Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations KOI vs spawn beds?

Does anyone have experience/info with koi and bass/sunfish spawning? I have 8 adult koi, 7 of which were added mid summer last year so I didn't observe them when the sunfish and bass were spawning. I can't confirm but it looked like the koi might have been cleaning out a bass nest of it's eggs. The bass are 3-4 years old and healthy but some of the koi are 2 feet long and at least 10-15 pounds.

I wouldn't hate if the fry survival rate was quite low as I have plenty of 1 and 2 year old bass offspring, well over 100 total bass, in half an acre. Surprisingly still have a large number of golden shiner despite stocking 30 8-10" bass a few years ago.

Personally I would not have koi in my pond as they are a colorful carp.

The largest, close to 30", was already in the pond when I purchased the property. They are fun to watch and feed.

They can reproduce but LMB will eat most of the offspring. Yes they will eat LMB eggs/fry. That could be a plus or a minus depending on your situation.

Really don't need either to spawn more than replacement numbers and maybe a few more. Fed 300# of Optimal last year.

Koi spawn around the pond edges among plants, algae or weeds. They scatter their sticky eggs on the shallow bottom areas, weedy or algae areas are preferred. We had koi/carp eggs in the boat hull that was docked at the marina.

I can't recall perfectly, but I think on a previous Koi thread people said that when the food supply for the Koi gets low, they will stir up the pond bottom pretty fiercely looking for more food?

The result was turbid, mucky water in the pond.

I didn't notice that at all last year but this year in the very shallow end they are digging around. Not sure if its spawn related as they are all following each other around.

Fishbase - https://www.fishbase.se/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=1450&AT=koi

Food items - see about 10 lines down - fish eggs/fry

https://www.fishbase.se/TrophicEco/...43&genus=Cyprinus&species=carpio

reproduction:

Spawn in marginal, shallow, weed-infested areas. A polytypic plastic species with a marked tendency to produce `varieties' and `races' in response to selective breeding and environmental influences. Carp is polygamous. A spawning female is usually followed by several males. Under tropical conditions carp breeds throughout the year. It is a seasonal spawner in temperate waters (Ref. 185). Females are known to lay more than a million eggs in a season; breeds at a temperature range of 15° C to 20°C; eggs hatch in 4 days (Ref. 6028). Obligatory plant spawners (Ref. 7471). "Adults often make considerable spawning migrations to suitable backwaters and flooded meadows. Individual females spawn with a few males in dense vegetation. The sticky eggs are attached to water plants or other submerged objects. Reproductive success is restricted to years when the water level starts rising in May and when high temperatures and flooding of terrestrial vegetation last for a long period during May and June" (Ref. 59043).

Those 15lb koi are basically underwater vacuum cleaners lol. They’ll definitely suck up bass eggs if they get the chance.

I noticed my ones from Next Day Koi are always rooting around the edges looking for "prizes." Since you have so many bass already, let them feast! It’ll probably keep your water from getting over-crowded anyway.

Yeah, those big koi are definitely notorious for raiding nests. Since they’re basically giant vacuum cleaners, they’ll definitely go after any eggs or fry they find.