Koi fun

I am convinced we bought this house because of the double pond in the backyard. Since then, we have made many improvements to the filtration system and the surrounding landscape. One of the biggest changes was ridding the ponds of the goldfish and adding koi fish. Koi are a colorful version of Carp that long ago were raised as food for mountain people in Asia - similar to how people raise chickens for food.

Now they are entertainment.Every morning and evening we rely on them to entertain us. In the evening they help wind us down. (The glass of wine doesn't hurt in that capacity either.) We have become somewhat obsessed with breeding and finding the perfect colors. At present we are foster parents to hundreds of koi born in early July in our ponds. Most are approximately 1/2 inch long, but we have spotted a dozen or so that are two inches long and one that is four inches long! We call her Nessie, because you really can't believe she exists, but there are those who swear they've seen her! Come winter, we will bring 20 or 30 into the house to entertain us over the long winter when the bigger, long term residents are sleeping the season away under the ice.We've had the ponds for 11 years and have learned so much that husband has become known in certain circles as "the fish whisperer."In the Spring, we will be here with 1 year old koi for sale or trade, and questions and advice about spring cleaning and keeping the fish healthy.In the meantime, we would love to know if any of our SandyBayDay friends are pond people or fish collectors.