My 600G Koi pond - Season 2 (2008)

 

Season 1 (2007) - The Build

2009-2013 - The Upkeep

DIY - How to Build a Gravitational Filter for a Koi Pond

Season 2 - 2008

Jan 27, 2008

I have a mole problem. We have quite a few in the neighborhood but now this one has attacked right at the edge of the pond and has started burrowing under the pond:

So I went to to a store called Hagarin to get a humane mole trap:
which is available mainly in England. I also bought some mole poison: Klerat/Brodimat K which contains Brodifacioum .005% and Bitrex .001%.

Mar 1, 2008

I had one koi recently die of an aeromonas infection (hole in the side). I doused the water with salt which seems to have stopped the disease:

Mar 24, 2008

After the winter I rented a pondvac and cleaned up the pond to get it ready for the summer. Here are two pictures from after the pond cleanup:

Mar 28, 2008

One of my koi had a strange growth under its stomach. Turned out to be a ruptured ovary. The following two pictures shows the egg sac attached to her and not falling off. Fortunately, after 2 days it fell off and she is now fine and recovered. One can see the internal hemmoraging that took place near the tail fin but that has all passed and she is now totally recovered.

Apr 2, 2008

I had placed about 10 Rosy Barbs in the pond before the winter. During the winter I measured the temperature as low as 2c (36f) and yet the Rosy Barbs not only didn't die out - they thrived and I now have a colony of over 40.

Apr 18, 2008

Recently, barn swallows have started visiting my pond and been dive-bombing the water as they drink a bit during flight as well as make themselves wet - a bit of aerial aerobatics.


Now I have an 21 second Youtube clip showing how they do it. Just click on it to start.

Apr 30, 2008

Added a 14cm Pleco, specifically of the type known as Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus, that I bought via an online "fish" trading forum in Israel:
He'll stay in the pond till November when I'll do my pre-winter cleanup.

June 6, 2008

Here is a recent view of my pond:

August 14, 2008


Every year there is a competition run by Atlantis Fish for the nicest pond in Israel. This year, my pond took first place (Hebrew). My specific submission is located here (Hebrew). The winning pictures:

August 18, 2008

Some of my koi:

September 4, 2008

Here are some pictures of my lilies (Dauben (white), Chromatella (yellow) and Attraction (pink)):


October 7, 2008

Here is a picture of a new red metallic koi (14cm) that I am adding to my pond:

November 14, 2008

Here are some picture of my koi before the winter sets in. The first one is my 40cm kohaku. The rest vary in size from 15-35cm:




I would love to hear your comments - send them to Hank Nussbacher (hank@interall.co.il)