koi ponds...

[bob tilton]

got some crazy thoughts of adding a koi pond or water garden to the backyard to replace a 15 x 10 section of grass.

i am getting really domesticated in my old age of 35 watching way too many home improvement programs.

who wants to show off their koi pond? worth the effort and/or maitenance?

[dd74]

My folks have one. I hate the thing, really! It's POA squared in my opinion. Birds come down and feed off the koi, creating a sort of fishy genocide. So they put chicken wire around the pond, resulting in a very ugly sight...

Now frogs have invaded the pond, so through the night, starting at sunset, all that can be heard in the yard are frogs engaging in their frog talk.

Plus the pump, the loud splashing water, the fact that small animals; dogs, rodents, etc, see it and immediately want to take a dip...

Also misquitoes. Their koi pond is a magnet for the pests...

Oh, and theirs is about the same size as what you're planning - in fact, I think their koi pond is a bit smaller.

If this were my endeavor, I'd either install a nice-sized fountain, in which you could put some fish, or a swimming pool, in which you can put yourself.

[Moses]

You live in the East Bay? Koi ponds are an expensive way to attract hungry herons.

Also, the local racoons will be be happier (and fatter) if you put in a koi pond.

As noted above, koi pond = PIA squared.

[bob tilton]

OK maybe a bad idea. i did mention koi pond idea to a neighbor who occasionally drops by to chat porches, he's got a shorthood and a koi pond, and he said to build the walls vertical and the pond deep. this will prevent the raccoons from dining. he also mentioned that he watched some sort of predator bird hang out in his tree for hours staring at his koi. it never dared tried to swoop on the koi cause he thought the bird would not have enough room to take flight again with the low overhanging tree limbs.

[Don 944 LA]

put chicken wire over the top, or you will have a McDonalds drive/flythru for all sorts of birds.

I have about an acre pond. I dumped 80 goldfish in to see how big they would grow... damn egrets and cranes ate em all. There are still about a million mosquito fish, zero bass or catfish as it went dry a few years back ( previous residents )..

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

LOL, my stepfather just spent over $70K to have his backyard landscaped, concrete, koi pond, jacuzzi (beautiful job) and now the frogs have arrived to the koi pond, and the rabbits have all come out in full force to eat all the freshly placed sod, now the patches of lawn have chicken wire perimeters. they all just hangout in the backyard now, .22 a good idea?

[72 four door]

[img] You dont have to put koi in a pond there are other less inviting fish to put in there Yes koi are very tasty fish for Herons.Ponds are a nice place to relax around and in my case its a little more with the railroad outthere I say start diggin attractihttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads6/koi+pond+0011124018609.jpg[/img]

[72 four door]

[vash]

there is no doubt that i will one day install a koi pond. solar panel for the pump....

i see raccoons everynight, but i heard a deep pond with an overhang will keep the fish safe. for the herons, i have a dog with a deep hatred for anything birdlike. that and my compound bow with blunts. heron broth! a water feature would give me less land to mow. i just need to rebuild my house, make it bigger, and build a sweet backyard with a kitchen that has big sliding doors that opens into it....i would be in heaven. do it bob! i wanna see.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just add a few cats to keep the birds away. . .

[COLDBASS]

Raccoons did mine in...3' deep, plenty of large rocks were no challenge for these hoodlums...I just finally drained it. In another month or two, I will take out the jackhammer and eliminate it completely...major dissapointement (poor fish...)

[Moses]

Originally posted by COLDBASS
(poor fish...)

Poor racoons! Restock that pond. The critters are hungry!

[K. Roman]

A friend of mine has Koi living on Mount Tam in Mill Valley. The Pond is about 5 ft deep at most and has plenty of reeds to hide in. The Koi have been there for about 10 years, the only fish that sometimes get stolen/eaten are the gold fish, but even that is rare. There are also plenty of raccoons, foxes, coyote and other creatures out there in the woods.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Buddy of mine got some GOOD pics of a bobcat thanks to his koi pond attempts...

[ted]

Years ago a local newspaper reporter interviewed some Koi Pond enthusiasts. He asked a Koi pond owner if he ever ate his Koi fish?
The owner replied No do you eat your pets?

I told that to friend with a large Koi pond and he said when he has had a $1,000 Koi fish die he'd sure like to do something with it.

[ShApE]

i would like to see a bird pick up the koi in our pond, we have a 1 acre pond in our front yard thats completely landscaped and sum of the koi in there are around 20lbs.

[Moses]

Originally posted by ShApE
i would like to see a bird pick up the koi in our pond, we have a 1 acre pond in our front yard thats completely landscaped and sum of the koi in there are around 20lbs.

No big problem for a heron.

[COLDBASS]

Originally posted by Moses
Poor racoons! Restock that pond. The critters are hungry!

Hardly, they are indeed scavengers, however there must be an abundance of food as they do not touch the trash cans.

One of my neighbors complained that she had been finding the frig door open. One day she came home and caught them helping themselves to snacks. Apparently they figure out how to unlock her rear screen door....

I didnt realize Long Beach was so full of wildlife (not the Pine St bars/clubs either...)

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There's actually a really nice Koi pond at UCLB - maybe worth talking to the facilities guy over there about how they protect it. . .

[304065]

How about something like this?