Koi Dance is out now on all streaming platforms and at https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com. It’s 90% off (!) with promo code koipond. That means it’s $1 for twelve tracks of great music (and that promo code is also good for everything on the site).
The intense summer heat has kept the fish deeper underwater, where they can escape the sun and enjoy cooler temperatures. Even the rosy red minnows, who usually swarm any food we toss into the pond, have been more taciturn of late. It had me a bit worried, but water testing indicates that everything looks good. I imagine we’ll see more activity once temperatures began to back off… in late November—ha!
That said, we’ve had a few fun sightings. One of our intrepid loaches has been making himself known, and it’s always fun seeing those weird, goofy-looking critters near the surface.
Loaches typically live at the bottom of the pond, and like to burrow into the dirty substrate. They eat food that’s fallen to the bottom and generally feed on detritus and what not. But they will surface in response to barometric changes, and we have at least one that loves to explore (I’m pretty sure he’s the same one I saw wriggling around in the filter basket one morning; my attempts to relocate him were marginally successful). It’s always super fun seeing them in the ivy, which our big yellow koi, Sunny, also seems to enjoy.
So it is that I have loach-related videos for you today, as well as one kind of boring update about the unsexy side of pond management.
Loach Squirms to the Surface
I just love seeing those loaches squirming around!
Boring Koi Pond Update (NO FISH)
Don’t worry, the fish aren’t dead (I think); they’re just hiding from the intense heat! This video focuses on pond maintenance.
Loach (and Sunny the Koi) Enjoy the Ivy
One of our loaches and our koi Sunny enjoy the ivy after a good rainstorm.
What do you think of the humble loach? Are they “so-weird-they’re-cute”? Or are they a wriggly abomination that should stick to the bottom of the pond where they belong?
Let me know—and Happy Friday!
—TPP