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THE SPAWNING POND
Breeding usually starts around late September and into October ( southern hemisphere
)and can run all the way to January. This all depends on the weather, the main pond temp and of course the *females*.
Around
August you start preparation (cleaning) of the breeding pond and the hatching ponds, start preparation of green water and
water fleas, clean and disinfect mops and breeding material. The spawning pond does not have to be large. I use a home made
tank 1 mt wide by 2 mts long and 80 cm high, but you only have to fill to around 10cm above the back of the largest koi. By
doing this you concentrate the eggs and sperm and have a larger hatch rate.
DO NOT feed the koi while they are in the
breeding tank and make sure there is always plenty of oxygen. Fill your tank with treated, fresh water and if possible lower
the water temp about 5 deg C below the main pond temperature. This will stimulate the females as it emulates the natural habitate.
Their ancestors knew when to breed when they felt the temperature drop from the melting snow into the river.
String your
mops and or breeding material along the length of the tank. Add your breeding pair in the morning and cover the tank (to stop
them jumping out and protection from predators), check on them every morning as they will start to breed around first light.
When they have done their duty they will start sucking on the eggs, the female will probably be very still on the bottom -
exhausted.
Do not leave them in the breeding pond for more than 4 days. If they have not spawned in that time, take them
out and try another pair.
SPAWNING MATERIALS
Spawning materials are used for the female to deposit her eggs at the same
time as the male covers them with his milt. The material (mops) can be made from plastic bags cut length ways into strips
and tied at one end and boiled to make them crinkle. Or you can make some out of nylon rope or use water hyacinth *as seen
below*.
I use two lengths of nylon rope with plastic strips intertwined through the twists and tied off at each end of
the tank at water level. I then place hyacinth between the two lengths of rope, this effectively holds the hyacinth in place.
The rope & plastic mops last me 10 years and the hyacinth, a natural aphrodisiac for koi, has long, hair like roots
for holding the eggs.
What ever you use make sure that you disinfect it before using.
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