December 20
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Winter is on the way, and if you have just built your Koi pond this will be the first time that your Koi have had to make it through those long winter months.
Think of Winter as a down period for your fishpond, as less events happen during Winter than any other time. If you wish to make certain that your pond and your fish survive through the winter, you are going to need to take some special precautions though.
Take about a weekend to go over your fishpond. If it has any unwanted bulk material in it or around it, you need to clean it up. Inside your fishpond, clean up all leaves, silt, and other material from the bottom. Also, remove any plants or flowers that will not make it through the winter.
If there is any rubbish around your fishpond that could blow into it, clean that up as well as you are not likely to notice any of this stuff until spring arrives. Taking the time to make sure that as much debris is removed as possible will prevent potentially harmful bacteria and parasites in the future.
This is a very vital thing, then do not forget that you must not give food to your Koi during the winter. When your water temperatures get around 55 or 60 degrees F, you should only give your Koi food one time daily. When the outside air temperature reaches the 50 mark, you need to wholly stop feeding your Koi.
You might think that it’s okay to feed your fish when the temperature rises above 50 again, but don’t. Koi in general, take about four days to entirely digest their food at temperatures above fifty mark. If you mistakenly give food to your fish to late the food will not digest and will end up killing your fish.
You also need to realize that when a Koi is opening its mouth to you it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is hungry. This is just something that they do out of habit and reflex more than hunger. If you are worried about not feeding them, remember that fish eat other things besides the food you provide them, in particular if your fishpond contains a large amount of natural plant life. Your Koi will fill up on this other stuff if they get hungry and you’re not feeding them.
Doing a regular check up on your pond equipment is vital. This includes everything from your filtration system to your store of preventable medications. During those extensive winter months it can be a little more difficult to come up with these pond supplies as a lot of carriers don’t keep them on their shelves during this time.
You also need to make sure that you have an crisis kit ready and up-to-date. This kit needs to include your water testing kits, bags, nets, and any of the medications required.
You need to make sure that you are ready for the cold weather, by investing in the required items while it is still summer. Koi have been known to withstand constant temperatures as low 39 degrees, and temperatures slightly lower then 39 degrees, for short periods of time.
If the area that you living gets extremely cold, it is going to be required for you to buy a pond heater. If you do not your pond can freeze over which will potentially trap dangerous amounts of gas inside the water. If the area that you have drops into the extremely low temperatures, you might really want to think about having an crisis tank available inside your home.
When temperatures get really low, your heater is going to have to toil extra hard in order to keep the water temperature at a point that will allow your fish to remain alive.
If you have water features such as waterfalls, streams, or constant moving fountains, make sure to turn them off during Winter. The circulating action will only labor to thwart your pains at maintaining a warm temperature your pond. With these switched off, the only water that your heater will be responsible for is the standing water in your fishpond.
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