koi and waterplants

[whiskey]

Hi all do any of you have trouble with koi eating or digging up pond plants or lillies.
Here many stories of koi doing the above.
I know baskets or rings help to reduce the above.
WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAS OR IS IT A MYTH, need to know as planning koi sturgeon tench carp and goldfish together.

 

[addy1]

from every post of people that have koi, the majority of them love to dig into the pots of the plants and destroy the plants. You can try to protect the pots with stones, wire mesh etc. There are a few that have koi that leave the plants alone, not very often though.

My goldies leave all alone.

 

[whiskey]

thanks addy1 just getting view points from guys that keep mixed ponds

 

[koiguy1969]

first off...IT AINT NO MYTH!!..LIKE ANY PERSON, INDIVIDUAL FISH HAVE THEIR PREFERRENCES, BUT KOI LIKE PLANTS...LILLIES,FROGBIT, PARROTS FEATHER, ANACHORAS, HORN WORT, YOU NAME IT, ITS LIKELY ONE OF YOUR FISH WILL LIKE IT. EVERYBODIES HAD THEIR LUCK WITH DIFFERENT PLANTS, BUT OTHER PEOPLE JUST CANT KEEP THOSE PLANTS... YOU CAN TAKE MEASURES FOR PLANT P[ROTECTION...LIKE FLOATING PLANTS SUCH AS WATER HIACYNTHS, AND LETTUCE, FROG BIT, ETC...
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/topic/2581-floating-planter-rings/ SECTIONING OF AREAS WITH PLASTIC POULTRY FENCING IN THE POND COULD HELP MY KOI LIKE TO BITE LILLIE STEMS OFF BY THE RHYZONE AND SUCK OUT THE MEAT OR PULP FROM THE STEMS BOTTOM FEW INCHES.AND ONLY NIBBLE SMALL AREAS OFF THE PADS. CLICK THE LINK ABOVE FOR SOME PRETTY EFFECTIVE IDEAS FOR FLOATING PLANTS.

 

[adavisus]

Koi are piggies, they have nothing better to do other than to rummage around the pond looking for tidbits... all night long

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[fishin4cars]

whiskey, small koi do great with plants, large koi wreck havic! Seriously, I've been keeping plants and koi together for years. Butterfly koi seem to do better as they usually grow slower and the long fins prevent them from being able to nose dive and dig as easy as standard. But Koi are koi, once they reach the 16"-18" mark they destroy plants. If your going to try I advice tough marginals, thalia, pickeral rush, Large Taro, cattails, and Iris. Little floating plants, lily's, frogsbit, and plants that grow runners will be eaten on sight!

 

[whiskey]

thanks guys youve all made my mind up.
What do you think of two tier bog the first 3foot deep and 1foot wide, with round washing baskets sunk below water level by 1" back filled with gravel, but inside basket soil in sacking with top left open top with 1"of gravel and the rest left to fill with water.Dry stone wall between koi pond and first tier and maybe a second wall or walling under liner to divide tiers
The second tier as a normal bog about 18" with gravel and pipework ....see diagram

 

[kougs]

I had just posted on the good banter thread that my kids distroyed my planters that are in my pond and koiguy suggested a good 1/2 hour time out would be in order.
So yes they do enjoy eating or digging up pond plants or lillies. It was my water lillies they got to. And the water is too cold right now to go in and retrieve them from the bottom.

 

[koidaddy]

I had to remove all the plants from my main pond.

 

[adavisus]

It's useful to know there are such things as koi proof plants, it is doable.

When folk try the 'usual' potting of dinky plants in dinky pots it comes as a surprise if they don't know what to expect when Summer warms and those perty little koi grow a foot in size, the perty plants become a convenient plaything and snack...

At that point, the thought koi and plants are impossible looms

Planting bucket size planters, with koi tough plants is doable, thalia, iris, pickerel, cattails have been mentioned, there are quite a few to choose so you and your fish can enjoy their perty nibblies without causing too much mischief. You can even sneak a burly waterlily in when the ratio of koi tough plants and koi is looking stable...

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[whiskey]

how about placing the lilly in plastic pin[ laundry bin] and placing behind dry wall a few inches below water line back filling with gravel to allow water through into the bin, this would allow lilly to grow normally plus if you wanted it in pond make a wire rim as wide as you wish to deter feeding fish.....lilly as it grows, lays upon mesh looking natural.....it would be like an up side down top hat....mad hatter koi party.
As to lid ideal in winter to cover or until lilly restarts growing again.

 

[adavisus]

When koi are of a rambunctious size and appetite, waterlilies are vulnerable early in Summer when they are dainty and just starting up.

Any kind of barrier, or isolation can make the diff allowing the lily to get up to a size where a bit of assault and battery from a chunky carp won't be too much unwanted attention

Regards, andy

 

[whiskey]

ok ok ok i give in ...koi are greedy what its........will do away with dry wall as koi could rub them selves on it , will divide of planting area and put a sign up....[..what children would say ] ner ner ner ner ner.......ha ha

 

[addy1]

now you need to teach them to read the sign!

 

[sissy]

Koi are destructive fish and the bigger they get the bigger the mess they can make .I have even caught my koi pushing around the pump to see what could be under the crate the pump is wired on top of and that crate has a cut out for them to go inside for a nest .Dumb fish .