My Koi Journey

[yonny]

No more worrying about leaves...... I spent Saturday building some netted covers. I made 3 in 2.4m x 2m rather than one biggun - A) to give some flexibility in coverage, and B) because a biggun would weigh a tonne. Quite happy with the result and it's nice to know that not one single leaf will be in that pond from now on.

The fish are slowing right down now, winter is defo on its way. It's a bit gutting after such a short space of time to enjoy the pond, but at least I know we're in good shape for next year. The water quality is the nuts, the fish are looking very healthy, all set to grow a British record in the coming years 🤣

 

[elmoputney]

On 27/10/2025 at 12:14, yonny said:

No more worrying about leaves...... I spent Saturday building some netted covers. I made 3 in 2.4m x 2m rather than one biggun - A) to give some flexibility in coverage, and B) because a biggun would weigh a tonne. Quite happy with the result and it's nice to know that not one single leaf will be in that pond from now on.

The fish are slowing right down now, winter is defo on its way. It's a bit gutting after such a short space of time to enjoy the pond, but at least I know we're in good shape for next year. The water quality is the nuts, the fish are looking very healthy, all set to grow a British record in the coming years 🤣

 

Very smart, I did notice the fish outside at the garden centre had slowed down a bit the other day, weren't so bothered about the pellets floating on the top.

Hopefully won't be long till it's British record time 😎

[kevtaylor]

On 01/10/2025 at 07:41, yonny said:

Gin Rin meaning 'scaled' i.e. a common, Ogon meaning metallic, solid, single-coloured koi, and Platinum referring to the white/silver colour.

Been a long time since I've kept koi but if my memory serves me correctly gin rin refers to the sparkle look you get on some of the scales - the best type looking like cracked glass which is permanent.

To me you've got a gin rin ogan, all types e.g showa etc can be gin rin, if the sparkle is there.

 

[yonny]

18 hours ago, kevtaylor said:

if my memory serves me correctly gin rin refers to the sparkle look you get on some of the scales

That's the one mate. It's a Gin Rin Platinum Ogon. Quiet a mouthful 😅

I really need to get pics of some of the others to put on here but it's getting more and more difficult with the temps dropping! 

[yonny]

Well the end of the year has gone well. The koi are doing great and still feeding most days due to the elevated temps. The nets/covers are now off since the leaves are gone. The water clarity is insane.... you can see every little detail on the deck in 2m. The temporary floating skimmer has worked a treat. I picked up a pond vacuum a month ago and gave the bottom a good clean at the weekend which means there's no detritus for any nasties to hide in ready for the spring. It's a real shame I can't post vids on here as I have some great footage of the koi milling about.

So now I need to plan for spring which apparently is the most tricky and dangerous time of year. Parasites wake up before the koi so it's essential I do everything I can to keep their immune systems working as well as possible. If you lose your water parameters early on, you're chasing your tail all year, so I have to be bang on it to stay a step ahead of any issues with algae, weed, DO, and ammonia, nitrite, pH etc.

Really enjoyed the last few months and looking forward to my first full year with the pond. Looking to feed heavily next year to get some good growth, while maintaining the water quality. I'll keep this thread updated from time to time for anyone that's interested.

[Roughtor]

Very, very interesting..Not me  but my father was one of the first members of BKKS ..

We used to go around various members gardens/ponds and learn from each of them ..My Dad used to go straight up to Heathrow, a long drive to pick up his Koi from Japan,this was in 70s,things different back then..

 

One story ,he bought two Koi,introduced them to the pond ..we all went to school/work ..When I came home I found one newly stocked Koi had jumped out ..and was not looking at its best ..!!

 

I think it survived ...

[Roughtor]

I knew I had it somewhere..

[yonny]

Not the best start to 2026. The filter house is protected by a massive wooden lid that keeps the rain out. It's been so cold and wet recently that this wood is now completely saturated and weighs an absolute ton. It opens by means of a pully system that's attached to the house. On Sunday I was opening the lid to clean the filters and the fixings pulled out of the wall. I popped to B&Q to get some bits to repair it and thought I'd done a good job, until it pulled out again, hitting me in the face, cutting my nose, and giving me a lovely black eye. Monday morning at work everyone was asking if I've been in a fight 😂.

Water temps are rock bottom, with 3 degrees C the lowest recorded. All the carp are sitting on the deck doing nothing, which is probs a good thing since we've spotted a heron stalking the pond on several occasions now. I have a couple of months to figure out how I'll address that.

All that said, the carp are looking healthy and the water quality is good so I can't complain too much. I have to say it's tricky getting the motivation to get on the bank knowing how these temps are effecting the fish. I'd probably blank fishing the pond, let alone my syndi water!

[kevtaylor]

4 hours ago, yonny said:

Not the best start to 2026. The filter house is protected by a massive wooden lid that keeps the rain out. It's been so cold and wet recently that this wood is now completely saturated and weighs an absolute ton. It opens by means of a pully system that's attached to the house. On Sunday I was opening the lid to clean the filters and the fixings pulled out of the wall. I popped to B&Q to get some bits to repair it and thought I'd done a good job, until it pulled out again, hitting me in the face, cutting my nose, and giving me a lovely black eye. Monday morning at work everyone was asking if I've been in a fight 😂.

Water temps are rock bottom, with 3 degrees C the lowest recorded. All the carp are sitting on the deck doing nothing, which is probs a good thing since we've spotted a heron stalking the pond on several occasions now. I have a couple of months to figure out how I'll address that.

All that said, the carp are looking healthy and the water quality is good so I can't complain too much. I have to say it's tricky getting the motivation to get on the bank knowing how these temps are effecting the fish. I'd probably blank fishing the pond, let alone my syndi water!

Herons are a pain, they lifted a few carp out of my pond that were too big to eat so he left them on the lawn to suffocate prob 5lb plus each.

I got a fake heron which might have helped as little but couldn't say for sure.  I'd say net it or some sort of barrier on the sides so they cannot land, they leave like an oily substance on the surface when they've been in. 🤬 👎

[yonny]

21 minutes ago, kevtaylor said:

I got a fake heron

We have one already. We have a separate goldfish pond further down the garden and it's standing next to that. Hasn't worked.... lost a couple of the bigger goldfish. 

23 minutes ago, kevtaylor said:

some sort of barrier on the sides so they cannot land

Yeah this is where I'm at mate. Just need to figure out how I'm gonna do it.

[kevtaylor]

1 minute ago, yonny said:

We have one already. We have a separate goldfish pond further down the garden and it's standing next to that. Hasn't worked.... lost a couple of the bigger goldfish. 

Yeah this is where I'm at mate. Just need to figure out how I'm gonna do it.

They say you have to move the heron regularly for it to work, I felt like it was attracting them lol

I'm imagining some sort of line of wire or string around the sides a bit like the electric wire for otters, say 3 layers of it, but then you cant have the heron sitting on the top edge if they can still reach the water from there.  Tricky!

[yonny]

20 minutes ago, kevtaylor said:

They say you have to move the heron regularly for it to work

I move it every day. Apparently at certain times of year it actually attracts them and a month or so ago I saw it perched next to the fake one!

20 minutes ago, kevtaylor said:

I'm imagining some sort of line of wire or string around the sides

Yeah that's the plan mate!