That sounds like a really neat place. The Virginia Tech vet clinic knows basically nothing about fish health. I wish there were more vets who specialized in fish. I'm a terrible fish vet. I'm always going to others for help with it.

Haha! A betta impulse buy isn't the end of the world, but a koi impulse buy could be dangerous with their huge size. I'm scared of goldfish impulse buys (did one of those a few weeks back); I can't even imagine a koi impulse buy.

It's a really nice place. The guy actually runs it out of his garage but the house is on the outskirts of the city so it has a huge yard, probably half an acre. He has a bunch of champion koi and he collaborates with the local university's veterinary school on fish health. :3 Hoping to go tomorrow so I can look for a new shelter and ask why the nitrates are so high. And get more plants. Must. Resist. Buying. Fish. @_@

I really love floating plants for their nitrate-eating abilities so I think I'm definitely going to look into those floating plant bags.

I was looking the pond plant stuff on drsfosterandsmith.com last night, and they also have some submerged plant bags. But I think the floating ones would be better because closer to the surface they will get more light.

You're lucky to have a local pond store. I've got to get everything online.

Yeah, I was thinking of the koi kastle. Was going to see if my local koi place had one first, otherwise . . . well, there are a few things I wanted to order from fostersmith anyway. :D I had a water hyacinth in there with them once but a month later, all that was left was the center of it. They ate off all the leaves and the roots. The floating basket might be a nice solution.

Glad I could help. ^-^ I'd be kinda freaked out in your situation, too. A fish suddenly not eating is never good.

I've seen "fish shelters" specifically made for ponds. There is on at drsfosterandsmith.com called the "koi kastle." You might even be able to make a cheaper one from a huge PVC pipe. I've also seen floating baskets for things like water lettuce to prevent the koi from nibbling at the roots. Koi are hungry little things, but we've figured out a few ways to outsmart them.

Izzy, my koi/goldfish and I seriously wouldn't know what to do without you. :) I'm glad that their not eating is normal for the temp change. Phew! I took out the Rubbermaid today and they're mad/scared and somewhere in there. Even without a hiding place, I still can't find them. I'll do what I can to entice them out tomorrow afternoon. I'll look for a new shelter or mutilate the Rubbermaid. I do have the marginal plants in their plant holders but they don't seem to do much for the nitrate problem. Wish I could put anachris and hornwort in there but I know it'd be gone in days.

Sorry I haven't been on much! Work is trying to kill me. X_X A rapid drop like that will cause them to lose their appetites. At 60F they should be fed once daily in the afternoon when the temp is highest. Below 60F they should be fed on low protein/high carb food every other day.

Having that shelter could be causing a buildup of debris. Maybe turn the rubbermaid upside down and cut out two sides. it would allow more water flow as well as being a platform where you could put some plants in pots (that'll teach the little monsters :P). You could also look for some baskets to grow marginal plants on the edge of the pond. We'll trick those little plant devourers yet!

Izzy, could a pretty big drop in temp cause my koi/goldfish to hide and not eat? Last week during the heatwave, the water was in the 70's but now that's so much cooler, it's 61. This is the second day in a row they've been hiding at the bottom and haven't come to eat.

I have some live plants but it was kind of hard to get really good oxygenating ones because they'd eat them. I have a dwarf water lily, some parrot milfoil, a water poppy, and a water clover that is taking over. I'm wondering . . . I have a pretty big rubbermaid turned on its side in there at one end, to provide a shelter. Do you think it could be obstructing the filter flow so a lot of debris is building up behind it? Should I try to find a shelter that is open at both ends so water flows through? Shee. The nitrate didn't even get that high in the 55gal.

:) My dad bought a long, long hose that we use when we flush the filter, so the water reaches the lawn. Otherwise I'd feel so bad about wasting water.

Ouch! That is really high. And you've got a lot of live plants in there? Maybe try bumping up the water changes to twice a week. I don't really know any other way to get rid of nitrate. But that water is great for watering the lawn. My mom has started to use my goldfish waste water to water the lawn. We've really noticed a difference.

I've got an uncle who owns a construction business. We might be on our way to an aquarist community! :D