Koi psychology: flashlights and big brother

[vertigo72]

Two things I noticed recently; first, Koi seem scared of flashlights. At night, if I point a flashlight on to my pond (dont ask), it will make almost all my fish scramble for safety. Only my oldest and biggest Koi seems unphased by it. That makes me wonder if its a good idea to install lights in the pond? They seem to need or want darkness for sleep, or is that nonsense?

Secondly, small koi seem to be afraid of their big brothers? My pond has a section that is (for now, due to low water) accessible only through a single brick hole in a wall. It turns out that almost all my new small koi use that hole to hide in that small and shallow part of the pond, even though in that part there is almost nothing to hide behind or below, while in the "main pond" i provided ample sheltering space. I can only conclude they are running from the big fish?

BTW, my small kois are still sleeping on their sides, laying on the bottom as if dead, but less frequently it seems, as water temps are going up. All 10 baby Koi that I bought for 5 euro each, are still alive, eating and even growing visibly. Success so far

 

[addy1]

The big guys could be picking on the little guys,
Glad your babies are doing good.

 

[CometKeith]

Vertigo, It may be that they sense the change in light when you use your flashlight and that frightens them. I have two lights that shine in my pond. Generally my goldfish are much more active at night than during the day even with the lights shining into the pond. They usually start to relax and slow up a few hours after sundown unless they are spawning and then they are chasing each other around past midnight!

 

[addy1]

Aww having the midnight fun cometkeith! Then you will be a fish granddaddy.

 

[onemean]

mine too, (also don't ask) are afraid of the flashlight. so much so that they would freak out and bump into their temp containment area.