January 12, 2009

March of the Koi

Ok, so I've been watching the koi in our fish pond for several years now. At one time there were only 3 and then one Spring there were 9. Before we actually noticed the 6 babies, several weeks before that there were lots of white, foamy spots-they sort of looked like spit-but apparently the foam spots had something to do with the fish spawning process-of which I know nothing about.When winter comes each year, I look at the pond and all the fish have gone down to the bottom in the middle where it is the deepest. They hibernate here all winter with very little movement...well except for when they all take turns moving toward the middle of the group.





It wasn't until after several winters of observation that I noticed how they all take turns having their time in the middle of the group. The outer fish move toward the middle and they all shift. I assume it is warmer in the middle...that's what I think anyway. They take their time about it and the movements are very slow. They're hibernating... we stopped feeding them as soon as the first cold day hit...and they don't want to eat either.

Here they dance and move, shifting and changing positions in the cold cold water. It's really quite amazing and beautiful to watch.











12 comments:

Anonymous said...

How very interesting and what great photos. Thank you for sharing.

Unknown said...

Love the fish...I had to check to see where you live, because here in Alberta they'd be fish sticks for sure by now:)

They are fantastic fish...almost mesmerizing; like watching the flames of a fire.

bindu said...

That's so fascinating. How much we can learn by observing!

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

Wow...how interesting and fascinating is this Leslie...a great post...Dzintra

Belle said...

I was sooo excited when my koi had babies. I noticed these little black things swimming around and thought they were tadpoles at first. They are so beautiful.

aliceinparis said...

How lucky you are to have a koi pond! they can grow to be quite a size too!

Leanne Pizio said...

Oh aren't they all so beautiful. I wonder if the koi will find their way into your paintings?
What a wonderful thing to have a koi pond to watch and meditate on.

love said...

Sherrlyn of http://www.lovesimplyhappens.com
Great Bob Marley music with the KOI
fish and flowers!

Malissa said...

Cool pictures of your Koi. We have a 55gal aquarium with several types of fish, including two beautiful Koi that are quickly outgrowing the tank while waiting on us to get their pond done outside! We hot them a couple of months ago and didn't realize how fast they would grow.

Amy Gethins Sullivan said...

~Les~
Your pictures are wonderful~
Getting used to your new camera~
~Amy~

Liz said...

I used to breed Koi many years ago I love them but here in New Zealand Koi are now illegal so we aren't allowed to keep or breed them a shame but they can be destructive. Greeat post

Love Liz

Sandi said...

Lots of different colours of Koi you have there, they are all beautiful.
We have much smaller fish in our pond - Chinese White Cloud Minnows. I bought them for the pond because they eat mosquito wrigglers, but don't eat tadpoles. Ours have multiplied over the years, I think I only started off with four or five, and now there would be maybe eighty minnows.