There's Orgies Galore Going on in My Backyard

[Boudicca]

Yep, Spring is well underway here in sunny Arizona.  After dropping off the grandkid for morning daycare, I took my coffee and Kindle outside to relax by the koi pond.  There was alot of splashing going on, so I looked and at least three female are big with eggs.  Actually they look about the same as ever, fat bellied, but this time they each had three or four "suitors" chasing them all over.  The girls are ripping through all the water lilies trying out their latest escape and evasion maneuvers, while the boy koi (hey rhymes with boy toy ) are in hot pursuit.  I hope they hurry up and get the eggs dropped and fertilized before too much longer before we don't have any vegetation left.

It's a good thing the koi eat most of their young, otherwise our 2500 gallon tank would have overloaded with fish several years ago after one female laid the first batch.  Quite a few tadpoles lived when there were only the original 10 koi to feast on the eggs.  Right now there's one little black koi swimming around, less than an inch long, and AFAIK he/she is a sole survivor of the last mating/feeding frenzy.

What cracked me up this morning was watching one of the very young koi hubby bought me for my birthday a few months ago acting all big and grownup, chasing one of the females along with three older males.  Like he'd know what to do if he caught her.

[Eupher]

Dontcha feel just a little bit voyeuristic?

I mean, don't koi want a bit of privacy when they're shagging each other? Dontcha want to put up a screen or somethin'???

[Boudicca]

Dontcha feel just a little bit voyeuristic?

I mean, don't koi want a bit of privacy when they're shagging each other? Dontcha want to put up a screen or somethin'???

Only so I don't get splashed!

There are roughly 60 koi in the pond, and three to four "encounters" going on at any given time.  I'd hazard a guess the koi are not quite as shy as most humans.
Honestly there was one  tangle of at least eight fish.  Not sure how many were females.  They're all around 2 or 3 years old, from the first and second spawning seasons we had.  So I'd say they're all roughly around 6 ounces to 10 ounces or so.  But I'm a really poor judge of size, of koi that is, before anyone else jumps in with a quip.

[Chris_]

You must have a big pond!  I think my parents have roughly a dozen, but they're all large fish.

[Karin]

Well, I'm glad they're all havin a good time.  It's a brutal fact of nature, but it's a damn good thing they eat most of their young.  What the hell would you do???? 

[Boudicca]

You must have a big pond!  I think my parents have roughly a dozen, but they're all large fish.

2500 gallons, or so says hubby.  We've already culled 25 koi and taken them to the place where we buy all our supplies, and where the original 10 were purchased.  Lisa, the owner, puts them in a holding tank for a month or so and then will sell them.  We didn't get any money for them, but it was certainly better than killing them in cold fish blood.   We've had to kill some that were sick with ick or bloat, and that's not fun.
Karin, yeah, much better they should eat most of their young.  It will cut down on our fish food bill for a few weeks as well, as they go a-huntin'.  It's easy for me to forget they're carnivores at heart.   You should see them swarm the freeze dried shrimp I toss as a rare treat!

[Thor]

We didn't get any money for them, but it was certainly better than killing them in cold fish blood.  

FISH FRY!!!!   

[Boudicca]

FISH FRY!!!!   

Nah, I could never kill animals I'd fed when they were alive.  That's why I don't eat WABBIT.  Ever since I became a bunny owner.  Now that the bunnies have departed for the clover fields of Bunny Heaven, I find I cannot consume their relatives.

Besides, on a practical note, the koi food says it's food to feed fish you don't want to consume yourselves.  Something chemical added to make their colors brighter.

And maybe to shake their damn finfeathers.  Hubby came in awhile ago and showed me this gooey mass of fresh laid eggs.  When I recoiled, he protested with, but honey, this is a delicacy all over the world.

I had to kindly explain to him that koi eggs did not equal caviar.

[Chris_]

Aren't koi related to goldfish?  Doesn't sound very tasty.

[Boudicca]

Aren't koi related to goldfish?  Doesn't sound very tasty.

They're basically Japanese bioengineered carp.  VERY similar to goldfish, although much larger and prettier.  Flashy colors and fins.

[LC EFA]

Aren't koi related to goldfish?  Doesn't sound very tasty.

I guess that depends on how you season them

[Chris_]

Koi are interesting.  The ones my parents have will swim toward you if they see you.  I guess they expect food (don't they all?).

[Boudicca]

I guess that depends on how you season them

[Boudicca]

Koi are interesting.  The ones my parents have will swim toward you if they see you.  I guess they expect food (don't they all?).

Mine won't, the sorry little turkeys.  Even the ones we've purchased later on, from our local aquatic store, who are totally immersed in the gimme food cult there (yes, that's what they're looking for), as soon as we relocate them to our pond they turn into total ingrates.  We have to practically beg them to come eat their food.

I took the grandson once to the koi store and he absolutely got a thrill out of having baby koi swim up to him and nibble his fingers.  All they do at our place is turn tail and swim away.  Got an orgy to attend, I guess.