Janet wrote:

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message
...
Janet wrote:

You're 100 % correct MC, koi are not goldfish and vice versa. Koi
absolutely do not do well in water under about 40 degrees.

No doubt, they're not the same, but they're very closely related and they
both really do just fine in water between 32 and 40F.**Weather*was*never
my
problem, herons were.

Derek, it may be possible that goldfish and wild carp are closely related
but**not*koi.*

Check your facts. Koi _are_ carp.

Most*of*the*vigor*has*been*bred*out*of*koi*over*th e*last
couple of thousand years. Koi are raised in mud ponds in Japan but they
don't spend the winters in them. They are brought into heated koi houses
that are greenhouses...**Post*some*of*these*theories*on*som e*of*the*koi
forums with koikichi's in residence and they will quickly debunk the
theories and myths point by point...

Which _theories_? I've cited two facts no koikichi could argue with. Koi
are closely related to goldfish (I'd even say those carefully bred Japanese
koi are a lot more hardy than the carefully bred Chinese goldfish, but that
can be safely classed as a theory). They can even interbreed (and produce
sterile offspring - an indication of the closeness of the relationship).
And, Koi _can_ do fine in water under 40F. I kept koi in an unheated pond
in zone 6 for years. Admittedly, it was 5' deep at its deepest and I would
hesitate to suggest an 18" deep pond in zone 5. I also never owned
expensive koi - I wouldn't risk them through an Ontario winter, either.

It's true that you have to be careful with them in the spring as the water
warms up and the fishes immune systems are slow to react - but that problem
exists between 40 & 50F too.
--
derek