What to do with all these babies??

[WhiteNoise]

So I have a couple of Koi that give birth each year. In the past most babies never made it. I think most were eaten...not sure as we never saw more than two to four at a time. But in my new pond there a butt load of babies and they are growing fast. I haven't been able to get a good count due to the plants they are hiding in but at night many of them come out and from what I can see...at least 80+ fish. Now I can't keep these in my pond considering the pond cannot support that many fish. I've thought maybe I should place them in a large temp pond and let them grow...maybe pick a couple of the best looking ones to keep and sell or donate the rest to my local koi shop. My fear is that I have well over 80 though and finding a home for so many might not work out well. I hate giving fish to strangers as I don't trust people to take care of them properly unless I know them or have seen their pond. (I'm a little protective of my fish lol)

What do you guys do with so many babies? I've read online about culling them but I'm not sure I have the heart for that. I need to do something before they get too big and start living in the deep end of my pond where it is hard to catch the little ones. Right now they seem to be staying in the shallows (1-2 feet deep) My big Koi seem to keep the little guys from heading to the 4-5 foot deep end by swimming up to them and forcing them back to the shallows.

Anyways I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. lol

 

[Tula]

I have to lower my pond water every year ( I do this at the end of summer, when my pond plants have died back and it's easier to see ) and catch the babies. I've toyed with the idea of using a minnow trap, but haven't done it yet....I use the opportunity of the lowered pond water, to do a good cleaning of the pond, prior to cooler weather.

You can give to a friend, donate ( if you find somewhere that takes them) post on Craigs List, or cull them.

I've toyed with the idea of a single sexed pond, so I don't have to go through this every year, but I'm attached to the 4 I keep

 

[mrsclem]

Just remember that if you keep too many, your pond will be overstocked and you take the chance of losing all your fish. Best to rehome as many as possible. Check local Craigslist, newspapers or Facebook. I only cull fish that are deformed.

 

[CometKeith]

That's a difficult situation. Just curious what was it about your new pond that allowed so many babies to survive?

 

[WhiteNoise]

That's a difficult situation. Just curious what was it about your new pond that allowed so many babies to survive?

My new pond has a small section in the shallow end filled with floating plants and a stone wall dividing it from the rest of the pond. Small sections allow the little fish to get in and out but the big fish can't get in. I put the wall up because the koi were eating all of my plants so this solved the issue but it also allowed the babies to make a home. lol

 

[WhiteNoise]

Just remember that if you keep too many, your pond will be overstocked and you take the chance of losing all your fish. Best to rehome as many as possible. Check local Craigslist, newspapers or Facebook. I only cull fish that are deformed.

Yeah I'm well aware of that. I'm going to start pulling them out soon. Need to go buy a small pond tub to keep them in while I look for someone to take them.

 

[Tula]

The lady who bought my filter off Craigslist, said she'd be happy to have any of my babies, cause she sells them as feeder fish to a local store in KY - yikes!

 

[WhiteNoise]

The lady who bought my filter off Craigslist, said she'd be happy to have any of my babies, cause she sells them as feeder fish to a local store in KY - yikes!

If someone said that to me I'd not give my baby koi to them. I'd rather not know that lol.

 

[Tula]

If someone said that to me I'd not give my baby koi to them. I'd rather not know that lol.

No worries....I will NOT be giving her my babies !

 

[Usman]

how interesting , how do they look any pic

 

[WhiteNoise]

There are a ton of babies which are growing fast. Ranging in size from 1/4" to 1 1/2" at this point.

There are a bunch that are blackish (from my past experience these will be pure gold in color in 6 months or so.) I also have quite a few yellow and gold or yellow and white. Also some white and gold. Looks like I will have a good amount of very desirable colored koi.


I'm almost ready to put the babies in their own pond now. I've decided to let them grow before attempting to sell any. The ugliest ones I will give away maybe. I do plan to keep a couple of the more pretty ones.

I dug out a new pond just for them. The center is about 2 or more feet deep. The outer edge is shallow and I plan to put plants there. I'm not done building it out yet and plan to make the outer wall around the border a bit taller so I can fold the liner up over it which should allow me to raise the water level another 6 inches give or take.

I didn't want a big deep pond as I plan to just keep younger fish in here before selling them. The couple that I plan to keep will be moved to the main pond Once they get bigger.

I used pro landscaping material as a base and a heavy duty tarp over that before placing the liner in. For now I have a box filter in the pond but I do plan to build a filtration box that I will place into the ground (like my 55 gallon filtration I use for my other pond but on a smaller scale) as I prefer a good stone filter over the foam padding.

I still have a lot of work to do as I need to go buy all the stone to go around the pond and build the area out for the waterfall. All in all though this took me the weekend and I needed additional space for all those babies.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

I have to lower my pond water every year ( I do this at the end of summer, when my pond plants have died back and it's easier to see ) and catch the babies. I've toyed with the idea of using a minnow trap, but haven't done it yet....I use the opportunity of the lowered pond water, to do a good cleaning of the pond, prior to cooler weather.

You can give to a friend, donate ( if you find somewhere that takes them) post on Craigs List, or cull them.

I've toyed with the idea of a single sexed pond, so I don't have to go through this every year, but I'm attached to the 4 I keep

Don't invest in a minnow trap..... Tula, I bought what was supposed to be the best of the best...... According to You tube and the internet..... And we all know you can believe anything that is on the internet....Caught 3 out of 62..... Ugggh

 

[Angel]

if you where local i'd grab a few.

 

[WhiteNoise]

I have a koi bag scooper upper thingie. Like a net but a bag with opening on both ends. I use this to catch fish and pull them from pond. Both my ponds are 5 feet from each other so moving the babies won't be an issue. Right now I am just cycling the pond to get it ready for the fish.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

There are a ton of babies which are growing fast. Ranging in size from 1/4" to 1 1/2" at this point.

There are a bunch that are blackish (from my past experience these will be pure gold in color in 6 months or so.) I also have quite a few yellow and gold or yellow and white. Also some white and gold. Looks like I will have a good amount of very desirable colored koi.


I'm almost ready to put the babies in their own pond now. I've decided to let them grow before attempting to sell any. The ugliest ones I will give away maybe. I do plan to keep a couple of the more pretty ones.

I dug out a new pond just for them. The center is about 2 or more feet deep. The outer edge is shallow and I plan to put plants there. I'm not done building it out yet and plan to make the outer wall around the border a bit taller so I can fold the liner up over it which should allow me to raise the water level another 6 inches give or take.

I didn't want a big deep pond as I plan to just keep younger fish in here before selling them. The couple that I plan to keep will be moved to the main pond Once they get bigger.

I used pro landscaping material as a base and a heavy duty tarp over that before placing the liner in. For now I have a box filter in the pond but I do plan to build a filtration box that I will place into the ground (like my 55 gallon filtration I use for my other pond but on a smaller scale) as I prefer a good stone filter over the foam padding.

I still have a lot of work to do as I need to go buy all the stone to go around the pond and build the area out for the waterfall. All in all though this took me the weekend and I needed additional space for all those babies.

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I have a koi bag scooper upper thingie. Like a net but a bag with opening on both ends. I use this to catch fish and pull them from pond. Both my ponds are 5 feet from each other so moving the babies won't be an issue. Right now I am just cycling the pond to get it ready for the fish.

Good Luck...... First year ponder..... Had 62 that lived to 3" to 5" , I kept 10 just to see what the colors would turn out..... Found homes for the rest..... Didn't try to sell any just gave them away, don't know what I will do next year, I have used all the good pond contacts that I have.... Lol Jimmy