It’s been awhile since I wrote an update about our koi pond; the last time was mid-May of this year, when the pond was brimming with life. Temperatures were warm enough for the koi to come up regularly for feedings, and they were hungry—I was feeding them two or three times a day. The rosy red minnows also experienced a population boom, as dozens of the little guys and girls were hatching in the pond.

Fast forward to today (Dr. Wife’s birthday, by the way!), and the pond is in a bit of a doldrums. I suspect that the heat has driven the koi to the cooler, deeper waters, but even the minnows, which often stayed near the surface, have been more muted, even at feeding time. I’ve reduced feedings to once a day, and occasionally once every other day, but still have not seen much activity.

Dr. Wife was growing concerned, especially as I didn’t feed the fish for two days before her family paid a recent visit. I was hoping they’d be hankering for some Kaytee Koi’s Choice, but no dice—other than a brief splash from Sunny, the pond was quiet (the various water bugs and dragonflies, though, were quite active, enjoying sips of pond water). I proposed donning my swimming trunks and taking a dip in the green waters so I could feel around for the fish; she wisely countered that I should probably just get the net and skim through the pond.

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The koi pond is really coming alive as we head deeper into spring. Other than the ramshorns I added a few weeks back, there have been no new additions to the pond. The koi themselves, though, are way more active, and Dr. Wife and I both the think the water is clearing up slightly thanks to the Japanese Trapdoor Snails and some recent top-ups with fresh water. At any rate, we can see maybe an inch deeper than we could before, and it helps that the koi are coming closer to the surface more frequently.

As the weather warmed up earlier this year, the koi would splash up only when I tossed food into the water. The most intrepid of them, Sunny, would occasionally pop up when he heard my approach, my feet treading on the gravel as I shook the bag of koi food.

Now, I’ll frequently catch multiple koi skimming the surface even outside of feeding times. When I do get home in the evenings and bring out the feed, they are excited. They’ll start swimming over each other to get at the good stuff, and some will even swim to the edge of the pond and start flapping their big fish lips at me.

It’s really satisfying to see the pond coming to life. With the water getting a bit clearer, we’ve been able to make out more details on the fish. We’re also able to spot them swimming more easily.

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