A few tips that our members may find helpful…..
All material printed in this article are my own findings. Nothing at all to do with breeding koi can be set in stone, but I hope you find this article of some help and interesting.
To begin….. At some point in the hobby, you will notice your koi chasing each other around the pond, normally in spring or mid summer. This does not mean that the koi are going to spawn, but what it does mean is, given the right conditions, they can be persuaded to do so. What they require is some form of trigger to set them off, ie spawning brushes or material that they can spray their eggs on to (not filter brushes as these can be too hard and cause damage to the koi.) Other things to trigger the spawning is blanket weed, (God forbid!) or a depression in the weather, ie heavy rain or thunder. In the wild this would mean an abundance of food being washed into the rivers or lakes where the wild carp would live, bearing in mind that all koi originated from wild carp, and old habits die hard.
Many koi keepers tell me that their koi have never spawned. This could quite easily be because most koi ponds are very clean and clinical or that the koi have eaten the eggs that they laid before their keepers had the time to see any change.
Now, assuming conditions are right and you have observed the koi chasing, the females will normally take about 24 to 36 hours to be coaxed into releasing her eggs but don’t give up as it can take up to 72 hours with those stubborn females! (Got to tell you ladies, it’s a man writing this article!!)
The above is what is known as a flock spawning. This is the most common form, but then we have the hobbyist who wants to breed a particular variety, meaning selecting the right parents is not too difficult as long as you have the room to do it. (Large vat, container or spare pond). The parents don’t have to be the prettiest of koi, as long as they have good skin quality, body shape and are preferably between 3 and 6 years old. For the females, males need to be of the same size or a little smaller, but age does not matter much. The reason for this is old females can produce eggs that the male sperm can’t penetrate. The size of the male needs to be considered due to the aggressive way spawning can be. In most cases, large males could easily damage a smaller female or push her out of the pond.
The eggs have to be fertilised within about 1 minute of being laid as they have a small access hole which starts to close after this time, making it impossible for the sperm to penetrate. Fertilised eggs will stay clear but the unfertilised ones will very soon turn white. Some people advise removal of the infertile ones but I, myself, would find this impossible, so leave them. Up until now this has not caused me any problems.
OK, so you now have the eggs stuck to the blanket weed, spawning brushes or other material you have used. This has to be removed and placed in a safe environment away from the adults. If not, they will quickly be eaten. (Try to put the eggs in the same type of water they were spawned in, ie pond water of the same temperature and not clean tap or purified water).
In the case of a selective spawning, the same applies but don’t return the female to the pond as she will need about 24 hours to rest and lose the spawning odour that she gives off. If you don’t do this, she will be harassed by all the males which could cause serious damage to the koi. The males only need a short time, ie a couple of hours to get their breath back and then it’s safe to return them to the pond.
WOW! It’s that easy!
I will continue with a further article and tell you a little about rearing the fry once they have hatched.
DANNY
