Posted by Michele on September 05, 2002 at 01:35:10:
In Reply to: Re: The depth varies from 24-30 posted by PHSplendens on September 04, 2002 at 19:12:28:
didn't necessarily think her pond was overcrowded but that it could have been just the fish crowded around to feed (remember me saying that a couple of times?).
Anyway, 17 or 18 fish could easily become a lot more than that...and no doubt they will have some amount of spawning activity...it is always something to plan for when housing koi in a pond.
Hope that better explains what I was trying to say. Err on the side of lower stocking numbers and a person will not generally go wrong....push to the max and it can get dicey.
I'm sure we are both probably saying the same thing, in different ways.
::done using the 24" figure. I did not do the math originally and even stated that it might just be they way they were all crowding around for feeding (as koi and GF always do).
::The only other thing I would take into consideration with the "up to 30" fish, is the fact that there cood be some breeding activity that takes place in the pond....if there were only 15 or 20 fish that could certainly increase dramatically come next spring and summer. If you stock to the max 30 and end up with fry, then you're overstocked. With a pond you always need to plan ahead.
:I stated that she could have up to 30 koi, that does not mean that she should have that many or that I would recommend that many. I was just simply giving the ponds absolute maximum capacity and since you hadn't done the calculations I didn't want her to get the impression that the 17 or 18 fish I saw in the photo made her pond overcrowded.
:PHSplendens
