For those of you making Ponds

rox · Mar 22, 2006

For those of you making ponds, and I believe there are several here on TBN, you might want to stock them with a fish called, Koi.

Your pond could end up to be a money maker for you. Apparently Koi sell for $900 Dolalrs a piece! That is some serious money. My son raised quaker parrots when he was young, he made several thousand dolalrs, which went into his college savings account. He got about $200 a bird. But $900 for one fish, WOW!

http://sacramentokoi.com/koiForSale.php

http://sacramentokoi.com/SUBcategory.php?categoryKey=13&subCategoryKey=180&subCategoryName=History%20of%20Koi&PHPSESSID=0dcb0a677ec6ed80fd9af257a36d0c4f

escavader · Mar 22, 2006

ROX,
I dont think a hornpout would live in my pond,or 'CATFISH" as some know it.It was intended to be a skating rink for my girls,but it turned out it had a spring in it ,and it wouldnt freeze enough!!
ALAN

scott_vt · Mar 23, 2006

Mornin Rox,
$900 oouch, were we are we have these dang birds, called blue herring that love to eat the fish out of our ponds! At $900 I might have a heart attack if that happened, and oh by the way, you cant touch those birds either, they are an endangered species /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

scotty

snal · Mar 23, 2006

We bought 3 small Koi (around $35 at 6" long) they grew to over 12" in less than 2 years, but last fall a blue herron speared them all. Very strange...we've never seen these birds on our property before, and the pond is only about 12' x 20' with an artificial waterfall.

meadowlarkponds · Mar 23, 2006

If you are making a pond to make money, then I might suggest there are much better ways to make money. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

On the other hand, ponds are great fun and well worth the costs.

The Koi is not a good open pond fish because it will muddy the water and it is very vulnerable to predation, just as mentioned above.

Nasty135 · Mar 23, 2006

READ FIRST!!

WHAT!!! Thats crazy , Those Blue Heron will find a fish in a mud puddle... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

If it got one of my $900 fishies I would just have to give it this...

dubba · Mar 23, 2006

this is better for blue herons Warning Movie link, Windows media

Nasty135 · Mar 23, 2006

dubba, OK DUDE! I don't mind being one upped BUT REALLY, Did you have to totally humiliate me.... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

That was a very good demonstration and a little overkill for a blue heron IMO /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

EddieWalker · Mar 23, 2006

Hi Rox,

Koi are very pretty fish. I enjoy seeing them in others ponds, but wouldn't want any myself. In small ponds, they will absolutely destroy all your plants by digging in the dirt. You can use rocks to cover the roots and cut down on this, but they are persistant and in time will get through.

Koi are allot like show animals. Price depends on papers and quality. To the average person, they are all the same, but with differetn colors and patters. To the true collector, those patterns can mean the difference in thousands of dollars. I've heard of some koi that sell in the tens of thousands of dollars range. People have been known to fly to Japan to buy just one fish!!!

There are koi shows, just like dog shows or horse shows, where they are judged. Breeders can sell their fish for more money based on the shows they've won.

It's very expensive to get involved with because we're talking fish. Transport and showing them requires special tanks. Sickness and desiese are very common. There are vets that specialize in koi care and I'ver read articles about some of the surgeries performed on champion koi. These owners will spend huge sums of money for their fish.

Most koi ponds with high dollar fish have nets over them. I've even heard of some that are indoors!!

For us building fishing ponds with dirt bottoms and grass shorlines, it's a bad choice of species to put in there. Koi are a carp, just like goldfish and the other ornamental fish species. Carp are no good to eat, no fun to catch and add no benifit to the food chain. Their only reason for existing is they are beautiful to look at and fun to watch swim around. This can only be acheived in a small garden type pond.

Eddie

ToadHill · Mar 23, 2006

I put 3 koi and 2 grass carp in my pond to control a hugh bloom of alge. they worked great. They have kept the pond clear for the last 5 years. They are now about 20 inches long. I've never caught any of the koi but I have hooked the grass carp a couple of times, It's like hooking a cement block. They have not made the pond overly muddy, and I can easilly see 18" down into the water. My Ag agent told me that 18" is the right amount if you have a healthy pond.