And they grew and they grew and they grew

The babies are thriving! It's almost time to remove the divider (which, by the way, we've had to replace twice because when we used curtain fabric the giant beasts managed to tear right through it so we replaced it with two layers of shade cloth). About 10-15 of the wee ones have actually found their way around it on one side and are already living with the big koi, and I we don't think anyone's being cannibalized. Maybe this weekend we'll cease the segregation.

Eleventy Whomptillion

That's how many of these guys are hiding under all that string algae. It's promising to be a bumper crop this year!

And more baybeez!

The tiny wigglers are still wiggling in the NICU. Dave has begun having sexy times today, although the boys don't seem as interested as they were when Foothill was doin' the dance. Since it looks like we're about to have a population explosion in the NICU, I think I'll let the cannibals feast on Dave's progeny.

Dave	Foothill

Okay, really crummy picture of Foothill there (Note to self: take in morning, not evening.) but you can see which one is sexier. And no, those are not eggs floating around Dave - that's fish food. The eggs are weeeeensy!

Baybeeeez!

Two days ago the adult koi managed to break through the barrier we had erected between them and the eggs. We fairly frantically constructed a new barrier, shooed them out, and isolated the vulnerable eggs once again. I know they ate some, but by the time we finished there were still ample eggs caught in the ample string algae in the NICU. Ironically, we then went out for sushi.

The eggs began hatching some time this morning. At this time there are also a bajillion fry squiggling around in there, each about 7-8 millimeters long. Squeeee! I'd take a picture but can't zoom in that far so here's a koi chart to appease you until next time. By the way, the mommy resembles Gin Matsuba. (Gin...mmm...now I'm thirsty...)

Koi Pron

Hmm. So here we are, almost exactly two years after my last post, and the fish are at it once again. (For reasons unstated here I did not chronicle their shenanigans of last year.)

This morning I awoke to the splish-splash of the koi making sexy times. For the satisfaction of your purely scientific interest:

 

They wore themselves plumb out, chasing poor Señora Foothill. This evening she's tired, and missing a couple of scales, but all in all not too much worse for the wear...

Steve and I created a little (Celtic) fish NICU in the hopes that some of the eggs stuck to the strands of all that lovely springtime string algae will eventually hatch.

So I guess you could call this Day 1 of the experiment.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to post about the destruction of the Rubbermaid tank biofilter waterfall thing and how we (and by "we" I mean Steve) replaced it with two large ceramic in-pond biofilters.

What you see above is the root structure of a jungle. That's where all the magic happens in a biofilter. It worked like a charm but we wanted to solve two problems:

1. It was ugly, that big black plastic tub.
2. Plumbing exterior to the pond is a potential point of failure and it did. A couple of times.

With the new system, if the plumbing should ever come apart at the seams, there's nowhere for the water to go but back in the pond. And the sound-deadening, Niagara Falls-like waterfall sound has been replaced with a gentle trickle which is great when you're sitting out there all calm with a glass of wine but not so great since The Loud Family rented the house directly behind us.

Oh, and we got us some new babies, too. Three butterflies. 'Cause Ghandi died in April. In this shot, Torpedo greets the new kids on the block, Lemonhead, Louise, and Creamsicle (who is hiding).

A vacation spot for bees

We think someone to the west has a hive. Our pond has become the hip, go-to, warm-weather get-away spot for all the bees who are "in the know." They don't bother us or try to sting. They come to drink the water, then fly away home.

Hundreds of them.

Sex On The Beach

The fish were having sex in my pond this morning. From what I understand, this only happens if conditions are just right, so yay, right?

I've learned that Foothill is a girl.

I think Dave's a girl, too.

All others appear to be either boys or lesbians, as they were participating heartily in the chasing, bumping and flashing. (Not that kind of flashing. Flashing is the term used for when the fishies jump and flip around up over the surface of the water.)

The orgy lasted a good couple of hours. (You go, boys!) Now there are ten bajillion eggs stuck in and amongst the algae on the sides of the pond.

We'll try to figure out a way to create a barrier with some old shade cloth we have - see if we can't protect those eggs from their cannibalistic parents. Stay tuned...