KOI & STONES IN THE POND

KOI & STONES IN THE POND - or there is nothing that doesn't exist!

Very often you see ponds that are more or less “lined” with stones. This type of pond construction is often very popular with pond owners who build their own ponds. But not only do-it-yourself builders, companies that offer professional pond construction also plan and build such ponds.

In most cases, so-called rolled or round gravel with a grain size of 16/32 or similar is used. You hear a lot of statements, or rather excuses, as to why many people use this type of gravel. The main argument you usually hear is the appearance and/or that the fish can fish! We have a completely different opinion on this...

First of all, there is nothing wrong if someone really wants it, e.g. B. against a well-planned and professionally created planting area in a pond. But honestly, no plant in the pond needs these types of stones . There are completely different options for this. Quite apart from that, such ponds are usually completely “filled in” with these types of stones. Our opinion is short, sweet and honest... Anyone who builds a pond like this usually just wants to quickly and relatively inexpensively hide construction errors and/or an improperly installed pond liner. This applies to self-builders as well as to pond construction companies!

You can find out more about laying pond liner precisely here: LAYING POND LINING

Back to the topic of optics. Yes, as we all know, tastes differ. But it's not just about looks and taste. There are numerous other disadvantages to using this type of gravel in a pond. Deposits and dirt accumulate in the gaps, food falls between the stones and rots there, a circular flow that is very important for a functioning pond is significantly disturbed or does not even come into being, sooner or later there can be increased algae growth on the stones come, and there are many other arguments that speak against using gravel in the pond.

Another and in our opinion the biggest problem that can arise when using rolled or round gravel in the koi pond is shown in the following pictures!

Koi love to start their own business! When eating, koi like to put almost anything in their mouths that they can possibly fit into. What has been ingested is then swallowed if it is edible and spit out again if it is not edible. Unfortunately, with rolled and round gravel, it often happens that a koi is ultimately no longer able to get rid of this type of foreign body due to its size and/or shape. Often a koi owner doesn't even notice this and sooner or later the animals die in agony.

In this case, the attentive koi owner noticed it and immediately asked us for help because the animal was about to suffocate. Yes, you read that right, about to suffocate! If such a foreign body sits in such a way that the koi can hardly pump water through its gills, then the oxygen absorption will ultimately no longer work.

It wasn't that easy for us to help the koi. Because the animal was almost no longer able to breathe on its own, we were also unable to sedate (anesthetize) the koi in the usual way. With this type of treatment, however, it is essential to keep the koi completely calm. Furthermore, the stone initially sat relatively deep and firmly in the throat.

Ultimately, we managed to save the animal and make the owner happy! The koi is still swimming healthy and happy in its home today!

Unfortunately, it also happens from time to time that such cases end fatally for the animals (completely unnecessarily) .

Below are the pictures of the (SUCCESSFUL) stone removal....