Pond Review - Angel Vega

Thanks for your tips. Of all the websites on Koi ponds I've surfed, I find yours to be the most helpful. Add to that, the periodic help tips via email on building a pond andyou are head and shoulders over everyone else.

Perhaps I should mention that I've had my pond for over two years now, but still enjoy reading your tips in case there is something I missed along the way.

I've found that round river rocks, when weighed at price per pound, can end up to be quite costly so I just purchased a few to accent the pond in the right places. Feather rocks have allowed me to cover high areas over the small waterfall I have because of their light weight. The rest of the rocks I've picked up along the way whenever I saw one on the side of the road. I purchased my koi small, as they were affordable in that size, and added a few shibumkins with fancy tails to sort of mix it up. At that time, I had no intentions of breeding them or making any such accommodations for that, but to my surprise, after the first winter, while feeding, I noticed a few fry swimming around.

This year, I picked up some artificial Christmas wreath material on sale and tossed it into the pond to act as a spawning aid for future fry, should they mate again. I realize that a lot of fry won't make it, but since my pond is not that large (approx. 900 gals) this should work in my favor and the strong would have survived.

Attached are just three photos of my pond. Two of them show my biggest Koi latching on to the leg of a frog which he didn't let go of until I started clearing some vegetation from the water in order to get a clearer picture of him. I subsequently scooped up the frog and placed him on a level stone and noticed that his web foot had been partially digested, but he was still alive.

These fish are excellent pets since they require minimum maintenance, and for incidents like this (frog) they offer surprising behavior.

During the summer my water was like pea soup so I introduced some algae eaters, Plecos, (which I haven't seen lately) and I started cleaning my filters almost daily. The water has cleared a lot, but I don't know if it is because of the cool winter days, or the less amount of sunlight hours during the day.I have more photos on my facebook album which shows the construction of my pond with irrigation to water the plants.

Thanks again.

Angel Vega
Lehigh Acres, Florida