Our garden ponds are artificial environments. This means that they need maintenance to keep the conditions acceptable for fish. Yes, carp (Koi) and goldfish are pretty tough but they do much better with the water temperature, pH and hardness in their optimum range and with a minimum of waste build up in the pond. Hydrogen Sulfide kills things very easily when in high enough concentrations. Parasites can knock out most of your fish in a few days if not caught early. We want our fish to be happy and healthy, not struggling to survive. The same goes for feeding, a healthy diet keeps them alive a lot longer.

eek! I was going to ask if the bumps looked fuzzy thinking maybe a fungal infection. But I guess you have it under control. I hope the Proform LA works for you. I dont know about it, but judging by your '(ouch)' I'd say its expensive. btw, my Koi jumps too..man can they jump! And nothing is wrong with him. When I first got mine I had read in many dif places that Koi are known jumpers, so I never thought twice about it. I love it when I am right at the pond when he jumps. You will be treating the whole pond correct? I dont agree with just treating the sick fish in a hosp tank, or whatever. Better to treat the whole pond and rid the pond of the parasite, then to have to keep treating fish over and over again individually by not getting to the root of the problem. Good luck and I hope all goes well.

Hi loriques: Below please find the link to Goodkarma's koi food recipe. This food is well worth the effort it takes to make. In the past I always fed my fish cheerios and on occassion some fruit. Even though they were going on four years old their growth seemed to be stunted. I just can believe how big and beautiful they have gotten after making this homemade recipe. Maybe the homemade food is the reason I had hundreds of grandkoi this spring!!! lol I always make a double batch and freeze some. I add a whole peeled orange when I am grinding up the spirulina tablets that I buy at the health food store. In addition to the homemade food I supplement them with Hikari Gold during the summer till the temps drop. Then I feed them the Hikari winter food till the water temp drops below 55. With the economic state of the US today many people have given up on ponding and are resorting to pondless waterfalls. A lot of the major pet food chains have stopped selling the Hikari food, or have done away with their pond supplies entirely in Ohio which is why I value this recipe. I have a feeling people are going to give up watergardening/ponding entirely if the economy doesn't pick up soon. Jenny Here is a link that might be useful: Goodkarma's Koi food recipe

The post's title made me chuckle. It's so true that we are bound to have some (or at least one) that looks ugly. For me, my ugly is Brim Cup. (Runner up to Brim Cup is Twilight.) When I bought Brim Cup in 2011, it looked nice. In 2012, it also looked good, and I patted myself on the back (especially when I found out it was considered one of the "difficult" ones). Well, I congratulated myself too soon, as this year, right off the bat, it looked ugly. Ugly it has been all season. Mind you, mine has been in a pot, so no slugs or pest issues like North53. I think mine has two problems: I've never repotted (I know, I know . . . I'm a bad girl). The second problem may be that it got too much sun in spring. So how long will I try with this hosta? I think I will try my best for 2014 and then 2015 will be the year it goes. I like a challenge, but there are so many beautiful and less demanding hostas out there that it just isn't worth my time. Babka, I also would find it very difficult to throw away a hosta. It is hard for me to imagine that no one would want it, even for free. I certainly do not have that problem. I can sell at garage sales, fund raising events, give them to our library's gardens or just post on kijiji.ca. If I were giving them away, a posting on kijiji.ca would guarantee that they'd be gone in no time at all. Just like plantbug, I would say "send them to me!" and I'll pay the shipping, but I am in Canada. My opinion is that if you are looking at some ugly plants, have tried almost everything you can and they continue to look ugly, then I would get rid of them. Doesn't it make you sad to look at them? Isn't life just too short to (year after year) see that kind of ugly? Part of gardening is to learn what grows well for you and what it is that makes you happy. I have purchased hosta that are going to grow too big for my garden (if I am lucky). What I am going to do? I don't know. What I do know, is that they are bringing me joy now. As for the future, well I can dream. But there are no guarantees for the future. So I choose to find enjoyment in the present.