Well my mom changed her mind again and said that I am allowed to put goldfish in the big pond but she said Im not allowed to seperate a special section for them. I thought that maybe koi would b a better idea cause they're bigger and more hardy. Do u guys think they would do ok in the big pond? We have an airpump running most of the winter unless it freezes but Im sure we can find a way to solve that problem. The pond still completely freezes over but as long as the airpump is on the fish will still get oxygen under the ice, and they would have ALOT of room to swim, Im guessing that as long as I dont buy tiny koi they should get along fine with the other fish.

Shamu,

Koi are pretty but so much more toruble than Goldies! Have you ever checked out Wakin? Somewhat "Koi-like", they are mucho more easy.

CK

If I remember Shamu! You Have a HUGE POND! Koi will do great in a big pond, actually much better than small pond. I am no pro in koi, because I have never take care of koi before but I did do soem research. I have seen this website on the internet sometiem ago, of thise family who have a HUGE koi pond just like your and you know they can swim in it with the kois! I find it very interesting. Not to mention koi farm of course, they had huge pond and the fish all came out enormous! SO yup, definitely can go into big pond. Lol good Luck

What "other" fish are in there? Koi are more hardy that fancy goldies that don't like cold at all... but unless the pond is huge and understocked you will need a way to keep the ice open in a spot for offgassing. Many are going to covering their ponds with greenhouse type structures, or gazebos over the ponds that can then have plastic over in the wintertime.

I think Shamu posted her pond before...geez it look like a lake! lol

theres some bullhead in the pond, minnows and some other native fish species cause a couple of years ago we drained the pond and made it bigger then we got new water from a local river which brought in fish eggs so thats hy theres those other fish in there, notthing too huge or dangerous that i've seen so far. Actaully the only bullhead i've seen was a dead one and the other fish r a bit smaller than a mature goldie. I have 1 wakin I like them alot too but i've never had koi before and I think they might do well in the pond, the other fish survive the winter so they should too. Eventually the ice does break open from the air building up under the ice, is that enough for the de-gassing? Yup i've posted a pic before, i'll go find it

here it is

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=63514

Yeah, there is the "natural swimming pool"

Koi will do very well in that pond, Shamu - but I would put something in there that keeps at least a small spot from freezing. It might be a de-icer, or it can be something as simple as a pump that simply has its outflow directed to the water surface. Of course, a tiny little pump, like the ones for an aquarium, wouldn't cut it in a lake like that.

That "air" that builds up under the pond and causes the ice to break is exactly the same air you don't want your fish exposed to. You have to have one spot in the pond where the air exchange can take place, and the anerobic air doesn't have a chance to cause any harm. It might not matter too much with the local fish that are in there now, but a koi is definetely something else.

Im sure we could figure out a way to keep a hole in the ice, my mom thinks a de-icer is too dangerous (she says that about pretty much anything we ask for!!) cause she thinks mice will eat the wire like they did with the fountain, but I guess she doesnt know that theres things u can put over the wire! But i'll convince her to get one, i'll buy ti with my own money if I have to (if only I had money lol)