Koi hiding in liner folds

18 years ago

I finished my 1200 gallon pond about 1 month ago. I put in plants (hyacinth, hornwort, and lilies) about 2 weeks ago. Last Friday I bought 4 koi (5"-6" in size) from a local Nursery. The koi were fairly skittish. On Saturday morning I saw all 4 swimming at the bottom of the pond (4' deep), and Sunday morning I only saw 2 swimming at the bottom and then they promptly hid. My wife only saw one Sunday afternoon and was worried they might have died. We've got about 45% cover of hyacinth so I figured they were just hiding underneath the plants which are fairly large. After moving everything around and checking they weren't stuck in the roots I was concerned. None were to be found. We've got river rocks lining the edge of the pond (they are submerged about 6" at most). I moved all the rocks I felt they could potentially get behind but they weren't there. The only thing left was the folds of the liner. I moved all the way around the pond without any luck until I got to the skimmer where a majority of the folds are located (folds are arranged so debris doesn't lodge into them from the waterfall to the skimmer). There are four large folds near the skimmer (about 6" "deep"). I reached my hand under the first one and out comes a koi, same with the second, third and fourth. My question is, Should I be concerned they are going under the flaps to hide? The flaps aren't weighted down so there is a 3"-4" height under each flap. Once I left the pond they immediately returned to hide in the flaps. I know once they grow larger they won't be able to fit in the space.

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Comments (8)

groundbeef1
18 years ago
Yes. You should be afraid.

Especially as the fish grow. They may be comfortable hiding in those areas now, but as they get bigger, I would be afraid of one getting stuck.

At the beginning of this summer, I was looking for a wayward frog that I had seen go into a fold. I found the frog, as well as a fish skeleton for a gf I hadn't seen in a while.

I ended up placing the fold flush against the wall of the pond. I then put a large river rock on the excess to keep it down. Haven't lost a fish or frog since.
rayne
18 years ago
Mine do that and I never had a problem. I have sizes from fry to about 30", and they all poke around in the folds. They're just trying to hide and get used to the new pond. Give them a few days to relax.
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lsst
18 years ago
Is there a way to lower the pond some to access the folds?
If so, and if your liner is EPDM, you could use tape designed for use with epdm and try to tape over the folds.
It may encourage them to find safer hiding places.

But as rayne mentioned, it has been only a month and it may be a temporary thing til they get used to the pond.

I had one fish that hid for 6 weeks til she began to school with the others.
johnkr
18 years ago
I think the fish might need some time to adjust to their new environment. Give them some time.

I can't recall a fish hide in the folds of my liner, but frogs hibernate in the folds every winter. I never found a dead frog or fish in the folds.
buyorsell888
18 years ago
You might add a safe place for them to hide. In totally open water they often feel insecure. I have a floating styrofoam planter that they often hide under and you can make caves for them on the bottom or under pots lifted up on crates.
jusride
Original Author
18 years ago
I thought I would give an update. The koi still hide in the folds during the day but at night they come out into the main pond. If spooked they will head back to the folds. All appear to be happy and healthy.
morge2347
14 years ago
We just introduced koi to our new pond/waterfall. It has been set up and the water tested ok. We have fish caves built into the pond and shortly after their arrival the fish all went in and are hiding. How long will this behavior usually last and should I be concerned?
Will they come out to eat or will they eat from the floor of the pond?

New at this. trying to understand their behavior.
Lori_Carlos
14 years ago
This is only our 2nd season with our pond and we had a rough start (long story that I won't get into) but when we bought our Koi and goldfish we had the same issue. I was terrified that they'd get stuck. Some of our Koi are now close to 12 inches in length and they don't hide in the folds anymore, LOL. We have lots of water lettuce floating as well as hornwort which generally sinks to the bottom. They now hide there. Mind you they know us now and don't usually hide when they see us.