Hello from SoCal!

[pinonponder]

Hello fellow ponders! Checking in from the northeast foothills of the San Gabriel mountains in SoCal, ~ 5000 ft. elevation. This is more of a re-introdution, as I posted on here several years ago. The last year or two have been rough (divorce) but I still have my pond and it's doing well, and so am I. It's 16x10x3 feet deep. I have 3 generic koi from petsmart, about 8 years old. I think they love having this big pond to themselves, but I'd like to get some goldfish or a couple more koi. I'm just afraid the koi I have will eat the new koi. They are big! I'll search for older threads for advice on how to do this, but please chime in here if you'd like to advise. Thx!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome back. Sometimes life does get in the way of life (yes, that's what I meant to say, LOL). Do you have any pictures, new or old, that you could post?

 

[j.w]

@pinonponder and hope things get much happier for you in the future. Don't know about the koi eating other koi, I just have goldfish.

 

[sissy]

hello and welcome back and glad you are getting on .I would stay with what you have goldfish breed to much ,get fat fantails instead .Never had my koi eat another fish ,frogs yes and eggs yes .

 

[MoonShadows]

 

[j.w]

View attachment 100737

I like your animations and you have some I don't have. Can I save some of yours to my files. You can do the same w/mine if you like

 

[MoonShadows]

Sure!

 

[j.w]

 

[pinonponder]

Thanks for the warm welcome back and words of encouragement! Love those animations! You guys are so clever.

Hi j.w! I remember your sweet pond and all your goldfish. Hope you are getting some sunshine up north. We have been warmer than usual lately but cooling off a bit now.

Sissy, thanks for the advice! Good to see you are still posting. You are right, I sure don't need a bunch of fish multiplying. I have three older cats and my son moved in with me and he has a cat. I don't want more pet responsibilities. The koi I have now are 14-16" long so I was worried they might eat the new guys I would get since they would be much smaller. I will visit the pond digger and see what koi he has available.

I will take some pics when I get a chance. I got some plants yesterday so need to get them planted. Two are calla lilies. I was thinking of planting them in some shallow pockets I have at the edge of the pond. Do you think I should remove the soil? They are in gallon containers. That seems like too much soil to have in the pond.

 

[j.w]

Yes @pinonponder we are getting lots of sunshine now but tomorrow the rains come back.

Since the soil is not covered by the pond water it should not hurt to use it in the pots but if you don't want to take a chance w/messy soil spilling in your pond you can use pure clay cat litter like from Walmart. Not sure if Calla's will like the clay tho. Make sure it says 100% clay w/no perfume etc. That way if some spills out it won't foul up you pond like soil. Clouds up the pond water at first but clears up pretty fast. You can use it underwater also for lilies etc. You may have to give those Calla's a bunch of fertilizer in that cat litter tho and it's gotta be fish friendly.

Oops I just looked this up and they don't like clay soil: http://www.gardenguides.com/87786-cannas-planting-tips.html

 

[j.w]

@pinonponder not sure of putting them in the pond after reading this: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1562123/pink-calla-lilies-in-the-pond
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1562123/pink-calla-lilies-in-the-pond
Maybe somebody here has tried it and it's ok but I'd wait and find out first.

 

[pinonponder]

Thanks j.w.! I read the discussion. Weird how one person lost fish and another had no problem. I wonder if the person who lost fish had fish that ate the plants. My koi don't bother any of my pond plants. I've had watercress growing down from the waterfall and into the pond but the koi ignore it. Now the CA ground squirrels, aka rats with fuzzy tails, are another story. They climb onto the waterfall and pond rocks and consume anything in sight except the mint. I will do a little more research before deciding whether to put them in the pond.

 

[addy1]

Welcome back! Divorces are hard, but sometime the best thing to happen.

 

[addy1]

Welcome back! Divorces can be rough. Keep recovering, life is to good to waste.

 

[sissy]

So you guys in pretty suits help trim the plants .I used to have deer that stole the whole plant and all I had was a hole where it was .I would prefer squirrels to deer .Free trimming would be nice .I would also prefer them to moles since they chewed holes in my liner .My koi are just getting past the destroy plants stage .They just kill frogs and I get the pleasure of taking out what parts they don't like to eat .Addy funny repeat