Is there anything you can add to the pond that would provide shelter for the little one? A place he could hide? How big is your pond?

I believe its a 1000 gallons. I put in large a PVC pipe to act as a fallen log in the pond, so far the fish doesn't seem to care about it and is hanging out right where the pond drains out into the filter system.

I had frogs getting sucked into the bottom drain. I bought a new smaller koi and was worried about that going in the drain. I took an old style milk carton crate and put a plastic grid, the kind they use for bonsai, and tied them in with a zip ties to the open areas that I thought the small koi might get through. I then put it upside down over the drain. It's been over a year and I haven't had any problems with the little koi or any frogs. Do you have any plants in the pond?

The problem with putting mesh over the inlet pipe is it will get clogged pretty fast. I've been testing a new inlet type on my pond for the last year and it is working really well. I have large 20" fish and also 6 baby fish about 4" long.

The inlet/drain is a 4" diameter PVC pipe about 3 feet long. One end has a cap on it and the other a 2" outlet which is connected to the line that goes to the pump. I used an angle grinder with a 4 1/2" disc to cut 1/4" wide slots in the sides of the pipe. There are different types of cut off discs, the one I used is a "metal grinder" type which will make a nice 1/4" wide opening. A "metal cutting" disc will make a 1/8" an opening which is too narrow and debris will get stuck in the intake. Also, the 1/4" wide opening is safe for small fish, I haven't had a single baby fish get stuck in it. The fact that the pipe is white also makes it easy to see if any leaves are on it.

I have the pipe mounted horizontally about two feet off the bottom of the pond, on the edge of the pond. This gives me some peace of mind if something happens so the pond doesn't completely drain if there is a leak somewhere. When I originally made my pond I had tetra "over the edge" bottom drains but I don't think they were worth the trouble now. They're supposed to pull debris from the very bottom of the pond, but I was always worrying about them getting clogged or not sitting on the bottom and sucking fish into them (which never happened, but they did suck in some frogs).

Anyways I guess I'll post a picture when I have a chance to take one. It works really well and is cheap and simple.

I only have the mesh around the big parts of the crate, primarily the handles. The majority of the crate is still open. So I don't have any problem with clogging up. Yes I would like to see a picture when you get a chance. Can never have too many good ideas.

I've used the milk crate and mesh combination before too. It worked well but I stopped doing it for some reason. I guess maybe it was the hassle of pulling it out of the water to clean it, then re-tying it. I guess when I got a pump with a strainer basket I used something with wider opening in the pond so the debris collection pond was in the strainer basket and easier to empty.

Wow that was a fast reply. yea I'll take a picture sometime.

Thank you both for your insights. I look forward to seeing the picture as well!

Just reading over this and there is a company called KOI SMART in Florida .very helpful and had everything I needed for my koi pond I am sure you can get what you need or just get your questions answered !

Here's a picture of my pump inlet.

Is that for sale anywhere or do I need to build that myself?