Do I have reason to worry?

[Gemma]

This passed Spring, I exchanged a few large koi for smaller ones! I have 12 fish (10 koi, 2 shubunkin) and only 1 is 100% sure female, the rest could end up being all male....I know most of them are young and things can change in time, but if that turns out to be the case (11 male to 1 female),coming next Spring, should I worry that the only female will get chased none stop and end up stressing out?

 

[Tula]

I've read that a ratio of 2-3 males, per female is recommended.

I'm not 100 % sure, but I think I have 2 females and 2 males. I'm considering lowering my pond water when they spawn next Spring, so they don't come into contact with rocks at the ponds edge.

 

[sissy]

They can jump out also or possibly kill the female being to aggressive

 

[Gemma]

I've read that a ratio of 2-3 males, per female is recommended.

I'm not 100 % sure, but I think I have 2 females and 2 males. I'm considering lowering my pond water when they spawn next Spring, so they don't come into contact with rocks at the ponds edge.

I wish I could do that butthe way the skimmer is positioned I don't really have that option!

 

[Tula]

I wish I could do that butthe way the skimmer is positioned I don't really have that option!

I have a pump in my skimmer, so will have to keep the water level high enough for that, but I figure any minimization of coming into contact with rocks, is an improvement

 

[Gemma]

They can jump out also or possibly kill the female being to aggressive

My fish can jump, but not out, I have the pond covered with a thick, coated steel mesh

 

[Gemma]

I have a pump in my skimmer, so will have to keep the water level high enough for that, but I figure any minimization of coming into contact with rocks, is an improvement

My husband grind smooth all the stones cause some were super sharp, I hope that's good enough so no fish will get hurt

 

[Meyer Jordan]

That is a lot of males that will be pounding on ONE female during spawning. Sometimes they do not survive.

 

[Gemma]

That is a lot of males that will be pounding on ONE female during spawning. Sometimes they do not survive.

That's what I'm afraid of!
Could it be possible, that some of these young fish turn out to be also female and only chase the female right now, cause the rest of the fish do?

 

[Faebinder]

One of my pretty and expensive ranchus jumped behind the plants during spawning and never came back out (found her 5 days later). Beware of too many males to females, the chase can get tiresome for the females. Who cares about the males when there are too many females, they will just chase whoever is around. One of my male ranchus jumped and got stuck in the door of the skimmer. He and 2 other males were chasing 1 female.....once again showing a problem of too many males to females. It's funny seeing a male ranchu, a male shubunkin and a male oranda all chasing the same female common.

So I predict the one female is gonna struggle.

 

[Dave 54]

That is a lot of males that will be pounding on ONE female during spawning. Sometimes they do not survive.

Spawning is the roughest time for female koi and as Meyer has previously said sometimes they do not survive their ordeal at the hands of male koi .
Question Gemma do you know how to sex your koi or is this just guess work ?
Do you have a QT pond ?
Most koi people in the UK remove females and add two males plus spawning ropes and once the deed is done remove them from the QT pond and see what comesfrom the fertilized eggs, its far less of an ordeal for the female koi that way.
Koi however do not start spawning till they reach 10" or so .

Dave

 

[Gemma]

Spawning is the roughest time for female koi and as Meyer has previously said sometimes they do not survive their ordeal at the hands of male koi .
Question Gemma do you know how to sex your koi or is this just guess work ?
Do you have a QT pond ?
Most koi people in the UK remove females and add two males plus spawning ropes and once the deed is done remove them from the QT pond and see what comesfrom the fertilized eggs, its far less of an ordeal for the female koi that way.
Koi however do not start spawning till they reach 10" or so .

Dave

what makes me think that I "might" have only 1 female, is the fact that when I introduced my latest purchase to the pond, all the other fish started chasing it, pushing it against the rocks just like males do during spawning, and this behavior has been my way of tell the difference between male and female.
I heard about the fins being rounder on females, but I've also heard that's not always a reliable way
I'm just hoping those young koi are just playing and some end up being females, or I'll have to re home my Sanke
Forgot to add that catching fish in my pond is not an easy task, so the QT pond is not an option, if that turns out to be my only female the easiest thing to do will be to take her out.

 

[Dave 54]

The way to sex koi is to look at the vent area you will see Female koi have a line running from head to tale which has another line running across it whilst the male koi do not have this cross piece they just have a running from head to tail Males are also sleeker than females .
Sometimes koi are just curious about new comes into the pond .
What worries me though is your lack of QT facilities you need tostart QTing your newcomers so why not build a small 550 gallon QT pond Gemma because it isnt worth the risk especially with the CyHV3 virus known by the name the Koi herpes virus which you do not want in your pond as there is no cure for it and it can take out up to 80% of your pond
Please read :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/khv-cyhv3.27/

Dave

 

[Gemma]

Oh my I had no idea about this virus!
The QT pond sounds like a good idea, I would definitely consider building one if I knew where, so I thought I could use the 500gl kid pool I bought to host the fish during the renovation.

Thank you for making me aware of that nasty virus!

 

[Dave 54]

Its been around for quit a while and was at first kept quite about , there is an arguement as to where it first started out either Isreal or Japan over time its continued to mutate and there are lesser varients of this virus however if caught you must inform your fisheries department just as we have to here in the UK.
Then you either keep the survivors or kill them off or kept!!!!.... but if kept they would have to be kept in permanant QT with no new koi added ever because the survivors are also carriers of the virus , you would even have to use seperate equipment .
it would also mean the scrapping of the old pond lest it has had contact with the virus which it already has and everything must either be cleaned thouroughly and then dipped , puting the pond back together nuking the liner , then leaving the pond fallow for 6 months .as our health official found out when his koi fell foul of it [they had bought no koi in 10 years ].............Frightening Yes ?

Then think on this bit of information because its even more frightening why ? ......... because......... 10 years ago our entire club used the same dealership who we had known and trusted [they were KHV aware] but it somehow even found a way past their rigurous Heat ramping and QT proceedures and precautions

Dave