I'm so sorry for the loss of your long time pets. I'm glad no people were hurt in the mess, though. I hope you and your daughter's homes were undamaged too.

Oh, Lily, that is so very sad. I'm so sorry. You've written many times here about your beloved Koi, so I know this must just be devastating for you.

Lily, I’m glad you and your human family are safe. I’m very sorry that you lost so many of your fish family. Your grief is palpable. I am so very sorry and send you my sincere condolences.

That is a very sad story. To lose those beings you cherish and have interacted with for so many years and to have it happen so quickly despite your best efforts to help them must be devastating. I am so sorry. But I am also glad you and the rest of your family escaped unscathed and your homes were not seriously damaged. Hope the next few days are better and brighter.

I’m so sorry, lily.

That's a huge loss. I'm so sorry it happened.

So sorry about your koi.

I'm sorry you lost your koi Lily. Stay safe.

I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve lost your beloved pets. That’s a hard thing to get over. Take care of yourself and try to keep cool.

(((Lily)))

I am so sorry, what a terrible tragedy for your friendly beautiful koi.

Oh Lily, I am so sad to hear that you lost your beloved, longtime pets and friends.

I am so very sorry you lost so many of your koi, lily. That sounds so horribly tragic that everything happened so quickly with the weather and the pond situation. Stay cool in this heat.

That's so sad to hear. I'm sorry. I never thought of a leaf blower to aerate the water. You did your best. The weather has been wild here too. Sat. heat indexes were 108° and today's high will be 66°. In between we've had strong storms that brought wind and power outages and road closures. From drought conditions to flood warnings. And it's only getting crazier. Hang tough!

I don’t know much about koi. I had no idea they lived so long and could be so friendly. I am so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry Lily.

lily, i'm so very sorry for the loss of your beloved koi. i have always admired these fish and have been amazed at how friendly they become. to me, this is like losing a pet that naps on your couch. just become they don't get to come inside doesn't mean they aren't treasured pets.

such a stinging loss for you. 😢

Im sorry Lily. What a sad story.

Horrid indeed, Lily. I'm sorry you had to go through this--on top of the loss of your koi, everything that led up to it. So upsetting.

How awful, Lily. I didnt know koi needed such care. Poor things.

Theweather has been nightmarish, with roasting temps and now flooding rain. Some people near me are without power and our electrical company is on strike.

Im just so sorry for your loss.

Very sorry to hear. Twenty five years is a long time. As another said, you tried your best.

I an so sorry. You did the best you could. Sometimes that is not enough and it really s**ks.

I'm so sorry for your loss. That is aweful! You lost your pets. Koi have very sweet personalities. Just know that you did all you could to save them.

I add my condolences Lily, losing one Koi would have been bad enough but losing so many at once is heartbreaking. We too have had 100+ temps for 3 days in a row and if I still had laying hens I doubt they would have pulled through this heat.

This is terrible news. I'm so sorry you lost so many of them. These animals live such long lives and have such distinct personalities that they're truly irreplaceable. As someone who has kept goldfish, I really empathize with you. Last fall, my neighbor's pump failed in her koi pond, and she was in great distress. Fortunately, she didn't lose any—the cooler weather helped. But with this heat wave, you were facing the worst possible conditions.

Oh so sorry to learn of your catastrophe. Is there anything you can do to prevent the same thing happening in the future?

Lily, what a terrible day for you. It is just heartbreaking, especially considering you had such a close relationship that they would eat out of your hand. I hope perhaps the younger survivors will start to do the same.

I’m so sorry.

Lily, I am so sorry for your loss.

So very sorry, Lily. I had no idea that koi could be such long lived friends nor the need for constant aeration.

Lily, I thought your story was going to be about the heat. But to lose your fish friends! This makes me want to cry for you and them. That they lived for so long and could perish so quickly because of this stupid weather. I'm so sorry. Hugs to you. I'm glad you didn't have much in the way of storm damage too.

I'm so sorry for your horrific loss.

Oh Lily! How heartbreaking! I am so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry this happened. It's just awful. The loss of pets can be devastating...

Thanks to all of you for your condolences. I'm very sad and feel so helpless letting this koi down. The saddest thing was the big mama with her mouth open and her last baby, who's 12 years old, lying on her dead, floating body. For all those who think that you can't have a relationship with fish, koi are the most intelligent of all fish and recognize their owner even if they were away for a while. They even recognize the clothing their owners wear. When mine hear my voice, they swim down to where I always stand. They form bonds with each other, and that's particularly sad because all their elders are dead. So I have five of the six born 12 years ago, and the one big one, which is the only speckled one in the pond. I saved him with the leaf blower as he was succumbing with his mouth open, gasping for breath. I said I wished I would have stayed there all night and husband said the leaf blower would have died in 15 minutes and no power to recharge. Tonight I went up to the pond and called them, and all six swam down, just looking at me and probably judging me. (Never mind about the 1000s of dollars these koi would sell for, although I was never going to do that. ) Some live to 50, and the rare Japanese can live to 100. The only bright spot in this horrible event was my dear friends at Trader Joe's, all of whom comiserated with me and then, as I was checking out, presented me with two huge bouquets of gorgeous flowers.

Oh Lily - please let me add my condolences. I know how devastated you must feel to lose your beloved koi. I'm thankful that you still have some of the younger ones to love.

But what a lovely gesture from the folks at Trader Joe's - so unexpected and thoughtful.

Very sorry for your loss.

oh, lily, your post brings me to tears. i know how easy it is to get attached to a creature so many people look at as being easily replaceable but to lose multiples all at once is unthinkable.

i once lost a lovely reef tank fish that i raised from a baby and adored for many years, i was inconsolable for months. sending you gentle hugs for comfort. 💞

Oh no, what a very sad story. I hope the others are all ok now.

Last night, the remaining koi were swimming around quickly from one end of the pond to the other when normally they just glide around. This morning I found "bubbles" which might indicate a spawn??I wonder if they sense more open water since the nine giant ones are gone? I guess we'll see. Just weird.

oh a spawn would be wonderful! from what little i know about koi, i don't think you'll have to wait long before eggs hatch. if this happens, i hope you get lots of colorful fish.

when i had freshwater tanks, i kept african cichlids. they are live bearers and the male would scoop up the fry and hold them in their mouth until any perceived danger had passed and then he'd just spit them back out. they were so fun to watch. i always took the babies to the fish store where i got my supplies and we traded my fish for stuff i needed.

my saltwater clownfish spawned often. they always chose the same smooth underside of a certain ledge of coral. i never was able to raise any babies, they'd get eaten by other fish before i could get them caught.

I stumbled on this levity on Reddit:

“Koi fish are incredibly intelligent, and naturally form groups of four fish, with each having a specialized role.

The group is always led by a “leader fish”, called koi A. The other three fish will follow it everywhere.

Koi B is in charge of hunting for the group, and will report back to them with the location of food.

Koi C is usually a large, aggressive female. She protects the group from threats, and asserts dominance over other groups of koi.

And if the fish are attacked, the other three swim away, and the predator always goes for the D koi.”

That is so interesting, Palisades. I didn't know that, and I've had these koi for 30 years. I'm wondering about the hierarchy now that the large ones are gone. Big Mama was in charge and was huge at 15 or more pounds, but so many of the others look alike, it's hard to tell them apart since they're all orange and black. They definitely had cliques, and the sad thing was when one of the younger survivors was lying on Big Mama's body when we finally got the generator going. The rounder ones are usually females, and males are longer and leaner. I think.

I'm so sorry, Lily! How very sad. I had no idea koi live so long, and I hope your remaining koi live for many more years. My condolences.

I would think they will get friendlier as they calm down after the stress. Just move slow and keep feeding.