|
KOI SPAWNING BEHAVIOUR &
DEVELOPMENT
For koi, spawning occurs
once per year, usually over a period of a few days. When the conditions are
right, water temperature, day length etc the spawning begins (here in Ontario,
usually between Late May to late June). Often before the actually day of
spawning, you will notice one or more males showing more interest in a female,
closely following her around the pond for a day or two. Spawning usually begins
early in the morning with the males aggressively chasing and nudging the
female(s) around the shallows or edges of the pond. Like most fish, koi are egg
layers, and once the female sheds the eggs they they will stick to whatever they
come in contact with. A large mature female can produce up to 400,000 eggs, and
as the eggs are shed, they are immediately fertilized by the males that are
following her. Koi (and goldfish) prefer to deposit their eggs in vegetation
normally found in the shallow water of ponds. By providing plenty of
plants like hornwort, water hyacinths or water lettuce or even artificial
spawning mops or ropes, you can provide an ideal breeding habitat for them.
|
|
|
This video shows koi
that have been spawning in the shallow stream at the base of a
waterfall. Most of the eggs deposited here were in the water cress.
|
|
DAY 1
The opaque sphere on the
right is a koi egg one day after spawning. Eggs will stick to whatever
they land on once released by the female, in this case a strand of
hornwort. |
 |
| DAY 7
Depending on water
temperature, the eggs usually hatch in 3 - 5 days. the juveniles
are about 7 mm long and will feed from their yolk sac for few
days.
These juvenile fish are
4 days old and beginning to swim freely |
 |
| The fish are beginning
to feed on infusoria (microscopic protzoa) found in the water
|
 |
| DAY 11
The fish are now feeding on
finely ground flake food. You can see the swim bladder and
digestive tract as their bodies are still transparent with a yellow
colour .
|
 |
| DAY 29
The fish are growing fast
and are now showing their colour (hopefully it will develop into a nice Yamabuki)
|
 |
Back to
Pond Advice |
