Abandoned Koi!

[cheezysquirrelz]

My neighbors moved about 2 months ago. They have a small koi pond in the back yard with about 5 or 6 between 8 and 10 inch long koi and a 2 inch baby koi. They left the koi there and I dont know if anybody is taking care of them because nobody lives there. We have asked neighbors, but got no info. We went and fed them cat food. I filled up a big container with water in my backyard and added water conditioner. Sunday morning (tomorrow) we are going to get them and take them to a big pond store. Can someone tell me about koi care and water requirements? Also can koi tolerate a little salt?

 

[BlueCrystalMan]

The koi should be perfectly fine nibbling on the algae in the pond. Does it have a waterfall or filter setup? Are they running? Turn them on if you can. Also, WalMart has cheap Koi food that works extremely well... Throw a handful in three times a day if you can.

Personally, if after a week or two you see no signs of anyone coming to take care of them, they are abandoned, at which point I would put myself together a good sized aquarium and adopt them.

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

The pond has a waterfall and it has been on, but the water is green and STINKS! I also figured they were eating the algae to survive. We were about to go get them, then my friend had to leave for a minute. When she got back they owners of the koi were there! If she hadnt have left we would have been caught scooping them out. We asked about the koi and the lady said they were leaving them there. She said that they dont have to be fed. Then we asked if we could have them to put in our tanks, but she said, "They really arent inside fish." They left again a few hours later after finishing collecting their stuff. Now if we try to take them, they will know it was us. Im still thinking about coming and feeding them everyday and getting the baby out. If the next owners of the house dont want them, we are going to take them.

 

[jsoong]

The "owners" are right in that the koi are not inside fish. You'd need a humungous tank to house those 8 inchers (say 1000 gal.) They are better off in the pond than die in a small tank - even tho they are neglected. (BTW - koi are family, how can one abandon them?!)

Yoiu might consider having the baby in a good sized tank, however, you'd have to find it a home eventually.

Now, this may be a perfect chance for you to put in a pond of your own .....