Koi Care: Maintaining Your Pond During The Summer

Summertime is known to be the best and most lively times that your Koi pond can have. During this season, the temperatures are beautiful, which lets you enjoy your pond more. However, you should continue to maintain your pond and take care of it during this time. Remembering a few important things during the months of summer will ensure the beauty and liveliness of your pond.

Higher level of temperatures can cause less amount of oxygen:

During summer, the level of oxygen in your pond will decrease. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken, especially if you live in places where warm temperatures are experienced most of the time. A good indication that your pond doesn't have high enough concentration of oxygen is when you see your fish hanging out towards the top of the surface of the pond, seemingly gasping for air. You can put extra water features in your pond like fountains and waterfalls to keep the oxygen moving.

Remember this: the motion the water has, the more available oxygen there is for your pets. Also, if these features are not available, you can always change the pond's water frequently to give your fish the necessary amount of oxygen that they need.

Watch out for evaporation:

Higher amounts of heat can cause the water to evaporate quickly. What you should do for this is to pay close attention to your pond's water levels, and then do the necessary adjustments. It is important to remove all of the chlorine from the water that you're going to add.

Summertime is the time for parasites:

Heat brings on those parasites and illnesses, and as most of these parasites are invisible to the naked eye, it is important for you to watch your fish for those signs of illness. Symptoms such as scratching, rubbing against objects, shaking or shivering could indicate different types of illnesses.

Pay attention to your pets if they start to develop visible spots or changes on their body (they may also knock off their fins!). If you see any of these changes, contact your local pet store, vet, or your dealer as soon as you can. Some parasites may cause only minimal damage, but illnesses like the KHV (or Koi herpes virus) can cause real serious problems to your fish, that's why it should be treated immediately.

Feeding Your Pet:

To ensure the health of your fish throughout the summertime, feed them with nutritious foods. Give them food that are low in protein at least one to three times daily. If your fish seem to be still hungry after you have fed them, you can slightly increase the feeding amount. Take note that feeding your fish with only small amounts of food will prevent the spoiling of food. Feeding them with larger amounts will give way to uneaten foods that will spoil quickly (which can cause issues in water quality).

Your fish will only eat what's necessary for their survival, and will leave those extra ones. Feeding your fish will also cause less oxygen content in the pond's water, and this can be an issue during the summertime, as oxygen gets depleted in high levels of temperatures. This can be resolved by feeding your fish in the cooler times of the day.

Summertime is a special time to feed your Koi through your hand. Feeding them this way will help you to get to know your fish a little better, and they get to familiarize you as someone who takes good care of them. Also, you can get your kids involved in this activity, and surely this will be an unforgettable experience for them!