My koi finally were active enough today for me to see all of them. On my first try overwintering them in the pond, all six koi made it through the winter in the 6 foot deep addition I added last September with only aerators running.

Holy cow what a winter! As I watched the pond ice over and then over 2 feet of snow gather on top of the pond, I grew more and more certain that spring would come and I'd find koi-sicles. Hope started to diminish when it iced over with no visible holes for the toxic gases to escape but hey, at least I could still hear the aerators bubbling away. The my hope diminished further when the snow piled up on the ice and muffled the sound of the aerators to silence. Were they even working anymore? Faith had departed. That coupled with the fact that up here in zone 3b we get some ding dang COLD, COLD days for a couple months, I was absolutely certain that dead koi would greet me in the spring.

I was jumping and squealing like a pre-teen at a Justin Bieber concert when I was able to visually confirm that all 6 koi were swimming and alive.

So, that's all. Thanks for letting me tell you my good news.

Jenny

PS thank you Dr. David for giving me the instructions and fortitude to give it a try in the first place!

I remember the first winter I had my fish. How scarey to leave them in the pond - I fretted all winter. So far, each year, they have made it.

So.. congrats on live koi and congrats on you living through the stress of waiting for spring!!! :-)
Anne