Seasonal Pond Care

Your pond and pond fish have different needs as they pass through the seasons. What jobs should you be doing throughout the year? What are your going to do when you go on holiday? What about breeding and feeding?

Autumn koi pond maintenance

As autumn approaches, our pond enters its last scene her before the final curtain of winter approaches. Even at this late stage, the story could still have two endings, either as a tragedy or with the ponds players living on happily ever after.

Everything in the garden . . . → Read More: Autumn koi pond maintenance

Autumn Pond Maintenance

As autumn approaches, our pond enters its last scene her before the final curtain of winter approaches. Even at this late stage, the story could still have two endings, either as a tragedy or with the pond’s players living on happily ever after.

Everything in the garden . . . → Read More: Autumn Pond Maintenance

Care for koi and goldfish fish – From egg upwards

One of the many joys of gardening is that many rewards are available to anyone, whatever the level of interest or input may be on an individual basis. Interests in gardening may range from weeding the borders and cutting the grass to keep appearances tidy, through . . . → Read More: Care for koi and goldfish fish – From egg upwards

Choosing the right pond heater

Compared to other pond hardware such as must-have items such as a pump and filter, a pond heater is an optional purchase (depending on your budget and your approach to koi keeping).

Why consider buying a pond heater?

Better for your Koi? Our cold-blooded Koi have no choice . . . → Read More: Choosing the right pond heater

Feeding koi pond fish in winter

How to feed pond fish and koi in winter . . . → Read More: Feeding koi pond fish in winter

Frozen pond in winter covered in ice. What if my garden pond freezes?

In the short term, a frozen pond (or more precisely its surface), will not pose any problems for the health of koi. Koi and other pond fish will naturally descend to the bottom where, if the pond is of sufficiently deep (4 feet is the minimum . . . → Read More: Frozen pond in winter covered in ice. What if my garden pond freezes?

Garden pond from winter into spring

Over the winter I have let my fish hibernate away. My pond froze over in the winter as I decided not to keep my pond heated but did keep it covered through the coldest months. I stopped feeding them but checked them every day and made sure . . . → Read More: Garden pond from winter into spring

Goldfish fighting in my pond?

Goldfish fighting in a pond can be a real concern. Don’t worry – they are not. Goldfish do not have an angry bone in their body. Your goldfish are not fighting – they are breeding and spawning in your pond – Quite the opposite! . . . → Read More: Goldfish fighting in my pond?

Heating a pond in winter

What’s best for your koi in winter? Do I heat my pond or not?

We mustn’t forget that koi are a warm water fish and are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures – making them an ideal pond fish. Don’t presume that koi cannot over winter . . . → Read More: Heating a pond in winter

Heating a pond over winter. Top advice

There are two opinions with respect to heating koi ponds. Many koi keepers believe that koi should be given a typical winter period, while others believe that heating a pond is essential to maintain koi in the best of health throughout the year.

But won’t koi freeze . . . → Read More: Heating a pond over winter. Top advice

How To Breed Goldfish

Goldfish were ‘discovered’ by mistake, when their brown ancestors were bred for food thousands of years ago in China. Now they are bred commercially across many continents to feed our eyes and our insatiable demand for glowing pond dwellers.

Related to the carp, the goldfish spawns like . . . → Read More: How To Breed Goldfish

How to look after your koi pond while on holiday

I’ve just realised why I have such fond memories of my summer holidays as a child; they were not my responsibility to organise. I was blissfully unaware of all the arrangements that my parents had to make for both home and abroad.

Not so now! Once you’ve . . . → Read More: How to look after your koi pond while on holiday

How to restart your koi or goldfish pond in Spring – after a long cold winter

Whether you like it or not, at this time of the year all ponds have two things in common. They will have experienced a winter period (of varying descriptions), and will be fast approaching the immovable deadline of spring by when any jobs need to have . . . → Read More: How to restart your koi or goldfish pond in Spring – after a long cold winter

Koi pond heaters. How they work.

Despite the apparent efforts of global-warming nibbling away at either end of our winter, our ponds continue to experience several months of near-zero and freezing temperatures in winter. Our cold-blooded koi have no choice but to become inactive, well before our ponds freeze over, stopping feeding around . . . → Read More: Koi pond heaters. How they work.

Koi pond insulation to prevent ice and freezing in winter

Which are the best materials to use for covering a Koi pond, and which ones aren’t? How much gap should I leave above the water surface? And how long should I cover my pond for?

Dear James,

Covering your pond overwinter can prove to be a very cost-effective way . . . → Read More: Koi pond insulation to prevent ice and freezing in winter

Koi pond winter management. Frozen ponds and freezing weather.

The vast majority of us don’t heat out ponds. Whether this is because we can’t afford to, don’t feel our fish require it or we just haven’t got around to it yet – what this means is that our koi will be exposed to what our . . . → Read More: Koi pond winter management. Frozen ponds and freezing weather.

Over-wintering fish and koi ponds. How to winterize your pond successfully

Winter is a period of transformation in the garden, when plants release their foliage in preparation for the ravages of winter and the growth rate of everything else (including weeds!) seems to take a well earned break. It can also be a time of inactivity for . . . → Read More: Over-wintering fish and koi ponds. How to winterize your pond successfully

Pond and fish care during summer holiday

My wife and I are planning a two week holiday abroad but we are worried about leaving our Koi and pond. How can we ensure that the Koi are fed in our absence? Do we have to do anything to our filters and equipment to guarantee . . . → Read More: Pond and fish care during summer holiday

Pond care from August to Autumn just before Winter

As August turns into September, our pond enters its last scene her before the final curtain of winter approaches. Even at this late stage, the story could still have two endings, either as a tragedy or with the pond’s players living on happily ever after.

Everything in . . . → Read More: Pond care from August to Autumn just before Winter

Pond filter in spring

Our gardens, and everything in them cannot avoid the seasonal variations in temperature – responding accordingly with periods of inactivity and growth in winter and summer respectively. As spring approaches, life within our garden and koi pond is not be able to resist nature’s call to . . . → Read More: Pond filter in spring

Pond goldfish care over holiday

Being a koi keeper does not mean that two weeks’ holiday in the sun each year is not allowed.

If it did then people would soon lose interest in their pond. Koi keepers maintain garden ponds and keep fish to relax, not as a means of saving . . . → Read More: Pond goldfish care over holiday

Preparing the water garden fish pond for Spring

Springtime is the launch pad for life in the garden. All life in the garden has spent the preceding cold winter months in slumber, resting and recuperating ready to burst into life in spring. The water garden too has been experiencing a period of inactivity and . . . → Read More: Preparing the water garden fish pond for Spring

Spring koi death

I cannot understand why I lose fish at Spring time. My pond is approximately 1,500-gallons and has a very good waterfall and a venturi which are both switched off during the winter. My filter is always working and consists of a 30W UVS. The water goes . . . → Read More: Spring koi death

Spring pond fish maintenance

Springtime is the launch pad for life in the garden. All life in the garden has spent the preceding cold winter months in slumber, resting and recuperating ready to burst into life in spring. The water garden too has been experiencing a period of inactivity and . . . → Read More: Spring pond fish maintenance

Spring pond job list. Getting ready for the summer

Our temperate climate is punctuated by four contrasting seasons, and our ponds change character as they enter each phase of the seasonal cycle. Even though we can be certain that each season will arrive, we can never predict the exact day, especially when taking into consideration . . . → Read More: Spring pond job list. Getting ready for the summer

Spring Pond Maintenance

Springtime is the launch pad for life in the garden. All life in the garden has spent the preceding cold winter months in slumber, resting and recuperating ready to burst into life in spring. The water garden too has been experiencing a period of inactivity and . . . → Read More: Spring Pond Maintenance

Summer Koi Pond Care.

 

“Summer time, and the living is easy,

          Fish are jumping and the cotton is high…..”

This is what we’ve all been waiting for.  Preparing our koi pond through any winter worries, ensuring that the koi have come through their ‘rest period’ free from any health problems.  Spring . . . → Read More: Summer Koi Pond Care.

Summer pond fish maintenance

This is what weve all been waiting for. Preparing the garden pond through any winter worries, ensuring that the fish have come through their rest period free from any health problems. Spring has seen the aquatic plants re-potted or trimmed if necessary and the new shoots . . . → Read More: Summer pond fish maintenance

Summer Pond Maintenance

This is what we’ve all been waiting for. Preparing the garden pond through any winter worries, ensuring that the fish have come through their ‘rest period’ free from any health problems. Spring has seen the aquatic plants re-potted or trimmed if necessary and the new shoots . . . → Read More: Summer Pond Maintenance

What if the pond temperature suddenly drops in a cold spell in autumn?

The UK weather is a national obsession and its unpredictability has always made it a very popular conversation piece. Indeed, a well known TV weatherman put it just right when he said, ‘The UK doesn’t have a climate, just different days of unpredictable weather’.

This is particularly . . . → Read More: What if the pond temperature suddenly drops in a cold spell in autumn?

What is happening in my pond in spring?

Springtime presents us with the perfect opportunity for checking the condition that winter may have left our pond in and to look forward to the summer by carrying out any necessary maintenance, nurturing our koi out of their winter slumber.

As a pond leaves the perils of . . . → Read More: What is happening in my pond in spring?

When to feed koi and goldfish

Feeding time is probably the most enjoyable and rewarding pondkeeping activity. However, when you feed your fish is as vital as what you feed them.

Are there variations in feeding times depending on the time of year?

Koi, like all fish are cold blooded and their metabolism (body . . . → Read More: When to feed koi and goldfish

Winter and autumn koi foods. Do I really have to offer my koi different foods in the winter?

I am a little confused with the number of different types of food that I can buy for my koi. This is especially true during late summer and early spring when my pond temperature is cooling down warming up either side of winter.

I recently bought a . . . → Read More: Winter and autumn koi foods. Do I really have to offer my koi different foods in the winter?

Winter garden pond and cold water temperature swings

As spring approaches I am concerned about what to do if the temperature suddenly rises and then drops again back to near arctic conditions as can happen so easily in this country. How will this sudden rise in temperature affect my Koi? Should I start feeding . . . → Read More: Winter garden pond and cold water temperature swings

Winter pond fish maintenance

Winter pond maintenance.

To a certain degree, a laissez-faire approach with our pond may be justifiable in the winter, as there is little that fish require from us over this fallow period. However, there are a few simple measures we can take to ensure that, even after . . . → Read More: Winter pond fish maintenance

Winter Pond Maintenance

To a certain degree, a laissez-faire approach with our pond may be justifiable in the winter, as there is little that fish require from us over this fallow period. However, there are a few simple measures we can take to ensure that, even after the harshest . . . → Read More: Winter Pond Maintenance

Winterizing a Backyard Fish Pond

This will be my first winter since building my koi pond in April 2003. My pond is relatively small, about 1,000 gallons and it has an Aquamax 5,500 pump with a 20 watt UV and small pump-fed filter.

Since it was built, the pond has reached temperatures . . . → Read More: Winterizing a Backyard Fish Pond

Winterizing a Koi pond and pond fish

Putting koi through a typical UK winter experience is regarded by many as a matter of potluck as to whether they will pull through to the spring. That is, we keep our fingers crossed and hope that the koi have eaten sufficiently well and that the . . . → Read More: Winterizing a Koi pond and pond fish



Kill blanketweed and string algae.