How to prepare a koi or fish pond for winter. Brian Moore, of Serenity Ponds, explains in detail.
I asked Brian what had to be done to close down your Koi and other fish ponds for the winter?
You need to do a 30% water change in the fall closings. Usually, when the fish are just starting to go down to the bottom. It is very important to stop feeding your fish once outside temperatures begin declining.
You can learn more specific details about when exactly to do this at my other post: Stop Feeding Koi as Temperature Drops. And when the fish stop eating it’s time to do your pond closing.
Closing To-Do List
- 30% water change.
- Next you should net out as much debris as possible.
- Perform a water check to ensure optimum quality going through the winter
- Add up to 0.10% salt.
The salt will give the fish a proper coat needed for the winter time. This helps to keep any bacteria or parasites away from the fish. Resulting in help with osmoregulation that carries the oxygen through the cells. This is important for your fish to be prepared throughout the winter months.
The actual cold is not the thing that hurts the fish. Rather it is the bacteria and other things that can settle in over time. Sometimes, people will just shut the pumps off in the winter closing and that’s it. They won’t do the water change. Nor do they net out all that water debris like leaves and small branches.
And that will result into the fish living in a very toxic environment.
Toxic water can form as the plants, leaves, and all the materials decomposing in the bottom of the pond trap all that black ooze gas that’s underneath.
Keeping Your Fish Healthy – Prepare Koi for Winter
Make it a regular end-of-season habit to go through the habits outlined above. This will ensure the good health of your fish and your pond environment.
Learning how to prepare your koi and your fish pond for winter is an easier task than you think.
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