instead of just being insulting. Thanks for bringing up a good point Habnoji and thanks everyone else for the helpful information.