Spawn is on in East Texas

[Hookset]

The spawn started about 04:30 this morning. I could hear splashing all over the pond. wife pulled the mop before she left for school, and when I got home from work all I could say was wow. there are eggs all over the place. some over a foot away from the edge. The mop got pulled too early but it was better than leaving it all day. I moved some so the eggs that are on plants over to the hatching trough. now I guess it is a wait and see.
I am about to go search for some articles on what to do next. if an one has an opinion they want to share, i am all ears..

 

[DrCase]

You have three days to get some food ready

 

[Hookset]

do you have a recommendation? i've read hard boil egg whites are good?

 

[fishin4cars]

Newly hatched brine shrimp and green water work the best, hard boiled egg yolks will work for a short time but they make a mess in the water. Keep your oxygen levels up as much as possible. your temp. as stable as possible, ammonia and nitrites at 0 or as close to this reading as possible, and be ready to split up the bigger ones from the little ones in a week to two weeks as cannibalism will start once the bigger ones can start eating it's siblings. these are called tobies and they can literally cull 50% of your hatch in only a few short weeks. One of our favorite L/F's is a toby I raised by himself due to how many siblings he ate before I spotted him.

 

[DrCase]

I have feed them First Bites its a fine powder you should find it at a large pet store

 

[Hookset]

thanks for the info.
I place the eggs in a 100 gallon water trough filled 3/4 with pond water. is this to much water?

 

[SC-Koi]

I noticed my fish going crazy as well, at that time I learned they were spawing. Being new to this I was not able to put the mob in. I think they laid the eggs in the plants and the other fish ate them all. Is there a chance some might survive? This activity was with the goldfish, the Koi hasnt started yet. Do Koi spawn later then goldfish?

 

[fishin4cars]

I noticed my fish going crazy as well, at that time I learned they were spawing. Being new to this I was not able to put the mob in. I think they laid the eggs in the plants and the other fish ate them all. Is there a chance some might survive? This activity was with the goldfish, the Koi hasnt started yet. Do Koi spawn later then goldfish?

yes, it is very possible some are hiding and survived on their own. Pretty much every year for the last 4-5 years I have had some babies survive right in the pond with the adults.
Goldfish started spawning here about 3-4 weeks ago. First koi spawning's started about two weeks ago but I haven't seen the big spawn so far. Although I have seen a few Koi fry in the Longfin pond that have found areas to hide and grow so I know it's started already here for sure. Looking for the magic water temp of 70+ degrees. That's usually the start of the breeding season in most cases.

 

[Mmathis]

Hmm.... I haven't noticed any unusual behavior recently. When it happens, does it just HAPPEN, then it's over with? Or is it sort of a continuous process? I haven't checked water temp. Not trying for spawn, but would like to be able to recognize it.

 

[koiguy1969]

Its not hard boiled egg whites, its the yolk...do not feed them egg whites. far to hard for them to digest.
heres a helpfull thread. https://www.gardenpondforum.com/topic/4189-raising-your-own-fry-foods/

 

[capewind]

mortar and pestle became my best friend last year ... I just ground normal food up to powder ....

 

[fishin4cars]

Hmm.... I haven't noticed any unusual behavior recently. When it happens, does it just HAPPEN, then it's over with? Or is it sort of a continuous process? I haven't checked water temp. Not trying for spawn, but would like to be able to recognize it.

Usually happens early in the morning, sometimes you can see the chasing going on for hours sometimes it's a 30min to a hour ordeal then it's over. My buddy in Vicksburg has comets and koi both spawning today so be on the look out. Any fish that is at least a year old is very capable of spawning. But usually it's the two year olds and older Koi that spawn. Although I have certainly seen my share of 1 year old koi spawning's as well.

 

[Philphine]

i just came upon this thread doing a search trying to figure out what was going on with my fish. i guess i'm too late to control whatever happens, separation and whatnot.

the thing i'm wondering (along with whats that mop that y'all mentioned?) i have a plant in one of those strawberry type pots sitting in my pond. several fish burrowed into it. i guess they were either laying eggs, or trying to get to eggs others laid going by what i'm reading from y'all here. plus that pot seems to be the spot a couple of frogs (toads?) have picked as their home so i don't know if they'll eat any eggs that might get laid in it.

another thing i thought was odd was, i thought maybe some of the fish got stuck in the pot. one was pretty much out of the water sitting on top of the plants, maybe one side still in the water. i took it out by the tail and it flopped around. when i let it go in the water it seemed fine. one was sticking up out of the pot with it's mouth out of the water, but again, once i got into the plant to get at it, it got active, and once back in the water seemed ok. i did this about three times over about an hours period 'cause i just kept thinking they wouldn't be out of the water that way on purpose, but each time once i got a hold of them they got active again and were fine once i put them back in the water.

 

[Hookset]

Philphine,
you'll know if they spawned as the water will have a white film on it and there will be an strong fish odor. the mop is noting more than lengths of yarn tied to somthing that floats. from what you described its hard to tell if they spawned. As my fish will get halfway out of the water along the shallow edges, and they do love to eat plants. look for eggs in the plant and along the edges, look at your female does she still look like she has eggs.
Good Luck

 

[Mmathis]

Have been checking, and my water temp is staying in the lower 60's. Guess it's just not time here, yet.