koi and i need YOUR help PLEASE

[koiinneed]

good morning, this site was mentioned to me by a lady who read my listing on other pets and free listing sites,
I am a fish rescue so to speak, it only happened by word of mouth, to date i Have rescued over 100 fresh water fish, all housed in aquariums in my home, 8 tanks running now, and no more room,
recently a lady emailed me with concerns about a kio pond that had been abandoned, as the bank had foreclosed on the owners, they were in hibernation at the time of the foreclosure or I assume they would Have done something with the fish, regardless, when I went to see the pond I was amazed at what was going on,
no air, in a green sludge fowl smelling pond, i tried to feed them but they were not yet to hungry, ( yet yesterday they ate like horses as apposed to fish).....anyway, I have permission from the bank as well as the property management company to go in and take the fish out,
I am trying to do this as fast as I can, as the water levels are dropping, the smell is getting worse, and no way to add water, no pump to run pond with,
my husband has dug a hole for a pond, ( 6x6x3 with 3 ledges )we have a liner coming tonight, ( I hope) ....we are in need of other pond items, i do Have a person coming in on Wednesday to help me figure out what size pumps and filters i will need, but I still need flag stone, plants, and what ever else goes with a pond.
please when reading this keep in mind, that this is all new to me, I run indoor tanks, but am willing and able to look after the koi, we are the parents of 5 great kids, who come first in our lives, but I can not and will not see this fish sit in a pond and rot to death,
I have had lots of replies to the listing by people who want all the fish, or certain ones, the biggest, nicest, smallest, brightest, ........sorry I can not do that, in the end there will be extra fish, as i am sure i will not be able to house them all, I have 13 in tanks, and there is this years and last years fry in the pond as well as adults,
if u would like to TRADE pond items for the ones I have in tanks, that will work for me, but the ones in the pond are not yet, available as no one but myself is permitted on the property, I have to sneak the man on Wednesday in, ......but I do need help, we all do at one point or another in our lives, so PLEASE, IF U HAVE extra items to donate or trade please mail me, we r located in Toronto,
thanks bunches

[clm]

A 6 X 6 X 3 foot pond isn't going to house more than 3 medium sized koi, or maybe 6 - 8 full grown goldfish. I'd take up the offers you've had for the people who want to take some of the fish. Do you know how many fish there are and whether or not they're koi or goldfish?

Cindy

[koiinneed]

sorry the pond is 6 feet long, 6 feet deep and 3 feet across, about how many will that hold?.......on a temp basis?

[Peg]

Hi koiinneed.
6x3x6 will give you about 810 gallons. Koi need about 200-250 gallons each. 4 koi will fit but only with a good setup. You need a pump that turns the water over at least once an hour twice is better. Give away what you can if you have some one who wants them. Advise them to QT before adding to thier pond. If there are 1 or 2 that catch your eye you might want to keep them. Wish I could help but I'm still adding fish, pumps and plants to my pond. Hopefully someone here can offer more help. Keep us up to date on how you are making out.
Peg

[Jackie Ramo]

Hello Joanne, I see you found us here. Skip the ledges except on one side to help you get in and out. The ledges take up valuable fish space.

I agree with Peg and Cindy, let someone help you with the fish by taking them off your hands. Sorry not me as my pond is full and I'm looking to rehome some fish myself.

If you search through the construction section there is a lot of information on how to build filters. I'm sure some of it or most of it you can get from freecyclers.

I do have a big bag of scrubbies to act as biofilter media if you want it. My new filter system worked fine this winter so I don't need to hold them as standby.

[koiinneed]

but how do i do that, i am the only one allowed on the property, and have nothing to house them in other then my own pond, ..........i guess they will have to be put in there untill ppl show up on wednesday day or eveing to pick up if that is the day they will be moved, as soon as i know for sure they will be moved that day i will post and brace myself for the mails to come in, and start giving them away
there is a monster yellow one, one that looks like a zebra, a white and orange one, .......kinda of like a cow design, some black and white ones, a few solid black ones, .......i have a few solid black in my tanks, that is all i can remeber seeing off my head, but there r lots more
anyway thanks all so much for the info and help, helen i would love to take u up on your offer, how do we get in touch with each other?........this forum stuff is all new to me, ............. :banghead:

[brent]

Wish I lived closer, I would take one or two. I was at a koi meeting in California in feb. and there were about 170 koi in a pond. I could have brought back a few for free, if I could have figured out how to get them on the plane. they were about foot longs.

[Jackie Ramo]

Bankers are often quite reasonable. If you tell them you will have people coming to pickup the fish and that you will be responsible they should ok it. Also my favourite saying is "Its easier to beg forgivness than permission"

If you mean me when you said Helen, you could do a ppu. I'll email you my address.

[koiinneed]

I have asked the bank countless times for permission but they will not relent, when the house was forclosed it was under renovations, looking threw the windows in the back you can see all kinds of reno garbage, someone said to me they may not be letting u in threw the house because of an insurance reason, ( i do not know that for a fact) ...........there is not side gate to get in the back yard, you can get in threw the garage, but no keys to get it, so and dont laugh, with the banks permission i have been jumping over the next door neighbours fence to get to the fish, ........that would not be so bad, but one has to climb a latter, up to a base of a huge cement outdoor fireplace, scale that to the side and step down onto a smaller wall that divides the pond part of the yeard and the patio............r u laughing yet, ..........it gets better, the man who lets us use his yard to get to the fish has 3 dogs, somedays i feel like i am part of a comedy movie, and i am sure anyone watching this go on is getting a good laugh, the dogs know me now, they r not big dogs, one is a min pin, one is a lab the other a terrier of some kind, but they make lots of noise, and know what is going on when i get the ladder out,

trust me this has not been a fun rescue,.........but once i get to the fish and sit beside the pond, it some how makes it all worth while, in the end i am sure i will laugh about it,
i am hoping the man who is coming from out of town on wednesday will take them, but i am not sure, .........as it stands right now ........i am in a waiting game.........wait for this wait for that, ............

if any more news come today i will post, my husband came up with an idea last night, i am not sure it will work but i will ask here,

we have a pool, it still has the winter cover on it, no chemicals in that water, just snow water, i cleaned it all out last night with hopes of taking it off to get the pool ready for the season, ron suggested i just refill it, and let the fish in there untill pp can pick them up on wednesday,
the cover pulls tight, but i can make it loose in order to make it deeper, ........i can also put a net over it as we have a leaf cover for the pool and it is a tigh weaved net, so the fish could not jump out,

the only thing is, it would be clean fresh water, not the dirty swamp water they r in now, ...........would i have to put a water conditioner in it?.......we have a water cleaner thingie in out basement, a big one, not a tap one, all water is filtered, .......if that makes a difference?

ok can u tell i have had to much coffee this morning?.............

[koiinneed]

Bankers are often quite reasonable. If you tell them you will have people coming to pickup the fish and that you will be responsible they should ok it. Also my favourite saying is "Its easier to beg forgivness than permission"

If you mean me when you said Helen, you could do a ppu. I'll email you my address.

hi Jackie sorry to call you helen, but yes it was for you, thanks Joanne

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm not sure if snow water is what I would call clean but it may be better than what they are in, it may not. Only water tests will tell. I have a kit I was going to freecycle since it is last years and I replace mine each year. I can give you that if I can find all the little booklets that go with it.

It sounds like you are having a real adventure, :yup: glad it is not me I'm not good with ladders or climbing. Yes, it would be for liability reasons they won't let anyone else in. i'm surprised they let you in, probably afraid of a cruelty to animal public relations disaster if they didn't.

Sorry forgot to email my addy. You have a private message

[Jackie Ramo]

Joanne and I spent the day rescuing the fish... man am I tired. Boy did that water stink. Some nice fish there and I'm sorry to say I came home with one, will post a pic later. Right now its in with the wakin in the greenhouse. There were about 4 really nice ones, some plain goldfish and some shubunkins. Tormorrow we will go and see if there are any hiding in the muck on the bottom.

[koiinneed]

:yup: I was gonna post a BIG thanks to you on here, and let everyone know what had been done and it could NOT HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT YOU, but u beat me to it, ............THANK YOU JACKIE, now go get in the tub and relax, my body feels like it has been broken, I am sure you feel worse then I do as you did most of the work, .............

thank you jackie

[Jackie Ramo]

This is my rescue fish. A handsome one I think, he's enjoying himself with the wakin and they seem happy to have a big friend.
Who'd have thought they'd miss old Tweet so much

http://jackieramo.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_new%20fish.JPG

http://jackieramo.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_new%20fish2.JPG

[marla]

Jackie, very nice fish. Better yet your help with the rescue, the two of you should get awards, especialy Joanne, for all her other rescues also. I sure do wish I lived closer, I'd have lots of room to qt them in the lily pond. Did you lower the water level much when catching, can't imagine trying to find and catch fish in such bad water conditions.

[koiinneed]

:yup: thanks for your kind words, I have rescued lots of fish but NONE of them have been as much work, fun, physical pain,or hard to part with as these ones have been, and still continue to be, as now I have the impossible task of deciding what goes and what stays, .............NONE of this could have been done with out jaime and jackie, Jaime is my daughters god father, and pro ( so he thinks ) fisherman, he caught the ones before Jackie came along, ...I think before I get rid of them I should let him pick one to keep in my pond, but in the end I will still be doing the work, ........lol.he gets looking rights!

miss Jackie, wow, the laughs, the pain, the goodies, and once again it could not have been done with out her, and her nets, we had to drain it down to about 1 foot left of water, it was pretty stinky and slimy, we both fell on the rocks, first jackie then me, ...........better on the rocks then in the water,

my pond is nothing but a puddle compared to Jackies, and for sure will never look like hers, but out of lack of time and now how i think my hubby did pretty good, ..............but I am already thinking of moving it and making it larger, .................OH JACKIE...........LOL

once again thanks for the kind words, it has been fun but I hope no one ever calls me again to resuce koi, if they do i will pass them on to jackie.........lol :lol:

[Koidaddy]

Jackie, He'll add a punch of color to your pond!

... wish I lived closer to help you two out. :yup:

Good work!!!!

KD

[Jackie Ramo]

KD, if the fish could have waited I would have made you come over on the weekend and help :yup:

It was a lot of work but we had fun as well. Only lost one so far and the rest looked good this morning. My guy is spawning with the wakin... I guess they really did miss Tweet :HAHA:

Joanne, I am sure that those tiny babies are shubinkins not koi. I also counted 3 shubs in the pond so with the 2 in the tank you have a nice collection. Remember they breed like guppies!!

[clm]

What a rescue team, great work you two! Your rescue fish is simply amazing considering the conditions it was living in Jackie, it really is a very pretty fish. At least all those fish have a second lease on life now.

Cindy

[Jackie Ramo]

Cindy he's not a show fish but a handsome guy and I think a little good water will perk him right up. Actually I was surprised that the fish were is such good shape, I was dreading ulcers and fungus but they all look very clean and good.

[koiinneed]

some of the fish have been placed in a new home,

a man and his parents came last night and took a whack of fish, apperantly mom suffers deep depression and the dr suggested a pond, it is a new pond, sounds big, they have been running it sense early spring and were waiting to be able to buy fish, they took most of the big ones, all the small black/brown ones. what a hard thing to do, decide what you want? it is like saying ok you can take this child but not this one...........but in the end i am happy with what i have left and the guy mailed me last night said he did not think he would be able to sleep as he was so happy to have some fish, and mom had not come in the house yet, i guess these fish really do bring lots of pleasure to lots of people, my tanks brought me tons of it, i think the pond will once i get used to it and get the things i need to do on a reg basis down pat.

on another note, i did not have a good time with the pond last night, the hose for the water fall flipped over and the water went down behind the liner, then Jackies pump stopped working, .................called Jackie to the rescue once again, but i fixed that, the filter fell into the pond 2 times, then when i was fixing the pump the spout that fits on the end of the intake fell in,i guess i should be glad i have not fallen in yet?..........

i still have 4 or 5 small fish in the tanks in the house and am wondering if i should put them in the pond or leave them as they are, the tanks are heated so i am thinking that moving them may be to much of a shock to them,

time to start my day, do a water change and get on with life, these fish are addictive...................

[Koidaddy]

Sounds like a happy ending....

Keep up the good work!
KD

[Jackie Ramo]

Joanne, you are not a real ponder until you've fallen in the pond at least twice :phfft:

Send the link to this board to the new fish owner. We'll be glad to help with any questions that they have. Sounds like the fish got real lucky in their new home.

With the temps outside falling I'd leave the inside ones inside for now.

BTW I am laughing at your adventures :frisbee:

[Jackie Ramo]

Hey Joanne, any fish news?

[marla]

glad to hear homes are being found quickly. :-)

[koiinneed]

hi, Jackie where have u been, ............did u fall in again, .........call me,

pond news, hmmmm..........nothing much, we bought a pump, still not yet installed, as we need to get some reducers, but time is a big issue with 5 kids, and crazy work hours for Ron, hopefully tonight, the fish are doing great, I think they r getting used to me and the dogs, and are eating well,
I have found more!!.....lol
I cleaned out one of my big taks in the house yesterday and found 2 small koi/goldfish...........so now inside i do have 7 in tanks,

other then that all is quiet,trying to get the pool yard cleaned up, got lots done yesterday, hope to get more done today, and finish getting the pool up and running,

Jackie, if u have time drop by and grab these extra long hoses we have, I do not know if anyone is intrested but i had a rock garden in the pool yard that i took apart on monday, they r not fancy rocks, but all sizes and shapes, if anyone wants them drop me a note, ..........

hope all have a great day, get your winter woolies out again, gonna be cold wednesday!!...........crazy canadian weather

[Jackie Ramo]

Car is in the shop today but will come by and pick up hoses and rocks Wednesday am if that is good.

Glad the fish are doing well. My little guy is quite shy but looking good.

[koiinneed]

ok, do u want the rocks from my rock garden?

[Jackie Ramo]

Probably, I can never say no to rocks

[Koidaddy]

Probably, I can never say no to rocks


... here she goes again - more "Ramo filtration"!
:phfft:
(xox)

[Jackie Ramo]

No these are not filtration rocks but stream building rocks. :yup: :frisbee:

[koiinneed]

we finaly got the right hose and connectors last night, .so...........looks like the filter and what not will be installed tonight after work, ( crossing fingers).......Miss Jackie was in on wednesday and said the fish look happy, one is pretty saucey, will come right up to the top, i am sure if he could wink at me he would, the 2 small babies that we took from the pond seem to have disapeared, my thinking was they were eaten by the bigger ones, Jackie thinks they may have died as there was no algie in the pond for them to eat.

other then that all is good with them, the water is dirty looking, from the rain, will do a 25 % water change in about 30 minutes,

hope all enjoy the day
time to start mine, ..............baby at day care. :yup: ......yahooo!!!!!!.........time to play in the mud!!

[Jackie Ramo]

I meant to go over the barrel filter set up with you on Wednesday but it can be added. There is a thread here (http://backyardpuddle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351&highlight=barrel+filters)

where Ian describes how he set up filtration. You can take the ideas and use them to suit a search of barrel filters will turn up several threads talking about how to set them up.

You will need more than that little waterfall filter if you keep all the remaining fish.

[koiinneed]

good morning, well all we can do to the pond has now been done, the filter is up and running, the liner is all trimed and rocks on place, Jackie will know what i am talking about, i spent most of yesterday knee deep in very cold water,
sun burnt but worth it, now all is done and now i can sit back and watch them, ................well untill Jackie comes back and tells me what else i need to do, ...........
just went and fed them they look so much happier, i think they may be spawning as they seem to be doing something i have not seen them do, kinda chashing each other going in a circle with each other.............what ever that means,

time to me and my sore body into a hot shower, and plant some flower seeds

enjoy the day

[Jackie Ramo]

Sounds like spawning to me which means even more water changes to you :frisbee: Hopefully they will eat most of the eggs as you still have too many fish in too little water.

[koiinneed]

:censored:

[koiinneed]

i have 847 g pond, with 7 different sized fish in it?

[Jackie Ramo]

To have a healthy system that is easy to care for the ratio is 250 gallons per koi and 100 gallons per goldfish. With work and effort one can have more.

[marla]

Never know, hungry fish may eat all the eggs.

[Jackie Ramo]

Just wanted to post this pic of the koi I have in the greenhouse from this rescue operation. He is looking very good and has decided to be almost friendly. I will leave him in there with the wakin but if they ever move to their new pond this summer he will move to the main pond.

http://jackieramo.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_newfish%20june.JPG