Koi Winter Pond Care
Proper winter pond care and preparing your koi pond fish for winter
About thirty to sixty days BEFORE the temperature of your koi pond water drops below 65 degrees is the best time to treat your koi pond fish for flukes with Aqua Prazi and a good medicated fish food like Medi Koi for ten days.
This treatment will insure your koi pond fish are fluke free and free of any bacterial infections before going into their long winters nap. The reasons for treating your koi pond fish at 65 degrees are the flukes.
Your koi fish’s metabolism and the koi pond medications all work at their peak in warmer pond water which makes the koi pond medications very effective. Any build up of organic debris such as leaves and sludge give off toxic gases (hydrogen sulfide) and should be removed from the bottom of your koi pond.
If your koi winter pond freezes over, prepare a method for keeping a small hole in the ice. This can be done with a heater or an air source. The preferred method used by most pond keepers is using a large air stone or aerator.
The reason is, it’s less expensive to run all winter than a heater and is better for your koi pond fish because it helps remove any toxic gases that might form in your koi winter pond under the ice.
The importance of aeration in a winter koi pond
The location of the air source is very important. Do not place the air stone at the bottom of your koi winter pond. The reason is, the winter pond water at the bottom of your koi pond is warmer and that’s where your koi and pond fish will rest for the winter.
Placing the air stone at the bottom of your koi winter pond will mix the warmer pond water at the bottom of your koi winter pond with the colder winter pond water at the top of your koi winter pond making your koi and winter pond fish colder.
The best location for the air stone is approximately six inches from the top of the koi winter pond water. It’s very important that you make sure the “hole” in the ice on your koi winter pond is open at all times (be careful of thin ice) and it should be checked everyday.
A build up of snow on your koi winter pond will not hurt your koi and pond fish, in fact, some people claim that a build up of snow insulates your winter koi pond from the frigid winds of winter.
Just following these simple steps will help your koi and pond fish through the long winter months. Plus, when you have the time, please read about our new Arctic Blend, the pond keepers who tested “Arctic Blend” for us had excellent results with the health of their koi pond fish when they opened their koi pond in the spring.
Just treating with Arctic Blend, will greatly improve the condition of your koi winter pond fish and pond in the spring. Plus, it will help give you the proper winter pond care every pond needs.
Need someone to talk with about a fish or pond problem, I’m here,
Rick
rick@aquameds.com
