[pklein9747]

We have a pond but need to purchse some plants to place in the pond and maybe some koi fish. Any suggestions for a nursery in the area that we can go to?

[K9-Lovers]

May I make a suggestion for the fish? Instead of buying koi, which are quite expensive, go to any pet store and select fish from the "feeder" tank. Yes, the tank with hundreds of little fish a cramped together and not getting enough air. Those fish.

After losing many expensive koi, this is what I did for my rather large pond when I lived in Virginia. Those little feeder fish grew into very beautiful red and white and black fish with pretty markings. They were quite smart and tame and would eat from my hand. However, when we moved I had to give my fishy pets away. They lived in my pond for 16 years, and had babies that had grown to adulthood.

You can find feeder fish with beautiful long flowing tails and beautiful markings. I would recommend NOT buying fish with black markings as those tend to "disappear" in the dark pond water.

One more recommendation -- be sure to get enough floating foliage to provide shade for the fish and protection from predators. Shallow pond water can become too hot for fish in summer unless it is in the shade. Even in the shade, I had to float frozen containers to cool the water and that was in Virginia! (old soft drink bottles filled with water and frozen solid).

[Bambi]

Some of the best koi in Fl. are raised by Blackwater Creek Koi Farms. I believe they now have 4 farms - the closest is in Eustis. Beautiful koi and they often exhibit them at the annual Orlando show. The show is usually held in March on International Drive. Some of the koi go for a few thousand dollars. Start with a subscription to "Koi USA" for pond maintainance tips, etc. Sometimes, the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, etc.have aquatic plants and I think Home Depot sells aquatic soil. Be sure to use netting on the bottom of the pots and large stones on top. The koi love to root in the plants. Locally, Touch of Paradise in Ocala sells plants, fish and have contructed many nice ponds in TV. Every Spring they also have a local pond tour.and they will do yearly maintenance. We built our own lined pond - wanted a bottom drain, concrete rim, etc. Remember when looking - koi have little barbs by their mouths and goldfish do not and the two species will interbreed. I usually buy the 40 lb. bags of Blackwater Creek's koi food. I live in the Villages and have 13 very large koi and a pond with two waterfalls. My pump is pushing 3000 gal of water thru the falls and a pressurized filter system with an ultraviolet light. ( prevents certain alge) each hour. It's a fun hobby and the sound is so relaxing. I have never had to cool the water - the koi just find the most comfortable area in the pond. However, I do stop feeding when it is cold in the winter - the fish's metabolism slows down. My husband is passed away about a year ago - so I had to learn a lot in a short time even tho we had koi ponds for 25 years and belonged to koi clubs in Michigan. If I screw up too badly I can always invite the neighbors for a fish fry - seriously - they are a lot of fun.

[scroll]

I paid 10 cents a fish in a feeder tank that look like gold fish. They grew to 6 to 8 inches and I had to buy a bigger tank. It was amazing. You will be really surprised, I sure was.

[Bogie Shooter]

We buy our koi at Touch of Paradise on the south side of Ocale. Their prices are very reasonable. Here is their web site.
http://www.touchofparadisedesignsinc.com/

[Ohiogirl]

Not to transgress, but pretty soon we're going to see the posts about osprey and koi! Please reassure us that you've only lost 10% of your koi to the predatory birds!

[Bambi]

Osprey aren't the problem - it the darn blue herons. Koi are a tasty treat that they can spot from quite a distance. Had the problem in Michigan and the DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) gave us black powder shells to fire. So we hid in the trees and waited. Not effective - before long the adults were bringing the off spring to the all you can eat koi buffet and all we had were a bunch of mosquito bites. One of our fellow Villagers, who lives by Rolling Acres Rd. (by the Palmero cut thru) woke up to find a med. sized alligator in his pond - of course, no fish were left. My pond is in the lanai - no more worries - I hope.

[Bogie Shooter]

Our koi pond is in front of the house and we have netting about 2 inches above the water......no blue herons.

[Bambi]

Netting works well. I have heard that the herons get used to the motion detecting water sprinklers and they aren't effective after a while. Another idea is to put small stakes (like tomato stakes) around the perimeter of the pond - about 2 feet from the edge. Run clear fishing line, supported by the stakes, about 18 inches from the ground. Since the herons don't usually land on the water but land back from the edge, the fishing line is supposed to deter them from getting within koi snatching positions. We used to use nets with a large rubber ball in the center to keep leaves out of the smaller pond in the fall. Nets are also useful during the spawn - the loved starved males sometimes will persue the females to the point that they will jump out of the pond. Poor gals.