Summer is the best and most lively season for your koi pond. During this time, the temperatures are favorable, which lets you enjoy your koi pond more. But you should continue to maintain your koi pond during this time. In koi care, remembering those few important things during the summer months will help you keep the beauty and liveliness of your koi pond.
Higher level of temperatures can cause less amount of oxygen:
During summer, the level of oxygen in your koi pond will decrease. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken, especially if you live in places where warm temperatures are experienced most of the time. A good indication that your pond doesn’t have high enough concentration of oxygen is when you see your pet hanging out towards the top of the surface of the pond, seemingly gasping for air. You can put extra water features in your koi pond like fountains and waterfalls to keep the oxygen moving.
Remember this: the more motion the water has, the more available oxygen there is for your fish. Also, if these features are not available, you can always change the koi pond’s water frequently to give your fish the necessary amount of oxygen that they need.
Watch out for evaporation:
Higher amounts of heat can cause the water to evaporate quickly. What you should do for this is to pay close attention to your koi pond’s water levels, and then do the necessary adjustments. It is important to remove all of the chlorine from the water that you’re going to add.
Summertime is the time for parasites:
Heat brings on those parasites and illnesses, and as most of these parasites are invisible to the naked eye, it is important for you to watch your fish for those signs of illness. Symptoms such as scratching, rubbing against objects, shaking or shivering could indicate different types of illnesses.
Pay attention to your fish if they start to develop visible spots or changes on their body (they may also knock off their fins!). If you see any of these changes, contact your local pet store, vet, or your dealer as soon as you can. Some parasites may cause only minimal damage, but illnesses like the KHV (or Koi herpes virus) can cause real serious problems to your fish, that’s why it should be treated immediately.
Feeding your fish:
To ensure the health of your fish throughout the summertime, feed them with nutritious foods. In caring for koi, give them food that are low in protein at least one to three times daily. If your fish seem to be still hungry after you have fed them, you can slightly increase the feeding amount. Take note that feeding your fish with only small amounts of food will prevent the spoiling of food. Feeding them with larger amounts will give way to uneaten foods that will spoil quickly (which can cause issues in water quality).
Your fish will only eat what’s necessary for their survival, and will leave those extra ones. Feeding your fish will also cause less oxygen content in the koi pond’s water, and this can be an issue during the summertime, as oxygen gets depleted in high levels of temperatures. This can be resolved by feeding your fish in the cooler times of the day.
In caring for koi, summer is the best season to feed your fish through your hand. Feeding them like this will let you to get to know your fish better, and they in turn get to familiarize you as someone who takes care of them. You can even get your kids involved in feeding them (which would be an unforgettable experience for them!).