CS> *** Quoting Craig Walker from a message to Steve Fuller ***
 CS> I'm scared to ship a fish still, but I have a rapidly growing 'Coi'
 CS> (bought by accident when a batch got mixed at the store) that will
 CS> possibly need a new home.'Free to a kind owner'.
 CS> Right now, 'he' (not sure of sex as dont know how to check that) is
 CS> about 6 inches, and in a 70 gallon tank with 19 other 'normal' tank
 CS> goldfish.  He hasnt bothered them at all, being a placid fellow.
 CS> At I suspect 8 inches, he will become uncomfortable as he wont be
 CS> able to turn around with more than 4 inches of water 'fore and aft'.
 CS> IE:  Its more of a long,tall, thinnish tank designed to be mounted in
 CS> a wall structure.  At 12 inches, I will have to either buy another
 CS> tank, build a pond, or ship him to someone.  Thats my assesment of a
 CS> tank 16 inches 'wide'.
 CS> Might add, ponds are not a good option here.  I really cant afford a
 CS> heater and it may not snow much most years in my location, but every
 CS> few years we have really cold winters with as much as a foot of snow
 CS> for a week on end.  Call it a 'wee bit too cold' some years for
 CS> survival without a heater unit of some sort for an outdoor pond.
 CS> xxcarol
Hi Carol, My name is Don.
I have a Garden Pond currently containing 6 Koi. They are a hardy fish. I 
winter mine in the Pond all winter. When the temperature drops below 65 
Degrees I switch food and eventually stop feeding them as they go into 
hybernation for the winter. I just run a Pump that keeps the surface from 
completely freezing over. This is to allow release of gases that 
might get trapped that could harm or kill the fish. As you know Winters here 
in Lower Michigan get pretty cold with snow and all. Last year was the first 
year that i had the pond. I am happy to say that I only lost 1 fish over the 
winter. I still do not know why???
If You decide to build a pond go for it! If not I would be more than happy to 
adopt your Koi.
                                       Don
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