Summer Koi Pond Care!

            Article by Ray Jordan 

With our hot south Texas summer just around the corner I thought I would write a few tips about keeping you fish healthy and sassy during the next few months.

The challenges for ourselves and our koi ponds are to stay cool and enjoy the summer weather. The optimal temperature for koi is 78-84 degrees. In the summer shallow unshaded ponds can soar to 95 degree or more. On the positive side higher water temperatures mean a fully developed immune system in our fish. You should not be having problems with ulcers or fin rot during the hotter summer months. On the other hand, warmer water holds much less oxygen and it is especially important to keep your water as high in oxygen concentration as possible. This means you may need to add supplemental air stones or increase the flow of water over your waterfall. If you see your fish gasping for air they are in trouble buy another pump and get them some more oxygen fast. A quiet pond is a deadly pond.

 It is also important to keep your fish food dry and cool. Keep your food in a tightly covered container and if possible refrigerate it to keep it fresh and free of decay. Spoiled fish food will cause big problems (systemic infections) if feed to your fish and can also ruin your water quality very quickly. If in doubt throw it out. Feed your fish as many times a day as possible but keep the feedings to a small quality. The perfect feeding schedule if you are home all day and the water temperature is about 82-84 degrees would be to feed every two hours about 4-6 small pellets per fish under 12 inches and 8-12 pellets for larger fish. Another advantage of this is the ammonia produced by your fish would be a more or less small but continuous amount that would quickly be eliminated by a mature biofilter. When you feed larger amounts but only a few times per day there is of course a big surge in ammonia after each feeding that take several hours for your biofilter to eliminate. As your water temperature approaches 90 degrees reduce your feedings to three then two per day mostly in the cooler morning or late evening hours. Once your water temperature exceeds 90 degrees cut back to once each day in the cooler morning. If your water temperature exceeds 95 degrees stop feeding until cooler temperatures(<95degrees) arrive.

 Yes, koi can get sunburned in shallow unshaded ponds. Try to provide some shade for your fish with plants like water lily's or a shaded cover or large umbrella for part of your pond. This will keep your ponds water temperature cooler and give your fish a shady place to rest. It is also important to keep up with your water testing and also routine water changes of 10-20% each week. Depending on your surface area several inches of water a day can evaporate from your pond. This should be replaced on a daily basis and is not a substitute for weekly water changes. (pumping old water out and replacing with fresh declorinated water)

 Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy your ponds, plants, and fish. Stay cool and watch out for low oxygen levels, over feeding, and spoiled food.