Pond Boss
Posted By: is it koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 02:42 AM
i was originally supposed to do a large lake but i have decided to make 2-3acre pond and just simply stock 100 LMB, 150 YP, since they reproduce a little more and 350 BG and i might even throw in some catfish and grass carp
but what about koi can they do well in this kind of habitat
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 02:46 AM
Koi will often do too well in a pond habitat - it depends.
Posted By: is it Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 02:56 AM
too well? so this is fine
the koi will fine?
would any of the yellow perch or bluegill overpopulate?
Posted By: is it Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 02:56 AM
or will the koi overpopulate
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 03:37 AM
It all depends...

YP often get over eaten when in ponds with LMB and can't maintain their numbers long term. You either have to restock advanced YP(8"+) every so often or they slowly dissapear. Rarely will YP overpopulate and stunt in ponds with LMB, I can think of only one pond like this. BG in northern ponds often overpopulate and stunt in ponds, even with LMB. That is why it's important to time your stocking of the different fish at the correct time and the correct sized fish.

Keep in mind koi are in fact common carp. They are just selectively bred for bright colors and in some fancy scale patterns or showy fins. Koi also seem to generally reach smaller sizes and grow slower than their wild genetic borthers. However, they are fertile and will reproduce in ponds. Often their bright colored young are controlled by LMB predation. However some of those yound may display more cryptic coloration than there parents. They are less susceptable to predation and may survive to spawn. A few generetions later, you have cryptic colored koi very similar to common carp making a muddy mess of your pond.

I enjoy koi. I have one as an entertainment fish. No other koi to breed with, he's bright yellow and has butterfly fins making him striking in the water. If I added others, I could risk them spawning and creating a mess. With plentiful bass and limited cover, they may never have YOY survive to adulthood. You just have to ask yourself if you're willing to take that risk to have more than 1 koi in your pond at a time...
Posted By: is it Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 04:18 AM
damm koi really make that big of a mess i guess it is better to only have one then. im gonna make this one really count im gonna purchase a nice butterfly koi

with the bluegill i thought they are the most recomended species to be with bass. why would they overpopulate? how can i stop this? but remember i am stocking only 350 than the original 500 per acre.

with the yellow perch you really think they are gonna slowly die out? damm... i was really looking for another panfish for the kids to enjoy. besides sunfish. what would you recommend
Posted By: is it Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 04:19 AM
with out restocking
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 04:29 AM
If you keep LMB numbers under control and allow 30% SAV coverage, the YP should hold their own.

In northern ponds, stock FHM and GSH first in the spring then stock fingerling, 2"-4" LMB in the fall or following spring. Allow LMB to grow, 1-2 years until stocking 100-150 adult 4" plus BG per surface acre BG. This stocking strategy prevents the BG from getting a head start on your LMB. In northern waters, BG mture much faster than LMB and pull off many spawns before the LMB do. You generally want your BG and LMB to be spawning for the first time in the same year in a northern pond. You can speed the process up by stocking advanced LMB in the 8" range in the spring and BG in the 4" range in the fall. Cuts a year or two of waiting but costs more.
Posted By: is it Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 05:05 AM
what does SAV stand for?
but i like the stradegy to keep the bluegill under controll. will the minnow/shiners die eventually?
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 05:45 AM
SAV is submerged aquatic vegetation

The GSH may survive long term, but at least the first 6-8 years generally. In all likelihood, the FHM will be be gone within a year after the LMB begin to reproduce if not sooner.
Posted By: esshup Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 06:27 AM
Originally Posted By: is it
i was originally supposed to do a large lake but i have decided to make 2-3acre pond and just simply stock 100 LMB, 150 YP, since they reproduce a little more and 350 BG and i might even throw in some catfish and grass carp
but what about koi can they do well in this kind of habitat


At that stocking ratio you will end up with a LMB stunted pond in no time. If that's your goal, then that is fine.
Posted By: John Monroe Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/12/12 10:36 AM
This is my 12 year experience in a one acre pond until a winter fish kill. I stocked LMB, BG, FHM, CC, 20 KOI, 18 GC, 6 Israeli carp. At the end of the 12 years I had no LMB of any size and I had very few minnows and not a lot of BG. I fed my fish only a handful of pellets everyday so I pretty much knew what and how many I had. I had my KOI named and knew each one on them. At the end of the 12 years I still had 20 KOI and no spawns that survived. I would guess I had 20 CC, and the original 18 GC and the 6 Israeli carp. These fish were huge. The KOI looked to be 20 inches/10-15 lb and the CC about the same. The Israeli in the 20 lb range and the GC were huge, I would guess some were 3 foot long and maybe 30 lbs. My dog and other animals feasted on the bones scattered all over the area for a long time. I considered this pond self sustaining with very little care and looked good. It was somewhat turbid but not excessively so. This pond had virtually no FA while ponds in the area were fighting FA all the time.



Posted By: RER Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/13/12 01:18 PM
I stocked a bunch of koi in my half acre pond 5 years ago. I have had no recruitment at all. I belive the Gambusia are wiping out the eggs or fry as they hatch. I have lost several koi to osprey but have about 20 left. I have zero FA and and increased turpidity but it is a nice trade off as the pond was totally covered with FA each summer prior to stocking them. They are very pretty to watch feed at feeding time. I do not have any SAV other than grass around the edges, this could be a contibuting factor to lack of recruitment.
Posted By: hang_loose Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/15/12 08:23 AM
Hey John Monroe, Great looking dog looking! but my wife would never let our dogs near the house after chewing on a dead fish. I don't know what it is about dogs but ours will roll all over anything that is dead. sick
Posted By: John Monroe Re: koi fish in a LMB/BG/YP pond - 08/15/12 11:04 AM
Bobby with the stocking I mentioned I really liked that pond. It seems you had similar results with yours.

Hang Loose, I have read that dogs rub on dead animals to transfer the smell to them and that gives them a sense of their being #1 in their territory, or something like that.
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