Winter care for your koi

Winter time can be a stressful time for a koi owner. The pond is "closed" down for the season, feeding has stopped and the koi are dormant. The owner has to wait until spring to verify that all their koi are happy and health. But, a few simple steps can help assure that the koi will have a nice, easy winter.

Preparing your koi for winter.

An important tool for your pond is a thermometer. Every pond will cool down and warm up at a different rate. The gallons of the pond, the surface area of the pond, the amount of shading around the pond are a few factors affect the ponds temperature

Thru the fall, you koi should have been moved onto a wheat germ based food to clear their digestive system for the winter. Once your pond water reaches 50 degrees, feeding of the koi should stop. As the water continues to cool, the koi goes into dormant phase. Dormancy is when a koi run on a low metabolic rate. Due to the koi is a cold blooded species, when in cold temperature they have a low energy need. To support their energy need during this time, they use their stored fat they gained over their summer feeding.

Warm winter days may cause your pond to warm up and the koi start to show activity. Do not be tempted to feed. Their bodies are still running at a low metabolic rate and they are unable to digest any food they would eat. Wait until spring to begin feeding the koi.

"Closing" your pond down for the winter

There are many have different preferences when it comes to shutting the pond down completely for the winter or to let it stay running. It really comes down to the individual pond. If you have plumbing exposed to freezing, the best thing is to shut the filter down and empty the pipes. If your pipes are frost proof, then it is possible to keep the pond circulating thru the winter.

If you have a waterfall, running the water over the fall can chill the water further as it enters into the pond. As well, ice build up on the falls can cause diversion of the water as it flows down the fall over the side and possibly drain the pond. The best option is to bypass the waterfall for the winter and have the water enter the pond just above the surface to agitate the surface of the water. This will help keep the surface of the pond from freezing.

To keep the surface of the pond from freezing, keep the surface water moving by the incoming water, using air stones or a floating deicer. By keeping an opening in the surface is important for exchange of gases, releasing toxic gases and taking in oxygen.

Most importantly, having you koi go into winter in good health; good body weight and parasite free, is best way to ensure they come out of the winter season happy and healthy.

Other Koi Care Articles

Be sure to read our following articles: Fall Pond Care, Spring Pond Care and Summer Pond Care.

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