Winter Koi Storage

[DrNic]

Living up here in MA I know that a lot of people will pull their koi indoors for the winter to be on the safe size, typically moving the into their basements I think. I always wondered, what kind of space would it take to store them for the winter months?

Lets say 6 medium koi... is a 75G tank enough?

[smaug]

Safer to leave them in the pond.A simple floating pond heater to keep a hole open is all thats really needed.Med koi?I call a med koi an 18" fish.6 koi under 6" in a 75 gal may do ok,but they would do far better just left in the pond.

[DrNic]

I know that koi typically do better when left in the pond. In my area though around this time of year I start hearing about people pulling the fish for the winter. I suspect that with all the hills and wind around here that either the heaters aren't enough or just electrical costs too much to keep the tank warm.

On a similar note can butterfly and standard koi be kept in the same tank? Are koi fin nippers?

[~Col~]

I was going to suggest a heater and possibly some type of shelter over the top if it's possible. Depends on how big it is I guess.

[Sasquatch]

You don't have to keep the pond warm, the heater is there to keep an open hole in the ice to allow gas exchange. With a complete cover of ice, fish most often die because of lack of oxygen and/or the buildup of toxic gases (CO2). Keeping an opening in the ice lets out the toxic gases and let oxygen get into the water.

[Crispy]

an air bubbler can do the trick also as long as it doesn't freeze completely over. much cheaper to run than a heater. I see many koi survive the Canadian winters left in their ponds.

[sailor]

The big thing here if they are to be left out over the winter is the depth of the pond. If not deep enough it will freeze solid.

[smaug]

Koi are not malicious in any way,they do not nip.I have a mix of std koi,butterfly ,wild strain goldfish and fancy tails in my 2500 gal pond.I keep a hole open by allowing my skimmer and bio falls to run all winter.I also keep a 700gph pump running just under the surface to create a large boil of water at the surface.doing it this way I kept an opening all winter last. Year