Greenroomsurfer 7 Snake 0

[Alicia Leonard]

That's all good, but avoid the venom sacks.

I remember when they used to serve it here, on a stick.
YouTube - 2008 Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo

 

[Kurt]

Aren't koi supposed to be in Japan?

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Aren't koi supposed to be in Japan?

Immigrant Koi............swam to a new and better life, full of Koi opportunity

 

[Will B]

Immigrant Koi............swam to a new and better life, full of Koi opportunity

That's cool for the koi as long as the learn English and don't speak about us in Japanese! :funn:

 

[Sand Angel]

Aren't koi supposed to be in Japan?

Yep! That's where they started, but raising koi is a sort of art form. They are bred for ornamental ponds, and the color patterns are very important. Breeders try to select for color patterns that are most dramatic when viewed from above the fish. Some people are very serious about their koi. One of my AU professors used to board koi for the winter for people worried about their ponds freezing and causing fish kills. My fish are mongrels (not selectively bred), but still very pretty, and I don't want them to be dinner for any snakes!

 

[jodiFL]

Snakes arent the only thing you have to worry about around here.... there are several species of birds that love a good fish dinner.

 

[Beach Runner]

We have some valuable koi (a gift to our daughter from a friend who had too many), and they survive a frozen pond in the winter. They are pretty much in hibernation when the water is cold.

 

[Sand Angel]

We have been lucky.... No birds or raccoons yet. They seem to prefer the wetland across the street. My koi were also given to me by a friend. I have since given away many more babies.

Some people don't realize that koi can survive frozen ponds. You just have to break the ice at the surface so they still have oxygen. The point in boarding them is also to keep them growing larger through the winter. As mentioned, cold water slows their metabolism and they don't eat as much. When boarded in nice warm water, they continue to eat and grow faster. I don't think boarding them is really necessary. Some people are just very extreme when it comes to taking care of fish they spent hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for.

 

[Beach Runner]

We have been lucky.... No birds or raccoons yet. They seem to prefer the wetland across the street. My koi were also given to me by a friend. I have since given away many more babies.

The birds and snakes prefer the lake, but the raccoons like the convenience of the pond. We have given away a bunch of babies, too. Our patio (and home) was designed by Samuel Wilson, Jr., of NOLA. He did the renovations at the Royal Sonesta in NOLA (as well as many of the notable landmarks in Louisiana, including the Cabildo, the Presbytere, Oak Alley, etc.), and copied their courtyard for our patio. Our koi pond has a fountain like the one at the Royal Sonesta, and only has room for a certain number of fish. So we have given away many of our babies. Unfortunatelty, because they have become so inbred, they have all evolved into a reddish-orange color. We plan to introduce some new fish into the pond this summer to give more variety to our pond.

 

[PeterFrohwein]

Bagged this one this morning by the koi pond buffet!!!View attachment 9003

I am up in Boston for the weekend and see what happens when WE leave Greenroomsurfer unattended again !! ???

Who's turn is it to watch him ???