Spring cleaning

Finally, spring! and I can start to feed my beautiful Koi again, we are all happy this time of the year but, wait this also can be the most dangerous time of the year for our Koi if not done right.

First thing is to monitor the waters temperature and make sure it is stable 50-55 F at this point you should have a thermometer in your pond. Although Koi are cold blooded animals that can’t control their body temperature, only the water and environment that surrounds it can and this is what controls their behavior.

What guides us in our decision making is the temperature of the water throughout the seasons and this is especially true at the beginning. If you don’t have a thermometer, please buy one.

Once the water temperature is stable 50-55 F they will become active again and start looking for food.

This is not the time to feed them yet, after the winter fasting Koi are still weak, and that means their immune systems are very low, and by taking care of potential bacterial and Parasites in the pond is the first thing we tackle.

There are many treatments on the market and I’m not going to recommend one over the other, just give you information for a successful year.

Beneficial bacteria that eliminates bad bacteria like Aeromonous or Pseudomous and minimizes the risk of ulcer problems in your pond. Koi clay is something that will reduce diseases.

Koi clay are what the Japanese dealers and hobbyists use as a mineral supplement to increase the health and shine of their Koi. Some in Japan refer it as the “Magic white clay”.

Look at it this way, we don’t drink tap water anymore we drink mineral water because it keeps us healthy looking and our bodies need the extra minerals.

We will get deeper into Koi clay in another episode right now let’s prepare for the spring.

Let’s activate the filter, if you stopped using your filter during the winter you need to restart your nitrogen cycle. We start that by cleaning our filter any left-over water or waste needs to be cleaned out and then run your filter.



Now we are establishing the nitrogen cycle, this is were we need some bacteria, you can buy at your local tropical fish store establishing the cycle as soon as possible. If you are lucky enough not to have to turn off your filter you can start to feed your Koi lightly. You also do not have to clean your filter but do add a little bio for the new season.