Story and photos by Carol Mowdy Bond
“Years ago, my husband and I remodeled a bathroom and kept the old
bathtub, with the intent of using it to build a small pond someday,” says Mary Garrett of the Oklahoma City metro area. “We dug a hole next to our driveway, put the tub in it, filled it with water, put some fish and plants in it, and created our starter pond.”
The Garretts also built a backyard deck and a brick patio with a fire pit. They successfully kept the fish and plants alive
in their bathtub pond. So in 2014, they added a 2,000-gallon backyard pond to wrap around the deck. The pond includes a waterfall and a stream that flows down stone stairsteps into a canal and under a bridge.
“I also keep plants around the pond’s edge as well as potted water lilies,” Garrett says. “For fun, I added whimsical faux items like a floating golden retriever and ducks that appear to dive under the pond’s surface.”
Bringing Life to the Pond
The Garretts thought their pond needed life, so some of their friends gave them a few koi and goldfish. But that required a commitment not only to the pond but also to the fish.
“We constructed a natural filtration system with water being pumped from the body of the pond into a structure that held only pea gravel and plants,” says Garrett.
But the filtration system took too much labor and time. So Garrett removed the system, replacing it with a pressurized biofilter. A skimmer and a biofilter in the waterfall enhance the clarity of the water.
Garrett says, “Forty percent to 60 percent of the pond-water volume should be replaced annually by lowering the pond level and then refilling it with freshwater to dilute the ammonia and nitrogen levels. It’s important to test the water after doing this to ensure that the chemical levels are safe.”
With about 25 to 30 koi and six to eight goldfish, Garrett feeds with fish food composed of 40 percent protein, 10 percent fat, and 4 percent fiber. On winter days when it’s safe to feed, she uses food made of 32 percent protein, 4 percent fat, and 4 percent fiber, with wheat-germ filler.
Garrett watches the fish for signs of parasites. In addition, if a fish is swimming on its side, that can indicate stress. In those cases, Garrett seeks help from professionals at retail pond stores in the area. “My pond is three feet deep, so it just ices over the top during winter,” Garrett says.
“I have an aerator that constantly maintains an opening in the ice and keeps oxygen pumped into the water for the fish. When the air temperature drops below freezing for an extended period of time, the water temperature subsequently drops as well, causing the metabolism of the fish to drop. So during this time, they don’t feed. Instead, they lie very still on the bottom of the pond. When the temperature rises enough for them to start moving, it’s safe to feed them.”
Garrett adds, “I add salt to the pond in the fall to prevent parasites that might develop on the fish during the winter months when they lie still at the bottom of the pond. The ratio is one pound of salt to 100
gallons of water, and the salt must be pure, with no additives.”
Neighborhood children love the Garrett pond and frequently stop by to feed the fish. They sit with their feet in the water, letting the fish swim around their legs. Although the Garretts have not named the individual fish, the neighborhood children love to name them.
Facts about Koi
The word koi comes from the Japanese word for “carp.” As omnivores, koi eat aquatic insects, algae, and plants but will also eat fish. On maturity, they breed annually in about May or June.
As an ornamental variety of the common Amur carp, koi are related to about 3,000 types of fish of the Cyprinidae family. Koi originated in Asia’s Black, Aral, and Caspian seas, and the Chinese kept koi as early as the fourth century A.D.
Chinese rice farmers domesticated koi as food because of their large size, rapid growth, and prolific breeding. But today’s koi swam onto the scene during the nineteenth century because the Japanese bred them for their appearance. Then in 1914, the emperor of Japan received koi for his royal moat, and the world took note.
With more than 100 varieties, koi are beautiful, and they are bold with humans. They swim to the surface, pop out of the water, and beg for food.
But people interested in koi should do their homework before acquiring them. Their average lifespan is 40 years, although the longest-living koi made it to 230 years.
Relaxing and Mesmerizing
Koi live better in ponds than in aquariums because they might grow to three feet long. In addition, they are happier in a group but should not be overcrowded. They like to eat, and that results in a lot of waste, which might be harmful to the fish and overburden the filtration system. But the large volume of water in a pond might dilute the toxicity of the waste.
“The fish are relaxing to me,” Garrett says. “I stare at them, sometimes almost mesmerized. During summer, I walk into the pond and watch as they swim around me. Being outside in nature is healthy both physically and mentally.”
Aside from her fish, Garrett is known as a big-time gardener who maintains 12 flower beds with a wide variety of plant life. She is a member of the Water Garden Society of Oklahoma in the Oklahoma City metro area. The group offers information on water gardening, gardening, local wildlife, pond maintenance, koi care, nature, plant life, landscaping, and other topics.
The Water Garden Society’s annual free pond tour, when the public can view members’ backyards, will be held on July 13 and July 20. For details and pond locations, go to www.wgso.org.
