Protecting plants from koi

Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Messages
138
Reaction score
43
Location
Southern New Jersey
Hi all! I have a 65 gal tank with 3koi and a Goldie. I know koi like to eat plant roots but I still try to keep some in the tank. I have 2 Anacharis which they nibble on the leaves but for the most part leave alone. Today though I put some other vegetation in that they quickly dug up and started chewing on! I tried putting larger gravel over the root areas but they dug the plants out anyway. I'm thinking of replanting them in some soil and putting gravel on top of that. In my pond I have no problem using soil in pots to keep the koi from destroying my plants. However I'm not sure how top soil would be in a small tank?

The plants are Staurogyne Repens and Cyperus Helferi.

Any suggestions on how to keep the fish from digging up these plants would great!!

Dave
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,320
Reaction score
29,069
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
If it was my tank, I would put the plants in a small pot in kitty litter, wrap that pot with some window screening, wire tie it around the plants stem, hide all in some gravel / rocks in your tanks.

(don't have koi)
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Messages
138
Reaction score
43
Location
Southern New Jersey
Okay, here's what I did. I put each plant in a plastic container with stone and some aquatic planting medium. I also cable tied (not too tightly) the plants together. This way the fish will have to pull up the entire plant not just sections through the gravel. Keeping my fingers crossed.

PS. For some reason pics are upside down? Sorry:)
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    61.9 KB · Views: 315
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    80 KB · Views: 311

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,754
Messages
508,177
Members
13,003
Latest member
Tfny

Latest Threads

Top