Koi

There will be occasions when it is necessary to catch and move your Koi. Most often this will be to treat a health problem when you may want to remove your Koi from your pond for inspection or to apply a topical treatment. You may also need to move your Koi from a pond to a quarantine system. Catching and moving Koi are stressful procedures so it’s important that you do it right. If you’re unsure, always seek the advice of a professional. When you catch Koi you should always place them in a viewing bowl.

Step one: Net at the ready
Before attempting to catch any of your Koi,
ensure that your net and bowl are of a suitable size for the Koi you intend to catch. Then, when you’re ready to catch the Koi, turn off all the aeration so that you can see what you’re doing; this will help reduce the risk of knocking and damaging any of your Koi as you chase them around the pond.

Step two: Bowl in place
If you don’t have anybody on hand to help, place the bowl in the pond and fill one third of it with water. If you have someone to help you, keep the bowl out of the pond until you’ve caught the Koi – your helper can then actually use the bowl to help you manoeuvre the Koi.

Step three: Gently does it
Use your net to catch the Koi – be gentle as the trick here is to use the net as more of a guide to bring the Koi to the surface. Once you have the Koi at the surface, keep the net below the water level as you bring it towards your bowl so the Koi does not become entangled in the net.

Step four: Going solo
If you’re working alone, bring the net over to the bowl, which should already be in the pond. Then, using the edge of the net, bring this out of the water so that it rests on the side of the bowl. Then, gently put pressure on this side of the net so the bowl tips on its side. When this side of the bowl is below water you can tip the net, which will cause the Koi to swim from the net into the bowl.

Step five: If you have help
If you have help, once you’ve netted the Koi get the bowl and place it in the pond at an angle to the net. Then, as the bowl starts to fill with water, turn the net towards the bowl; the Koi will swim from the net into the bowl.

Written by Keith Holmes

Photos courtesy of Keith Holmes