koikeepr
09-28-2010, 07:36 PM
So, as you all know, last weekend I went to the Lotus Land Koi Farm harvest for a bunch of fish. Two of the fish I bought were only 5"--which is something I wasn't planning on. Anyway, today in the morning, I go to the pond to feed and I notice two fish are mysteriously missing. A Momma after all knows when one of her brood is gone. The fish in question are these two:
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/showa1.jpg
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/showa-1.jpg
I figure, they were both too small than I should have gotten and they went down the bottom drain. If that's the case, they would have ended up in the sieve (and of course be dead). I clean the sieve twice today and there is no fish. The other option is that they could have been in the skimmer. I look in the skimmer three or 4 times today, and no fish in the skimmer. Finally, I think, oh, well, sh$t, the only other option is they are in the leaf basket of the pump which would mean they are dead. Nothing, the basket is clear.
My head isn't wrapping around a predator. In the 6 months this new pond has been active, I've had no predator visit. It's 18" above ground and 18" inches below ground. It would have to be a super predator to do such a task. No way!
So, my son Lucas and I are feeding the fish tonight, and he always asks about my plant ring, which corrals my hyacinth. He is fascinated by it because there is always a frog or two inside that is peering out that we can see. He thinks it's funny. Anyway, I take a few hyacinth out that I notice are turning yellow to trim them, and I suddenly see a fin!! Low and behold, the two idiot fish jumped into the darn plant ring and are busy swimming around in there eating plant roots! Of course, they are both small enough to fiddle around in there unnoticed, unlike Big Alice who landed in there two months ago and was sitting in just an inch of water with her big ass dorsal fin sticking out.
Gosh darn, these fish never fail to confound! I never have this trouble with the goldies, it's only the crazy koi that manage to stick themselves into a odd place!
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/showa1.jpg
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/showa-1.jpg
I figure, they were both too small than I should have gotten and they went down the bottom drain. If that's the case, they would have ended up in the sieve (and of course be dead). I clean the sieve twice today and there is no fish. The other option is that they could have been in the skimmer. I look in the skimmer three or 4 times today, and no fish in the skimmer. Finally, I think, oh, well, sh$t, the only other option is they are in the leaf basket of the pump which would mean they are dead. Nothing, the basket is clear.
My head isn't wrapping around a predator. In the 6 months this new pond has been active, I've had no predator visit. It's 18" above ground and 18" inches below ground. It would have to be a super predator to do such a task. No way!
So, my son Lucas and I are feeding the fish tonight, and he always asks about my plant ring, which corrals my hyacinth. He is fascinated by it because there is always a frog or two inside that is peering out that we can see. He thinks it's funny. Anyway, I take a few hyacinth out that I notice are turning yellow to trim them, and I suddenly see a fin!! Low and behold, the two idiot fish jumped into the darn plant ring and are busy swimming around in there eating plant roots! Of course, they are both small enough to fiddle around in there unnoticed, unlike Big Alice who landed in there two months ago and was sitting in just an inch of water with her big ass dorsal fin sticking out.
Gosh darn, these fish never fail to confound! I never have this trouble with the goldies, it's only the crazy koi that manage to stick themselves into a odd place!