Help with Spawning Behavior

[orlanda]

We would be grateful for some feedback/advice about post spawning behavior.

First...an overview that I hope will suffice.
We purchased a five-acre property (2500 elevation near Grass Valley CA) in March 2015 with two koi ponds; a "big" pond and a "nursery" pond. Our water comes from a very good well. The "big" 5500+ gallon pond had 24+ koi ranging in size from 6" to 20". After much work, we converted the old filter system to a bead filter, a better UV light plus small waterfall at the far end of the pond to ensure proper circulation. The pond needed to be professionally cleaned, so we used that opportunity to re-home many of the 2015 fry and a good number of the larger fish. We moved the 2016 fry to the 500-gallon "nursery" waterfall pond. We could not live full time on the property until June 2016. And so, though we knew we had breeding fish, (due to the fry that showed up summer 2015 & summer 2016) we had not witnessed the fish spawning. We really don't want a lot of fry because they are really difficult to catch. Well, all of our fish are difficult to catch unless we drain the pond!

We know there has been spawning this week of May 1st because the pond is all stirred up and there have been eggs in the basket filter. The fish have not been coming to the surface to feed. Yesterday morning and evening I didn't even put food in because none of the fish came to their usual feeding spot.

Here are my questions: Is this normal for the fish to stay down and not eat during spawning? How long is the spawning time? Do all the females release their eggs the same day or does it take several days? Should we be worried?

 

[mrsclem]

I would not be worried. Your fish aren't interested in food because they are eating their eggs. Several members stop feeding when their koi spawn to keep the population down. Not all females spawn the same day. The spawns can be weeks apart.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I will relate to you my experience with Koi spawning....... I am a first year ponder..... And I have Two really large males and one smaller male...... And one large female...... The first spawn resulted in about four dozen babies that are about 1 1/2" long now, the second with the same mother only about six survived they are about 3/4" long..... What I observed with the spawning process is there is no doubt what they are Up to..... It's very violent the males all are trying to push her against the wall..... The rocks, lots of splashing and the poor female gets beat up, scales missing and red spots. They usually spawn at night or early morning, plants will be moved even large rocks moved,

 

[Tula]

I awoke to spawning this morning, so I'll stop feeding for awhile. I want them to eat the eggs, for purposes of population control.

I think the eggs are high protein, so it's possible you'll see an increase in ammonia in the pond. I usually flush the filter and do a water change.

 

[DutchMuch]

(btw)
Welcome!

 

[orlanda]

Thanks for the responses. My first thought is that they weren't hungry due to eating the eggs, but I worried when no interest was shown for two days. The fish rose to greet me this morning, so I fed them a little. There are LOTS of eggs in my homemade plant nets (I sew shade cloth to a hula hoop so that I can float hyacinth, water lettuce and the like in the pond). Wouldn't it be cool if the fry only hatched INSIDE my plant nets!? Those little fry are so hard to catch.

 

[sissy]

I have koi and a 5000+ koi pond and that seems like a lot of koi so watch feeding them as the waste they put out relates to the food they put in .I only feed mine 3 or 4 times a week there is plenty to eat in the pond .

 

[Tula]

I had to stop using my floating nets, as they acted as fry nurseries - LOL !!!!