Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

Are you east of the Rockies?
We've had ponders report this kind of damage and they find a snapping turtle
has moved into their pond.


k30a

I've had Koi for 10yrs and they do nibble at the stems of the lily, breaking
them off. As soon as you add floaters or some other plant for them to go
after they will continue what they are doing now. As soon as the weather
allows I add my floating plants (as long as they are big enough to withstand
the koi's attention)
Patty
"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

6 foot long koi-- there's a frightening thought...

One fine day ,
Pickmaster picked up the keyboard and pecked out:
:: Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves
:: stripped from about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long
:: Koi--the pond is large and there are plenty for them to eat, but the
:: leaves are suddenly just floating around the pond--
===========================
Mine did the same thing to my lilies and killed many of them last summer. I
removed those still alive this spring, repotted them and moved them to the
small pond. Last year I had my leg in a cast, had surgery on it, then was
in a brace so couldn't do anything with the ponds. I was just happy my
husband fed the fish and cleaned the filter pads.
--
Carol.......
"Ever have a pen in your hand a second
ago and now you can't find it anywhere?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~{@

Thanks for that feedback--I used to have a whole bunch of water hyacinths
floating in the pond but they never did flourish and just about all of them
are gone.
I am in Louisiana, and you would think they would grow like crazy, but they
stayed small. I guess it could be a turtle, and I haven't spotted the
culprit first hand.


"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

Pickmaster wrote:
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--



I never saw my koi eat the lilies. What I did see was them
pulling the lilies up by the roots and also trying to get a
piece of fish food off of a leaf. They will also eat bugs
or snails on the bottom of the leaves also. In other words,
I never saw them eat a leaf but I have seen them mangle a lily.

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Did your fish spawn, by any chance? If they did, their rough-housing could
have broken the stems. But to answer your question, YES! koi will tear up a
waterlily. Mine didn't bother the big varieties, but the smaller, more
delicate lilies were great fun! Also, water hyacinth roots are a great
treat . . . if yours are doing poorly, check out the root system. If it
doesn't have roots 4-6" or longer, they're getting munched. I liberated some
WH earlier this year, and have to rotate them from waterfall/stream area, to
the pond (munchies), to a tank in the back yard to recouperate and start
growing again, back to the waterfall/stream area for extra nutrients and a
growth spurt, back to the pond for munchies, ad infinitum.

Just a thought!
Lee

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

Yes whatever is doing it is just taking the leaves off and floating--also
the common lilies I got out of the ditch are untouched, and the ones I paid
$ 10 bucks for were stripped! I also have a bunch of mudcats and sunfish in
there, but I think its the Koi--

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

Big koi killed ALL 8 of my water lilies last year. They are now in the process
of pulling up and breaking the leaves off the iris, parrots feather, and
pickrel. I HATE koi....wish I had never got them. I have made my goldfish
pond into a combination fish/lily pond, however about 3 feet of it won't grow
lilies because there is a 5 foot tall waterfall in the pond....... A 6 foot
long koi.....are you sure, or is that just a nightmare? ) Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond

I guess I better watch my wording on here, or I'm going to start a panic--I
think there's 6 of them, I started out with 8 a year ago and they were about
2 inches--the water is murky so I didn't see them for 6 months and was
really surprised at the growth to a foot. The Koi and the catfish are
keeping the silt strirred up pretty good and I am really thinking about
pumping it dry and starting over with just bass and bluegills (pond is 50 x
100 and artesian fed) Those Koi never came up to the top until recently, and
I worried about the herons getting them, but now, I think I would watch the
feast!
http://www.//home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-Marshalltown

"Jerrispond" wrote in message
...
Big koi killed ALL 8 of my water lilies last year. They are now in the
process
of pulling up and breaking the leaves off the iris, parrots feather, and
pickrel. I HATE koi....wish I had never got them. I have made my
goldfish
pond into a combination fish/lily pond, however about 3 feet of it won't
grow
lilies because there is a 5 foot tall waterfall in the pond....... A 6
foot
long koi.....are you sure, or is that just a nightmare? ) Jerri


http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond

Mine didn't bother the "coarser" varieties, like Wood's Blue Goddess or the
Red Flare (night bloomer). Maybe they weren't too tasty. But little, dainty
lilies were uprooted and drug around the pond within hours. I finally
removed them - out of respect - and plunked them in containers away from
fish. They thrive there. You shoulda *seen* what those bad boys did to a $50
mosaic plant! Never DID salvage any of that! Try some of the larger lilies
for the pond, and use the fancy ones in containers!

Lee

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Yes whatever is doing it is just taking the leaves off and floating--also
the common lilies I got out of the ditch are untouched, and the ones I
paid
$ 10 bucks for were stripped! I also have a bunch of mudcats and sunfish
in
there, but I think its the Koi--

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

Lee, I remember my playful guys pulling the lilies around the
pond like they were toys. And I guess that is exactly what
they were. I love my Koi... especially for their mischieviousness
(Is that a word? lol ) Anyway, it does sound like ours are related?
Cutest thing would be to see lilies skimming across the pond with
no visible means of support ... until I looked in the pond! Now
I have two "survivor" lilies. No distinguishable marks - Just a pretty
white and a pink.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
Mine didn't bother the "coarser" varieties, like Wood's Blue Goddess or
the
Red Flare (night bloomer). Maybe they weren't too tasty. But little,
dainty
lilies were uprooted and drug around the pond within hours. I finally
removed them - out of respect - and plunked them in containers away from
fish. They thrive there. You shoulda *seen* what those bad boys did to a
$50
mosaic plant! Never DID salvage any of that! Try some of the larger
lilies
for the pond, and use the fancy ones in containers!

Lee

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Yes whatever is doing it is just taking the leaves off and
floating--also
the common lilies I got out of the ditch are untouched, and the ones I
paid
$ 10 bucks for were stripped! I also have a bunch of mudcats and sunfish
in
there, but I think its the Koi--

"Pickmaster" wrote in message
...
Do Koi sometimes feed on water lilies? I found all the leaves stripped
from
about 4 plants and am pretty supicious it 6 foot long Koi--the pond is
large
and there are plenty for them to eat, but the leaves are suddenly just
floating around the pond--

sounds like a nightmare to me!
mad
--
If you can read this, thank a teacher!

From: (Jerrispond)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: 21 May 2003 14:52:20 GMT
Subject: Koi and Water lilies

Big koi killed ALL 8 of my water lilies last year. They are now in the
process
of pulling up and breaking the leaves off the iris, parrots feather, and
pickrel. I HATE koi....wish I had never got them. I have made my goldfish
pond into a combination fish/lily pond, however about 3 feet of it won't grow
lilies because there is a 5 foot tall waterfall in the pond....... A 6 foot
long koi.....are you sure, or is that just a nightmare? ) Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond



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Koi a foot long in a big pond with ample foliage are very unlikely to
damage lilypads in any numbers, they do little more than suck snail
spawn of plants as tough as those.

Far more likely theres a turtle that wandered in that has taken a
shine to munching on water lily stems and the snails that amble along
them. Check the stems that were severed, look for a distinctive 'v'
shape bite of a turtles guillotine like mouth, if you see those angled
bite marks, it sure isnt koi



http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html
(andys aquatic plant list for interesting swaps

"Pickmaster" wrote in message ...
I guess I better watch my wording on here, or I'm going to start a panic--I
think there's 6 of them, I started out with 8 a year ago and they were about
2 inches--the water is murky so I didn't see them for 6 months and was
really surprised at the growth to a foot.